In it for the long game. Writing advice that works.

I have come across a lot of writing advice, some that worked, some that did not.

When you are starting out writing online, it can be hard to understand what advice is worth listening to. It can be hard to know where to start. It can be even harder when you are not hit with instant overnight success.

It doesn’t have to be hard, but you need to be in it for the long game, and here is the first main lesson I learned.

Writing every day

There is plenty of different views and advice both for and against this. For me, the key to writing every day, for at least 60 days, provides you with three key lessons.

Firstly Life is too short to be spending time being miserable

We have all been there, stuck in jobs where we are counting the hours until the end of Friday so we can enjoy our two days of freedom, before dragging ourselves back into 5 more days of misery.

Life is too short to not be doing what you love and enjoy.

What writing every day over the last 58 days has helped me understand, is no matter what my mood, whether I am over the moon, or mentally exhausted. Once I start writing, I feel relaxed. I enjoy it.

This has been the best gift I could have given myself. The gift of finding something I truly enjoy, and so can you. Worst case you will write every day for 60 days and at the end of it, you may hate writing.

That is fine, it’s not for you. At least you tried, and you can go on to try something else, in the hope of finding something that brings you joy. Something I believe we all deserve.

Writing every day, consistently in the beginning will help you understand if this is something you will enjoy doing. If you don’t enjoy the process, the journey will end up being just as miserable as your 9 to 5, you are trying to get away from.

Secondly, you are starting to build a good habit

Over the last decade, I have tried and failed around several personal projects, most of which came down to not sticking with it. Not giving myself enough time to understand if this was worth pursuing or not.

I wanted to become a game designer, I started, watched guides, videos, reams of advice. Stuck at it for a good few weeks. Then stopped.

Now every day without fail, I write. Almost a part of it is automatic.

Especially when you are just starting, building a good habit, all starts from taking small actions each and every day.

Do you want to be a writer? You need to write. Those who write are writers.

If you want to get a more in-depth look into how to start creating and sticking with good habits, I would recommend checking out, James Clears Atomic Habits.

Thirdly you are laying the foundation for your future

The start of any new craft and career is important. Through writing every day, you will be growing as a writer. You will be discovering your voice. Experimenting with different styles. Finding the right categories and audience for your writing.

There are moments throughout this journey you will need to reflect and to an extent review yourself. To ensure you are continually growing as a writer. To understand which of your writing resonates with people and why.

I would argue that only after you have been writing every day for at least 30 days should you even start looking into your stats.

In the beginning, you should be hyperfocused on one thing, writing. Spending your time staring at your stats, as I did in the first week, will end up making you feel like you have not accomplished anything.

“Why has my first post not had 1 million views?!” I had thought to myself. It got 1 view. We all seem to be in a rush to get to the finish line and hit success as fast as possible. If we slow down to focus on one task at a time and start to enjoy the process, in the long term the results will come.

So you want to be a writer?

Take that very first step, and write your first post today. It might not be a masterpiece, like me you might only get 1 view. You are however taking the first step in many in your journey in becoming a great writer.