Three Crucial Writing Skills You Learn From Writing Every Day

How daily writing does more than increase your word count

Photo by Adam Tinworth on Unsplash

If you have not yet committed to writing every day (or at least aspire to write every day while making reasonable exceptions), please know that you are missing out. Writing every day is not just about so-called “productivity.” While it will increase your word count output, that is not the only reason to try and develop a regular, daily writing routine.

Writing every day, even a modest amount, teaches and strengthens several important writing skills that will serve you well in your writing life and career: how to write despite inspiration and writer’s block, always find the time, and speed up your writing development.

Let’s explore below…

Writing without inspiration

When you write every day you cannot wait for inspiration to hit before putting your fingers to the keyboard. Most writers, when they first start dabbling with creative writing as a passion or hobby, usually write from a place of inspiration. They have an idea and they want to get it out. But they may not be sure what to do or how to move forward when that initial spurt of inspiration runs out.

The good thing is that while inspiration is fickle, discipline is not. When you learn not to rely on inspiration, you come up with strategies instead.

Maybe it’s having the perfect playlist and cup of tea to get your creative juices flowing. Maybe it’s having a rigid outline so you know what happens next. Maybe it’s journaling. Maybe it’s rereading the last ten pages of what you’ve written before you get going again. Strategies are very much “different strokes for different folks,” but writing every day requires that you find and develop the strategies that work for you to write even when inspiration is dry.

Making time to write

There has been a lot said about so-called “finding time to write” versus “making time to write.” When you form a daily writing routine, you’ll be on the latter’s side, realizing it is all about making time to write.

There has also been a lot said about carving out this ideal writing space and…