Post: 3 ways to become a disciplined daily writer

daily writer

Some people write for the sheer pleasure of it. Others are paid to do a job. Still, others write in the hopes of one day giving the world a bestseller. In fact, you might find yourself simultaneously in several of these categories. In any event, if you do not have discipline to write, you’ll no doubt procrastinate, miss deadlines or simply give it up as a hobby or career altogether.

Becoming disciplined as a daily writer can be challenging. There are a few ways to inculcate self-discipline as a writing habit, however. The more consistent you are in practicing these habits, the more disciplined you’ll become. The more disciplined you become, the better you will write. 

To be disciplined as a writer, treat it like a job even if it isn’t one

A famous writer once said that he wrote whenever he was inspired, and he saw to it that he was inspired every day at 9 in the morning. Most writers would appreciate the humor in this statement. Great writers, however, will also see its wisdom. It’s about discipline. Whether someone pays to write or not, if you want to excel in writing, you must determine when and how often you will write, then stick to the plan as though it is your job. 

Think of it as an assigned duty that you must carry out each day. Decide how much time you will block out for writing, then do not allow distractions when the time comes.

Develop warm-up exercises before tackling the ‘serious’ writing

If you are an athlete, you don’t just run out onto the court, field or track without warming up first. Well, on occasion you might, but then you are at great risk for injury. Similarly, you will improve your writing if you develop a disciplined way to warm up before each writing session. 

To do this, you might commit to using creative prompts that you can easily find online to write several types of story intros, endings or paragraphs. You might also warm-up by writing in a personal journal, themed or not. You can also use editing or revision exercises to warm-up to write by reviewing something you have written in the past and taking a ‘red pen’ to it. Spending a few minutes doing pre-writing exercises builds discipline and helps you become a better writer. 

Set a minimum time on a timer

To be a disciplined daily writer, you’ll want to be specific about the time you spend writing. At the least, you’ll want to determine a minimum amount of time that you wish to commit to writing. If you feel particularly inspired and have more time to spare, you can go over your set time, but never under it. Set a timer and write until the alarm sounds or keep writing but don’t stop until the timer goes off. 

With diligence, persistence and consistency, you can become a disciplined daily writer.