Starting to write every day

And so, the project to become a better writer begins. Step one: actually write. Not occasionally, but Every. Single. Day. (Well, every work day, to be precise.) Why? Because writing has become too intimidating to me, too precious. Something I only do when I have a Very Important Idea to convey. Which means I don’t write that often (I rarely have Important Ideas). Which means I get out of practice, making starting again rough. And then when I finally do try to write, there’s a ton of pressure to say something... “worthy”. Which, yeah, is not a formula for success. I can’t be a writer if I only write once in a while! 

The first step to becoming a better writer is to actually start writing, and to do it a lot more. I need to make it less “precious” and turn it into a regular habit. Following the advice of countless writers, I gave myself the goal to write every workday this year. Nothing big. Just take 15-30 minutes at the beginning of each workday and write something. Write about any topic, or even no topic! Just get words out of my head into my notebook. Without worrying about grammar or logic. Without thinking if what I was writing was interesting. Without worrying if it would ever be read. Just work those mental muscles and write for myself. My hope is that doing this will take the pressure off, and start to make writing feel like a casual, natural part of my day. And maybe allow me to actually start enjoying it.

I thought this first step was going to take a while. I figured I’d start for a few days then stop, then after a few weeks try again. But I was surprised. I started... and I have not yet stopped. For the past month, I’ve actually been writing every day. Really, I have! Even on those days when I don’t feel like it — oh, who am I kidding, I never feel like it! While I’m making my coffee, I am always trying to think up reasons (let’s be blunt: excuses) not to write. But once I walk up the stairs to my studio, I’ve (somehow) been able to ignore those excuses, and actually sit down and write. Has what I written been any good? Maybe? I don’t know, and honestly I don’t care. The action of typing out the words coming from my head, without thought of the consequence, has started to become easier and (dare I say it) enjoyable. It may seem silly to applaud myself for something so small. But you know what, even though it seems small, it’s a pretty big deal. I went from doing nothing, to do doing something. I proved to myself that writing every day was not only possible, but relatively easy. And that is worth feeling proud about.

I’m actually surprised it has gone as easily as it has. For years I’ve been saying I want to write more, without ever doing it. Every time I tried, I’d flounder for a bit then find something else to do. (And when you run your own business, there’s always something to work on.) But this year, I finally got fed up with those excuses and delays. I decided that either I do this and start writing, or I just forget about writing altogether. I focused my priorities, granted myself a little freedom, and out of my own way. Somehow, that threat knocked me into shape. 

Now that I’ve been writing pretty steadily, I think it is time to start the next phase of my grand plan. Instead of just writing about anything whatever comes to mind that day, I want to start writing about (drumroll please) specific topics. My plan is to start creating series of blog posts, each on a special topic. Nothing huge, just focused, specific ideas. I want to get better at taking a theme, no matter how small, and spinning it into a longer cohesive story.

Part of my argues that I should not do this yet. Writing about nothing in particular has been going so well, part of me wonders if I should just continue for a while longer. And maybe that part of me is right. But then again, I know myself. If I delay this next step, there’s a chance I’ll keep delaying it. I’ll always find some reason to not up the ante. Again and again. And I don’t want that to happen. 

So instead, I think I’ll jump in. Am I fully ready? No? Good. I’ll just pick my first topic, and start writing about it. Maybe it’ll go well, maybe it won’t. But either is fine, no? I mean, this is my own project, so I get to decide what success looks like. It doesn’t matter how bumpy the path is, as long as I keep moving down it. And I won’t stop doing my daily free-wheeling, free-associating writing. It’s too (dare I say it)... enjoyable. (How did that happen?) My guess is that the two kinds of writing, the unplanned and the planned, will have to learn to support each other, weaving in and out. It’ll be interesting to see!