Even the best-intentioned writers will give not-so-great advice. The one I hear often is on the subject of writing and whether or not it should happen daily? The short answer is, no, it doesn’t need to happen every single day. If you’re looking for a much longer and more in-depth answer, read on young squire, read on.
I get a lot of inspiration for work, the people I’m around, and simply getting to daydream. My breaks are built in so I can’t write everyday.
I do like prompts to spur some ideas for off the way compositions though and have one in the works. It’s good to step away and take the world in. Even writers need to unplug.
I participate in the #vss365 daily writing prompt on Twitter, combined with picture prompts I get from an app I have done this every day for several months, almost a year in fact. It gives me a daily sense of achievement even if I do nothing else, exercises my writing muscle and is relatively testing yet easy enough to complete whatever else the day brings. I also journal daily, and have done for around 6 years.
I guess if you writing dozens of emails a day "writing," then I write everyday. However, by the time I get home from work I'm burned out and do not want to write anymore. I retire in 2 years and I'm looking forward to my time being my own and maybe I will write something every day.
I try to but can’t. So no I don’t write every day. I think it works out for the best because I can brainstorm more meaningful ways to convey the story or idea.
Very pleased to see this attitude becoming more commonplace. Until fairly recently the prevailing wisdom was that if you didn't write every day, then you weren't a real writer.
I suspect that advice tended to come from white, middle-class men, who these days will be aged 60+.
Most people simply can't write every day, for all sorts of reasons. Lots of very valid reasons, too. I actually think that writing every day can be a highly selfish act, especially if you have family responsibilities. Finding a balance and a way to fit writing in and around your life is critical - it shouldn't push out your life, or expect others in your life to take over so you can Indulge Your Art.
There's also a n aspect that is massively overlooked by proponents of Write Every Day Culture, which is that most of my best ideas have occurred to me *in between* writing sessions. Especially with serialisation, having a few days built-in, in-between writing sessions, has actively improve my books. If I'd been churning out words every day I wouldn't have given my brain space to percolate all those thoughts and ideas.
All that said, I do tend to write every day now, but that's having slowly and healthily built up the habit over the last six-or-so years. And by 'write every day', that can mean anything from an entire 2000 word chapter to a single sentence. Trying to force yourself into the habit when you're just starting out is a recipe for disaster, though, and makes you feel like a failure when it inevitably proves not to be possible due to the fact that you're a mum, or a dad, or have a mortgage to pay, or friends to see, etc.
Ahem. It's an issue I feel quite passionately about, as you can probably tell. :P I don't believe in the notion that artists should suffer for their art; healthy writers = better books.
Long-ish answer: No, I can't even if I wanted to — and I don't want to. I love reading Seth Godin and he writes (or it's better to say that he publishes) a blog post every day, but that's it. As you mentioned, to write better, you need to read more and gain more experience and understand more.
Writing without reading/consuming content/experiencing stuff is like cooking without ingredients... It doesn't work.
Do I Need to Write Everyday?
I get a lot of inspiration for work, the people I’m around, and simply getting to daydream. My breaks are built in so I can’t write everyday.
I do like prompts to spur some ideas for off the way compositions though and have one in the works. It’s good to step away and take the world in. Even writers need to unplug.
I participate in the #vss365 daily writing prompt on Twitter, combined with picture prompts I get from an app I have done this every day for several months, almost a year in fact. It gives me a daily sense of achievement even if I do nothing else, exercises my writing muscle and is relatively testing yet easy enough to complete whatever else the day brings. I also journal daily, and have done for around 6 years.
I guess if you writing dozens of emails a day "writing," then I write everyday. However, by the time I get home from work I'm burned out and do not want to write anymore. I retire in 2 years and I'm looking forward to my time being my own and maybe I will write something every day.
I try to but can’t. So no I don’t write every day. I think it works out for the best because I can brainstorm more meaningful ways to convey the story or idea.
Very pleased to see this attitude becoming more commonplace. Until fairly recently the prevailing wisdom was that if you didn't write every day, then you weren't a real writer.
I suspect that advice tended to come from white, middle-class men, who these days will be aged 60+.
Most people simply can't write every day, for all sorts of reasons. Lots of very valid reasons, too. I actually think that writing every day can be a highly selfish act, especially if you have family responsibilities. Finding a balance and a way to fit writing in and around your life is critical - it shouldn't push out your life, or expect others in your life to take over so you can Indulge Your Art.
There's also a n aspect that is massively overlooked by proponents of Write Every Day Culture, which is that most of my best ideas have occurred to me *in between* writing sessions. Especially with serialisation, having a few days built-in, in-between writing sessions, has actively improve my books. If I'd been churning out words every day I wouldn't have given my brain space to percolate all those thoughts and ideas.
All that said, I do tend to write every day now, but that's having slowly and healthily built up the habit over the last six-or-so years. And by 'write every day', that can mean anything from an entire 2000 word chapter to a single sentence. Trying to force yourself into the habit when you're just starting out is a recipe for disaster, though, and makes you feel like a failure when it inevitably proves not to be possible due to the fact that you're a mum, or a dad, or have a mortgage to pay, or friends to see, etc.
Ahem. It's an issue I feel quite passionately about, as you can probably tell. :P I don't believe in the notion that artists should suffer for their art; healthy writers = better books.
Short answer: NO!
Long-ish answer: No, I can't even if I wanted to — and I don't want to. I love reading Seth Godin and he writes (or it's better to say that he publishes) a blog post every day, but that's it. As you mentioned, to write better, you need to read more and gain more experience and understand more.
Writing without reading/consuming content/experiencing stuff is like cooking without ingredients... It doesn't work.