This guide is for people who already know they want to make writing a habit. But how do you go from someone who knows they want to write to someone who sits down to write every day?
Guide: How to start a writing habit by Peter Suhm
-
Set a writing goal Set an ambitious yet realistic goal. I write at least five hundred words per day, but even a hundred daily words add up to almost 40,000 words in a year. Keep the tools simple, and just start writing.
-
Maintain a streak Write every day if that’s your goal. Ideally at the same time every day, so it becomes a habit. Build a writing streak that hurts to break. Track your streak.
-
Write, don’t publish The main reason you have writer’s block is because you’re writing with publishing in mind. Forget about publishing and write for the sake of writing. Most of your words should be going into the bin. Otherwise, you’re spending too much energy editing while you write.
-
Lower your standards Because you worry about publishing your work, your standards are too high. Find your baseline standard where you feel like you can write forever. Get comfortable with really ugly writing for the first draft
-
Write like you speak If you don’t know what to write, just write like you speak. No one gets talker’s block. If you really don’t know what to write, live-transcribe your thoughts to get some words down on paper.
-
Rank your priorities Rank your writing priorities so you don’t end up with nothing but journal entries if that’s not your goal. Always try to make progress on your most important writing priorities, but use lower-priority writing to make sure you hit your word count and keep momentum.
I’ve realized my thoughts don’t really evolve until I get them out of my head. They either stay the same vague idea, or they disappear. The only way my ideas evolve is by talking about them, either directly with another human or by writing about them. I’m always surprised by how much more there is to an idea once I start talking about it.