Daily Writing Leads to Better Writing
Daily writing will lead to better writing.
Recently, we talked about developing better writing habits, and I shared a few writing tips to help you improve your writing habits over time.
Today, I want to talk about why the number one tip on that list was write every single day, and I’ll explain why it’s the best path to better writing.
Writing on a Whim
I started out writing poetry just before I hit my teens. Writing was a sacred outlet, and I poured my dreams, frustrations, and desires onto the pages of my notebook.
During those years, I developed an unhealthy attitude about writing, one that I believe many young or new writers cling to — that talent is all that matters. You had it or you didn’t, and it never occurred me that something that required talent would also benefit from hard work. So, I wrote, but only when I felt like it. Weeks would go by and I wouldn’t write a word, and then in just a few days, I’d half fill a notebook with my amateur poetry and angst-ridden tween rants.
By the time high school was over, my belief that good writing was all about talent talent and the habit I’d developed for writing only when the fancy struck me were embedded into my thinking and my behavior. Later, my whole perception of writing would be shaken.
Daily Writing
Eventually, I entered the creative writing program at university. For the first time in my life, writing was more than a casual hobby; it became challenging. Surrounded by peers of equal or even greater talent, I started pushing myself. I suddenly realized that I wanted to produce better writing — I wanted to be a talented writer, yes, but also a developed one. My coursework required that I write constantly. In one semester I would have anywhere from two to four writing classes, with lots of homework and plenty of projects, which kept me busy writing every single day.
Immediately, I began to see a change in my own work, an improvement. The poetry I wrote was consistently better than what I’d written the day before. My short stories, once flat and lifeless, started to take on some energy, and my essays, which had always been strong, reached new heights.
There were many reasons for this rapid growth. I learned the value of editing, of being a choosy reader, of using resources, like books that were packed with writing exercises designed to improve different aspects of my writing or help me discover new terrain in my work. The feedback from peer reviews were invaluable.
One course would be laden with critiques, and other courses wouldn’t involve them at all. Some instructors liked to see the raw footage, the unedited stuff; others made you proofread and revise incessantly before turning anything in. One thing, however, was completely consistent: daily writing had become an ingrained habit for me.
Better Writing Happens When You Do it Every Day
It was making a habit out of writing daily, making it a priority in my life, that had the greatest impact on improving my writing.
There are thousands of tips out there for how to be a better writer. You’ve read the books or at least heard of them. There are articles and lists, websites (yes, like this one), and short courses that say do this, do that, write sideways or upside down. Write in a park, or try a café, use a thesaurus, make sure you use spell-check…
All of that advice does have value. Sometimes, you’ll find a golden writing tip that works perfectly for you, but it’s rare for those tips to prove helpful for everyone. Only a very few bits of advice are truly applicable for every writer across the board, and writing daily is first and foremost among them.
What are You Waiting For?
It almost seems obvious if you think about it. You want to be a writer, so uh, yeah, you should write. A lot. Yet many people who say they want to be writers don’t.
Daily writing is by far the best way to become better at your craft. Writing regularly will even increase your creativity. Some people worry that if they write too often, they’ll run out of ideas. But the truth is that the more you create, the more creative you become. Writing daily will only give you more writing ideas than ever before.
Are there a few extra-specially talented writers out there who can just produce mind-boggling work without practicing regularly? Of course; they’re prodigies. Should you let a day go by without writing a single word? Yes, occasionally, that’s probably a good thing to do. A little break now and then can give you some perspective. It can rejuvenate you.
If your goal is better writing, then commit to writing every single day. Whether you write for five minutes or an hour, doing it daily ingrains writing as a regular part of your life. Stick with it and eventually, you’ll master it.
So, keep on writing (every single day)!
Do you write every day? Occasionally? Only when you feel like it? How has your writing frequency improved or affected the quality of your writing? Do you have any tips to share that will help others produce better writing? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
Melissa Donovan is a website designer and copywriter. She writes fiction and poetry and is the founder and editor of Writing Forward, a blog packed with creative writing tips and ideas.
I suppose writing blog comments doesn’t really count, huh? (grin)
Good points you make. I don’t write creatively every day. Probably why I make my living doing other things.
I tried writing creatively every day for a few years, and I realized it wasn’t for me. It made me frustrated and didnt improve my writing. My best writing is inspired, not forced. I just have to go with the muse and not get mad that she sometimes plays hide and seek.
@Deb, I totally think they count! In fact one of the many reasons I started blogging was to make sure that I write every day. Now, I don’t blog every day, but blogging has definitely increased how much I write! Yeah, I think it helps me improve even more because on top of just writing, I’m writing for an audience, which puts a whole new slant on it!
@Amy, I don’t write creatively every day either. Actually, I find that no matter what I write, my work gets better if I write something each day. I have a long way to go with fiction… maybe I should start a fiction blog. That could be very helpful.
@ Deb, I agree with Melissa too – when I comment I (usually) try to write something positive, something unique, in my own style. And sometimes it is grammatically correct…
I will say I get a lot of ideas and encouragement from the interactions on the blogs. That in itself is more than money can buy, I think.
PS – this is a great post Melissa! Thank you so much.
@Deb and Brett, I misread and that’s what I get for being in such a hurry today. I thought Deb’s comment just said “blogs” and I do think those count.
As for comments, I think it depends on how much thought goes into a comment. I’ve seen some pretty long well-written comments that could stand alone, especially over at Men with Pens, where commenting has reached a new art form.
Since I started my fiction blog, my writing has improved a little -I’m humble and stuff, you should read my earlier work, I wouldn’t even dare feeding it to the dogs.
Writing each day, or at least every week, makes you think more about story lines, about character development, etc. just because each day, week you need new material. You’re pushing yourself to explore that brain even without Muse.
@Manictastic, I don’t even want to show what I’m writing now because I know next month I’ll look back and think it was terrible. That’s a writer’s plight, I suppose.
I completely agree with this! The more I write, the better I am at it.
Absolutely – as with anything – practice makes perfect.
Really? I always say “practice makes nearly perfect”, haha. Maybe I have a stricter definition for perfect.
But yeah. Certainly, if you do something every day, and you are constantly looking for ways to improve whatever you are doing, you are going to get better and better.
.-= Kelvin Kao´s last blog ..One Thousand and One Nights of Stupid Stories =-.
It’s true – “practice makes nearly perfect.” But that just doesn’t have the same ring to it
I have a teacher who always says, “Perfect practice makes perfect.”
Your teacher is wise.
Thanks for the great post. I think the other point here is that most people who have a ‘talent’ for writing are people who have unconsciously been training in it but haven’t really realised what they’ve done. They are people who always read, who listen avidly and catch others phrases, and generally have a love of language. However, informal training only takes you so far and then the hard work begins. Thanks for sharing this experience with us.
.-= Cassandra Jade´s last blog ..Writer’s Block =-.
Hi Cassandra, I couldn’t agree more, especially when it comes to reading. That is the best way for a writer to start absorbing language. I would definitely say that reading is good training for writers. Thanks!
I totally agree with you Melissa, writing daily is really important.
Whilst at school I would write reasonably regularly but whilst studying Journalism at university I had to write every day, whether it was an essay, a news article, a feature article or a press release.
Now I write every day and I do feel that it has an impact on my writing skills, it helps to improve in small ways such as increasing my vocabulary.
I think that’s awesome. Writing is like anything – the more you practice, the better you get.
When I struggle to write (those moments of writer’s block), I either pick up a book or browse through my feedreader. That usually inspires me to create new content!
Me too. Actually, I’ll even watch a movie or listen to some music. Seems like any art will inspire me to write
Hehe… You know what gets me going? Cirque du Soleil. I’ll usually pop in a dvd and either watch it or just listen to it. Either way, that usually gets me going…
I absolutely love Cirque du Soleil, though I’ve never been able to go see the show in person. It’s definitely inspiring — and amazing what the acrobats can do!
