One of the most prolific pieces of writing advice is to write each and every day. While writing every day might work great for some, the reality is that it isn’t an effective piece of writing advice for most people. Maybe you have a job, spouse, kids or social life that doesn’t quite allow for seven straight days of writing. Fortunately, writing is not an all-or-nothing game.
If writing every day of the week isn’t working for you, it’s time to throw that advice out and try something new. Consider some of the following a jumping-off point, because it’s up to you to create the writing life you want.
Become a weekend warrior
Still working a 9-to-5 while chasing your dreams of being a writer? It’s a unique challenge that can feel impossible to balance at times. The important thing to remember is that not all things in life are balanced purposely, and sometimes you might have to dedicate more time and space to a specific task in your life. In this example, work.
But that doesn’t mean you have to throw writing out of the window just because you have another job. If the rush of the workweek makes it too difficult to get your head into the writing game, shift your focus to the weekend. Create a word count goal for yourself to hit on Saturday and Sunday and try it out for at least a month. You might be pleasantly surprised at how much writing you can fit into a weekend!
Focus on the week, not the days
If the idea of creating a schedule of specific writing days is overwhelming, consider shifting your focus off of the day and onto the week. The premise for this one is fairly simple—set a word count goal for the whole week and then simply write when you feel up to it or have time.
This approach gives you the freedom and flexibility to write around your current life while still sticking to a regular goal. It is also great if your weekly schedule is inconsistent.
Prioritize yourself
Popular writing advice like writing every day exists for a reason, and that is because it was largely effective for some people. That doesn’t mean it works for everyone though. Learning how to prioritize yourself and your writing will help you sort through the writing advice to find what works best for you.
