Consistency is the Key to Success: The Most Important Writing Lesson for Aspiring Writers

If you’ve been following my site regularly, you’d know that I value consistency more than anything else in the writing process.

If I were to preach only one thing on sylviesoul.com it would be for all writers, old or new, aspiring or established, to practice consistency. It is my mantra and hope by the time you finish reading this, it will be your mantra as well.

There’s That C-word Again…What is Consistency?

The Cambridge dictionary website defines consistency as “the state or condition of always happening or behaving in the same way.”

In other words, consistency is about engaging in a practice with little variation of said practice.

In the case of writers, this could be something as basic as a daily writing routine. In my case, it’s making sure that I stay consistent with weekly written posts.

But obviously, the benefits of consistency go far beyond the realm of the written word.

Consider, for instance, an individual who wants to alter their physical appearance through exercise. The wrong way to go about it would be to hit the gym only once in a while and clock in a 3-hour intense workout. Aside from gaining some sore muscles, the individual would likely not receive any long-term benefits from the session.

Contrast that with the individual who opts to show up to the gym every day. Maybe they only spend 45 minutes working out, but the practice of just showing up and the discipline doing the work consistently will eventually yield visible, long-term results.

The takeaway from this is that consistency beats intensity, in physical fitness and in other facets of life. With consistent practice, results don’t come right away; they come with continuous effort.

“Consistency, thou art a jewel”

The best visual example of this is a cartoon showing two men in a cave digging a tunnel. The man in the bottom tunnel gives up digging when he is MERE inches away from reaching the treasure he wants to obtain.

The man in the top, however, is still very much hungry, and though he is farther away from the jewel cache, if he persists, he will eventually be rewarded and reap the fruits of his labour.

MYTH: There are NO Overnight Successes

This seems to be the biggest myth fed to the masses. The idea that all it takes is one chance encounter, one pivotal moment in time to change your life forever.

This is absolutely not true. Most people only see the popular author plastered on best-selling lists; they don’t see the years of toil before that moment, the failed books that didn’t take off, the rejections that stymied their progress and shook their confidence.

Like a good book, we only like to hear about the enticing, sexy parts; we don’t hear about the boring, monotonous parts that led up to the moment of glory. But they are just as important, if not more important in the grand scheme of things.

We may not want to know how the sausage is made, but it is necessary to get us to the delicious final product (how’s that for an analogy?!)

Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come. — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

For another example outside the realm of literature: consider the rise to stardom of comedian/film star Kevin Hart.

Nowadays, you can’t go anywhere without seeing him mixed and matched with the various crème de la crème of Hollywood — the Rock, Ice Cube, Will Ferrell, John Travolta.

You may look at his meteoric rise to stardom and think he just appeared out of nowhere.

But no — Kevin Hart’s first foray into Hollywood was as the lead in the critically panned box office bomb Soul Plane.

Kevin Hart had a bumpy start, but through hard work and perseverance, he eventually landed the big roles once again, and now his is a household name.

So it can’t be overstated that while consistency lays the groundwork for success, one must also work hard and also have a little bit of luck on their side. With those three factors combined, success may not be immediate, but with a little bit of grit and patience, it can be all but guaranteed.

Just remember: you can’t write that novel if you don’t put words to a page. If you want to succeed as a writer, you have to write.

So show up every day. Even if it’s just for 100 words. Even if it’s just a sentence or a fragment of an unfinished idea. WRITE.

Continuously condition those muscles and I promise you, one day, you will see results.