Your Struggle To Write Consistently Ends Today

“It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because, by that time, I was too famous.”- Robert Benchley

It will be like beating a dead horse if I start by saying that consistent writing is an essential part of growing as a writer.

The no.1 problem with writers is not talent — it’s consistency.

Writing is a one-ingredient recipe. [Yes, now you got it.] Rest everything falls in its place once you start showing up daily.

“But how do I write every day?”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“What do I write about?”

Yes, you may ask that. And that is what I will answer for you. To write without fail, you must play with your mind and set the mood for the task.

How? Let me show you my way.

#1. I surround myself with ideas.

Literally.

You might laugh at them, but that’s okay—anything for you.

For me, writing is like an itch that I need to scratch. Once I have an idea, I HAVE TO write it. So, I sprinkle my poison ivy all around the house. The moment I see them, my writer mode is on.

Here are some places I visibly plant my ideas:

My kitchen doesn’t just store food; it also holds ideas:

I tear unused pages and clip them to jot down things I need to restock. That sits on my microwave. So, if I am doing a chore and stumble upon an idea, I quickly jot it down there.

And then there’s my post-it note on the fridge too! That’s a more on-my-face thing — it keeps staring back at me.

‘Writing Crumbs’ (my WhatsApp group) pinned at the top:

Sometimes, I have nothing to jot down on. Just the phone. So, I made a group using my hubby’s number (and then mercilessly removed him the next second ;D).

Every time I have an idea, it goes here. And later to my planner.

Most importantly, I have it pinned. So, whenever I open my WhatsApp, I see a writing idea!

The notepad twins:

The first — a bedside notepad. I read before going to sleep. And, quite naturally, many ideas pop up when you read books. Where to park them? Yes, so I have it handy.

And two — besides the laptop. A permanent fixture, I guess, for all of us.

The idea is simple. When you surround yourself with ideas, you cannot help but crawl into the writer’s skin. It is a pull you cannot ignore.

#2. I soak one seed overnight, daily.

It is the best piece of advice I can give here.

The dreaded question that haunts most writers when they start the day is ‘what do I write?’ Don’t be in that situation.

Here’s how I escape this problem.

What I do is every night, I rummage in the plethora of ideas (that I have strewn all around) and pick one.

For example, I had this idea — ‘waited 39 years to turn 40/n reasons I am celebrating’.

Before I hit the bed, I took two minutes and jotted some rough pointers:

- Don’t give a rat’s a** about what others think about me

- Love the compliments

- Forgive/forget- live light

- Don’t need others to make me happy.

The following day I knew exactly what to start with. So I picked from where I had left the previous night, flexed the idea some more, and my LinkedIn post was ready in 20–25 minutes!

And once I start writing, one thing leads to another, and my day sails by smoothly.

Start doing this, and you will thank me later because this will save you tons of kick-starting time.

#3. I penalize myself for missing a day.

This idea is similar to what they do in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) groups. They give coins/tokens as a reminder of their sobriety.

But in my case, I want to be addicted. So, I pat myself every time I am high by putting a BIG tick (& smiley) on my tracker sheet. But if I fail, I have to start all over again.

Tell me, would you dare skip a day of writing when you are at 89, 278, or a staggering 439? And start from 1? NEVER!

And yes, I allow myself the leeway to scale down a few days when I have something else to attend. But, less or more, writing has to happen — every day.

It may be a Medium story, a LinkedIn post, a tweet, or even a journal page — anything that involves writing.

But let me tell you one thing: after a certain point, you would need no motivation to write daily. It will come naturally.

In fact, you will be addicted!

Finally…

So, here they are — the quirky ideas that keep me on track every day.

But frankly, I have no more issues with writing consistently. It’s ingrained in me now. So for me, it is more about writing productively now.

But yes, there were days when I felt lost thinking about what to write. And it is a dreadful feeling. I know of many writers who have expressed their anxiety.

It is all about just doing it and then doing it the next day. And the next.

Everything else falls in place.