For Aspiring Writers Who Procrastinate: It’s OK Not To Write Everyday!

                                                                     Photo credit goes to Stocksnap

I love writing.

I’ve always dreamed of being a great and respectable writer.

But I don’t dare calling myself a writer, though. Because I lack discipline.

I’ve heard and read many writing gurus insisting on the fact of writing everyday. Writing everyday a certain amount of words, generally between 300 and 1000, in order to become a decent writer.

Despite all my willpower and comittment to do that heavy lifting everyday writing the score of words required, I really can’t succeed at sticking to the practice.

Sometimes I feel that load of energy, that desire to spill my words containers, to play and noodle expressions and sentences to finally create something that has meaning or that I think is able to grab readers’ attention.

However, there are times when I feel unexcited or in bad mood to write something that could stand on feet.

I blame myself, and I can’t tell you how ashamed and depressed I feel about it.

There are times when I think that writing isn’t for me, and it will be less torturous to quit…and you might advise me that too. But even when I’m not writing I always dwell on writing and look for articles and ressources about writing.

So I find myself facing a dilemma: either I give up the dream of being a writer or I try another approach to keep the process viable and make incremental progress.

It was until I heard Cheryl Strayed in an interview with Marie Forleo on MarieTV saying “I am not an EVERYDAY writer” that I was a bit relieved, thinking “OK, so even successful writers don’t stick to the rule!”.

The author of the best-seller “WILD” insisted on the fact of being kind to yourself as a writer and there’s no reason to feel shame or tear yourself down:

“Only when I’m gentle with myself, can I actually really let go and do the work.[…] I don’t make shame part of my writing life” Cheryl Strayed

Because blaming yourself will get you anywhere. It will just keep your negative self talk-of failure and unworthiness-looping into your mind. And this will prevent you from focusing and improving your writing.

In her best-selling book ‘BIG MAGIC’ Elizabeth Gilbert told the story of her great novel ‘The Signature of All Thhings” she wrote after 3 years of adopting a new curious hobby: Gardening.

After a period of inspiration drought, Liz Gilbert followed her curiosity to plant in a backyard at her house different kinds of plants, which led her to begin searching the plants origins and history. She gathered information, traveled to different parts of the world, consulted horticultural libraries in Europe, looking for more information about botanical exploration.

Gilbert explained in her book that she had never been interested in having a garden or learning anything about gardening. But letting go with the new interest and following the clue of curiosity sparked her inspiration to write one of her greatest books.

“The whim was small enough that have ignored it. It barely had a pulse. But I didn’t ignore it. Instead, I followed that small clue of curiosity and I planted some things. […] My curiosity grew. What intrigued me, I realized, wasn’t so much my garden itself, but the botanical history behind it-a wild and little-known tale of trade and adventure and global intrigue. That could be a book right? Maybe?

I kept following the trail of curiosity. […] Three years of research and travel and investigation later, I finally sat down to begin writing The Signature of All Things- a novel about a fictional family of nineteenth-century botanical explorers.

It was a novel I never saw coming. It had started with nearly nothing” Elizabeth Gilbert

E. Gilbert hadn’t been writing every day for three years, and ended up writing a masterpiece.

Relieved by Strayed and Gilbert words, I decided to adopt two different approaches in order to better myself in writing and avoid beating myself up when I don’t write.

What you can do if you are in the same situation like me?

The Proactive Approach

You can set up a timeframe to write. Either in weekdays after work if you have a day job or on the weekend. 30 minutes or an hour a day is a good start.

The most important thing here is to prepare your mind for writing, because you know already that you scheduled an hour today to write. It’s among the tasks on your plate for the day.

After sitting to write, maybe you don’t know what to write about. So you need a warm-up.

Here’s a suggestion:

“I begin each writing session
 with a meditation and a free-write to loosen my imagination.
I free write through my senses in the moment-what I see, hear, touch, taste and feel. Afterwards, I’m ready to move into my manuscript” Anna Quinn

The options are multiple. But the most important thing here is to create like a routine to help you focus and squeeze your creativity juices.

For me as an example, what I like to do often is listening to classical or slow music while reading something inspiring like a poetry book, a writing magazine or songs lyrics.

Sometimes I do an uncensored stream of consciousness wishing to vomit on paper something worth writing about.

So try whatever you like for your warm-up to help you write something or continue on your project if you have already one.

The Incubation Approach

It’s the trigger scenario. You are looking for inspiration, for the a-ha moment.

Maybe you feel less motivated to write or some family/work problems are holding you back from thinking and writing or simply you have other preoccupations work/family/side hustle related.

The best thing here to keep the string attached to writing is: Keep a journal. And activate your curiosity and observation radar.

While preoccupied and absorbed by the things previously evoked, try to jot down ideas, to note some daily events, what you learned from conversations with others, from café gatherings with friends. In brief, document your life throughout that period.

I’ve come through this experience before. I have been documenting different events about a difficult period at work. Taking notes from meetings, recording managers’ quotes and visions, my colleagues mindsets and behaviors and everything that has happened during that period.Needless to dig deeper into the details.

With all the material and information gathered, I was able to begin a memoir project I’m still working on in french language to talk about those slices of my life that I have been recording for almost 3 years.

In other situations you can do plenty of other things, trying to spark your inspiration. Remember Gilbert’s story about her botanical novel.

Maybe you can be curious about a new activity or hobby. An adventure in a region you’ve never been before. Or simply catching up with a friend or a family member you haven’t seen for a long time. All this could light a kindle of creativity in you. Who knows?

In Conclusion

Try to write every day if you can.

If you skip some days it’s fine. Don’t blame yourself for it.

Try to take a breath, a walk, a coffee break or even a remote retreat to recharge and go back to your craft.

But in all cases, you must stand upright in front of your mirror, head held high, and affirm loudly and proudly: “I AM A WRITER”.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing!