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What I Learned From Writing Every Day for a Year.

How Much Do Writers Need to Write?

By Moni V.Published 3 years ago 8 min read
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What I Learned From Writing Every Day for a Year.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

“The process of writing a novel is like taking a journey by boat. You have to continually set yourself on course. If you get distracted or allow yourself to drift, you will never make it to the destination. It's not like highly defined train tracks or a highway; this is a path that you are creating discovering." - Walter Mosley

I have been a writer since I could hold a pen, yet even after spending years writing for international blogs, being called from my bosses every time there was a need for "something written to showcase", being used by colleagues to write "that poem" or help them with "that letter", I did not consider myself a "writer". Why? Who knows. Maybe it's because I have a ginormous ego with very strict ideas on the matter?

I believed writers were only those who published a book. And not just any book. Fiction, that was the only real candidate in my limited mind. My publishing a poem Collection -an example is here- and a little Dog Training Manual I was asked to publish -example here- were still not enough to consider myself a professional writer. Not even close.

In one word, a writer was anyone who wrote for a living, except me. Ok, you're right, that was more than one word! 

Anyhow, as I decided to quit what I was doing to "become a real writer", I also did what every "real writer" does: I began to read every writing suggestion, best writing advice, and real authors writing tips I could get my eyes on. I enrolled in writing classes, master classes, editing classes and bought every book on writing I could get my hands on. And practiced, a lot.

What did I learn from all the information I dove into? I learned the following: the most important tip about writing is to do what works best for you (and me in this case).

Writing courses and tips are awesome and really necessary to get the infrastructure of writing and, if used to find our place as writers. You know, that thing called our voice. That thing making us different and special from other writers. Which is what, ultimately, we strive to achieve; be a writer like no others. So if you want to learn about writing, read every tip you can find, read every Pulitzer you can read, write in every style you can manage to write in and then throw them out and find out what writer you are.

Blogs are my weak spot. I do not perform well. My performance is in stories. Weird, fantastic, rule bending almost real-life stories not following the rules yet rewriting them in more subtle ways. Blogging and creating listicles bores me to death. Most of the time. So I blog only when I really feel something about the subject.

Personally, I had to give up a few things I really loved after studying "real writing". One of them being the English language. I am bilingual but the language I perform best at writing is Italian. In Italian my words flow, swirl, float and make building blocks my brain is not capable of creating in English. I believe it comes from attending early creative writing classes and classic studies in Latin and Greek while growing up, compared to lots of Business English and Academic writing classes I attended later on in life. It simply shaped my brain differently.

What else?

Here's the thing. Most blogs on writing and most "serious" writers say you ought to write at least 1.000 words a day to be successful, meaning you should write no less than 1.000 words a day to become a better and more accurate writer, to finish that novel, to post that blog… You name it.

Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters. - Neil Gaiman

I tried, yet I just don't work that way. Also, I can't follow someone else's voice; not anymore at least and that, I believe, is a very good thing. I have my own, peculiar, different way of writing about a subject now. Thank God many successful "real" writers don't follow strict rules either; that's what makes them better, the ability to use knowledge and rules to their own advantage. Makes me feel less lonely in my craziness.

So, do I write 1.000 words a day? No. I write a lot more. Most of the time. The rest of it I don't write at all! Why?

Because I discovered I need to write when I feel like it. And yes most of the time that is exactly every day because I truly love writing. Especially fiction.

But.

But sometimes I just don't feel like it. I have a "no-write-day", or I did not sleep well, or I'm not feeling good, or I am worried about something big occurring in my life I need to sort through before sitting in front of a blank page. So I do not write. At all. 

In the past I used to force myself, I followed other people's advice and did my best to get, at least, those 1.000 words in. Now I don't anymore. I grew up and trust my own process. 

Here is why.

Forcing myself to write works when I'm blocked by some type of writer's anxiety, or some logistics in my story; when I feel unsure on how to proceed on the spot. In that case, writing helps me break through a wall. I might not produce anything real good, but I do move forwards and that is often enough to help me go in the desired direction and later on fix the writing to my liking.

On the other hand, if I force myself when I don't feel like writing, I write real crap! And that crap does not help my overall self-esteem or creativity. It injures it (remember that ego talk I hinted to earlier?).

Also, when I do feel like writing (which happens most days) I can get between 5.000 and 7.000 words in a day like nothing. So I guess I can look at it like some kind of words storage for rainy days.

As I said, I love writing and now, instead of forcing something that's not happening, I let myself be what I need to be.

Some days I need physical exercise, so I go out and work in my field, or in my garden, or run; others I need to rest and nothing more. So I do. Maybe I use that time to read a new book and still learn how to write better. Or go on a long walk and let my brain clear up. Anything helping me to be me.

This protocol of learning to listen to myself and my needs has made me a better writer and person, decreased stress levels, and taught me to feel more compassion for myself. In four words: my life improved tremendously (count them, it's really four!). Also, when I take my mind off of my novel or story, I often end up with exactly what I need to move on, of finish a piece I was stuck on. I still "write", just not on paper. I became a writer inside.

Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it. - Margareth Atwood

More and better results with less and more focused work.

Currently, I am finishing my first memoir, I am half way thought a 'horror-fantasy' short story collection and still manage to get a few blogs in every week (both in English and in Italian), write some poems here and there, participate in literary contests in my mother tongue and, on top of it, work as a translator and Italian Editor. 

All of this wile taking all the time off I feel I need which, I admit, is not much, but it's a result of doing what I feel I need to be doing. 

It was a hard choice to make in the beginning but after seeing the results I decided to go all in and follow my inner instincts. And it worked.  

What about you, should you write every day?

By now you will know the answer. It depends.

Take your time and listen to yourself. How do you like working? When do you perform best? Are you really needing time off the blank page or are you using it as an excuse to get away from your fears?

I believe we all know how to best be what we're supposed to be and when. We forgot how to do this due to how fast and requesting the world has become, but inside, in that silent place, we know what we want, we know the truth of us and the truth of our desires and needs. Following them is where it becomes harder.

Fun Fact

More and more countries in Europe are realizing that adding work time does not equal to adding performance, on the contrary, it depletes it. Therefore, having employees work fewer hours has shown to get more work done and less sick time or extra time off request. In many countries governments have issued special incentives for companies to cut work to 4 days a week keeping paychecks the same. So far every single company obtained the exact same results: an improvement in performance. This mean people worked better, and more, in less time. Or, to reframe it to what my understanding is: more personal time improves working performance. Duh!

That says a lot. Think about it. It's profound at so many levels!

Conclusions

Do what you can to follow your personal, inner rhythm. When you achieve a state of flow what you do becomes almost as natural as breathing. Then stress flows away and what is left is fulfillment.

There's no rush to achieve such a state, it is a one step at the time kind of thing. Try things out, see how it works for you, and if you need to write those 1.000 words a day, go ahead and do so. As long as it helps you, you are doing the right thing! In the end, we all want to become better at what we love doing best. 

By Daniel Andrade on Unsplash

If you found this article useful consider liking, sharing and tipping. All types of love are appreciated. Moni V.

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About the Creator

Moni V.

Author, Poet, Editor, Story-teller and Tales-chaser. There is no fiction when a story knocks at your door, only revisions of events. Even those occurred only in someone's mind.

For Italian readers find me at moniv.club

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