Ok, now, if you’ll excuse my poor english, (i’m a french canadian) I’ll explain in a few brisk words what I’ve been doing with my writing all my life. I was the kind of writer to wright only when I felt like it or when the words urge me to trow on paper everything out of my throat before i would screem it out loud. But a year ago, I decided to work full time on my writing. I thought it would be easier than what I had imagine. I started to write everyday, a novel actually, humph, I thoutht I would nail it in a year or two, boy was I wrong. As I reread my stuff I felt it needed more work, and the more I read it the more i worked on it, but then I came to doubt myself, I was unsure of my skills so I stoped for a while, but the urge of telling what’s inside took over me, so I took a course of creative writing, freewriting helped me a lot, I love it. Since then I work everyday, not on my novel, but I just write, poetry, short stories (“nouvelle” you call in french). My work as improve, I see a big difference, I read a lot, I write and write, even if it’s only two lines, a paragraph, a nonsense story. I know I need to work harder and harder, my library of books is growing, I bye about every book I can find on technics of wrinting. Now I know that you can be born with talent, but talent needs hard work, just like a talented athlet who train everyday for the olympics, I know I have to train my brain everyday to be a better writer.
You’ve definitely unlocked the secret of successful writing: hard work. Keep it up!
I have a question: Do many people use digital recorders for writing? I first began experiment with “cassette” recorders back when I heard that Robert Heinlien (Sci Fi writer) dictated all of his books. And I have found over the years that when writing words on a page there is an entirely different relationship between the writer and the “work”. When you “speak” your work into a digital recorder (and they are very cheap and very small these days) you can more quickly visualize scenes, action and activity. I find that when I am writing on the page, I often become entranced with the actual words, metaphors and graphic “drama” happening in front of my eye. This seems to get bypassed when using a recorder. Just curious if many writers out there are trying this. Especially with the new software like “Dragon” you can quickly turn your hour long recording into a prose document.
I personally don’t use this method, but I’m interested in trying it. Maybe when I upgrade my smart phone.
I’ve got to chime in here. The old adage which used to be cited when it came to sports or music, and especially theater – rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal – applies here as well – as with anything, really. “Practice makes perfect.”
How do you expect to get better at writing if you don’t write?
So true!
I immediately think of the late comedian George Carlin (who was also a decent writer), who joked, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, man, practice!”
Our version of Carnegie Hall is to get published and to continue being published for as long as we care to write. I try to write every day, even if it’s simply a thoughtful response to posts on the internet.
My career as a professional writer for hire actually began because I hung out so often in the Apple forum on AOL, back in the early 1990s. When the hosts of the room hit a ‘quiet spot,’ I’d fill with something for them and do my best to get the conversation started again. I wrote games for the room, asked provocative questions, and generally did everything I could to support them. They recommended me to their boss, and the moment Apple’s online service (eWorld) went live, I was told to download the client software and GET ONLINE NOW — because I’d been HIRED! They sent me a contract on the spot, and I worked 80 hour weeks to provide a wealth of content in their chatrooms and forums. I lasted until they finally threw in the towel and killed eWorld, as well as Apple on AOL, which meant I’d even outlasted the guy who was running Apple during the non-Jobs years.
The moral of the story is, you can NEVER predict where your writing skills will lead you, so sharpen them as much as you can, as often as you can — and then write like your life depends upon it, because someday it *will.* (My writing kept our family financially afloat for those four years, and even though it was the hardest thing I’ve done intellectually and even physically because of carpal tunnel problems, I do not regret one keystroke.)
I love your story. It’s inspiring to all writers and it’s so true: you never know where your writing will take you. Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Cardinal Robbins.
It really isn’t rocket science, is it, although it does bear regular repeating: daily writing nourishes the creative muse. I always notice a difference in my writing when I’ve stepped away from it for a week or more. The flow isn’t there, the quality has diminished, the characters are more stilted. Thanks for this reminder, Melissa.
You’re welcome! Keep at it!
in my opinion writing, not only is the most diffcult for learners of english such as me but also learners afraid of this part in english i dont know why , but i will start just today to write daily ,i hope im not a flash in the pan . thanks for your good advice
Good luck to you vahed!
Awesome advice. This is the same reason National Novel Writing Month is so popular. Better writing comes from writing more often.
I’m a huge fan of NaNoWriMo. I’ve only participated in it once but I’m thinking about doing it again next year, depending on where I am with my projects.
You did it – I’m inspired. I’ve always known that writing frequently improves writing skills because I am an English professor and teach advanced writing. However, I also know that writing is hard and doing it daily is a challenge. You are persuasive though, and I am going to give it a shot. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thanks, Darin. I agree that writing is hard work. I’m often exhausted after an intense one-hour writing session, but it’s also extremely rewarding! Good luck with your writing.