Do I Have to Write Everyday?

Another month, another series! This month, I want to talk about writing: how to become better at writing, how to effectively set writing goals, and much more. So many people love writing, but when it comes down to it, it can be tough to get started. Writing can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In this series, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to really jump into writing. Thanks for joining me! You can see all posts in this series by clicking here. 

Here’s a question I get a lot—from my family, from my friends, from comments on this blog, in writing groups, everywhere:

Do I need to write everyday? I struggle to find time and I often hear that writers write every single day. What does that mean?

Here’s the thing about writing every single day: some people can do this and be fine; some people do this and get burnt out fast; some people do this and don’t think about it; some people have to take time training themselves to write everyday without feeling like it’s a chore.

Where you fall on that massive spectrum is up to you.

But here’s my answer: you don’t have write every single day to be a writer, become a better writer, or even write a novel. But you should work on writing at least every week and focus on building your creativity every single day (even if that isn’t in the form of writing).

Here’s why: creativity is a muscle. The more you work it, the easier it will be to call on it.

When you take care of yourself every day—give your brain plenty of rest, good food, take your medication, whatever you need to be a human—it will be easier to call on your creativity when it’s time to write.

Here’s what that process looks like for me. I try to journal every single day, but I’ll be honest: I fell into a pretty serious depression starting in September and as a result, I let go of journaling. I needed to be focused on healing myself and feeling better. So, when it need, I drop journaling. Otherwise, I try to at least read for 15 minutes everyday, stop using my phone after 6pm (this one is hard), and do something creative (write, embroider, whatever) every single day.

I do write every single day in that I write blog posts, social media for clients, and more. I can’t really stop doing that unless I quit my job(s). However, outside of work, I do try to at least thing a little bit about writing and flex my creativity muscles.

All of this is to say: you don’t have to write every day. But the issue isn’t necessarily writing every day, but being creative every single day. You might work on characters; you might research and read books that you like or that are related to your story; you might draw or paint.

So, I think the answer to the question is ultimately this: it depends on you as a person; you should try to at least be creative in some way everyday; your mental health comes first, always; and if writing everyday works for you, then go for it, hun.

Want more about writing everyday? Here are a few blog posts I liked on the subject:

• 9 Steps to Writing Everyday

• How to Write Everyday

• Why You Need to Write Every Day

• “Write Every Day” is Bad Advice

5 Writing Prompts to Get Your Creativity Flowing Every Day

The most important part of writing is doing it.

I’m actually not a fan of the old adage that you should write everyday, regardless of how you feel. If that works for you, then gah bless ya, as they save. It actually is something I practice myself—but I recognize that sometimes the amount I write day-to-day isn’t sustainable or healthy, and my desire to write everyday sometimes doesn’t come from having anything to write about, but rather a feeling that I “need to get things done.” There is also, of course, the fact that my writing is what pays my bills at this point.

This is all to say: if you want to write more, but the thought of having to write every single day to take yourself seriously is overwhelming and stops you, please know you don’t have to write literally every day.

It also goes without saying that it isn’t sustainable to try to write all day every single day. Like I said, writing pays my bills—but I’m not writing 8 hours a day.

If you are looking to write more frequently, or even every day, it can be really easy to get writer’s block. But sometimes all you need is to write something once and then the rest starts flowing. I like to do short writing exercises in the morning. I have a few books I pull from: Coffee Break Writing, The Story of My Life, and 52 Lists for Calm are 3 I keep on my desk to pull and work on. After that, I usually feel good enough to head into my work tasks.

I have a few other prompts that I keep on hand for when one of those 3 books just isn’t doing it for me. I thought I’d share my 5 favorites to help you get started in developing a writing habit!

1. Write a List

No, not your to do list (although you should do that too, trust me, if only to get a handle on your time management skills.)

Sometimes, I write a list of whatever I’m thinking about: things I’m thinking about; funny tweets I’ve seen; books I want to read; tv shows I’ve been meaning to watch. Other times, I write more creative lists, like: my favorite flowers & what they look like; my favorite smells; things that remind me of my childhood Christmas; or things in coffee shops that annoy me.

How long I make the list is entirely dependent on how into it I get. Sometimes, they end up quite long. Other times, quite short. Sometimes, writing those lists will inspire me to write something else: a poem about Forrest or a blog post or an Instagram caption. Either way, they’ve done their job. Plus, it’s nice to have a bunch of lists to look back on.

2. Read Something You Love—then Reimagine It

This can be anything: read an article, a poem, a section of a book, a scene in a movie—and write a short reimagining of it. Write The Hunger Games from Gale’s perspective. Rewrite that famous William Carlos Williams poem. Turn Harry Potter into a story about Penelope Clearwater. Take Frankenstein’s monster and put him in Brooklyn, 2020. Whatever you choose, reimagine it as something else entirely—whatever that means to you.

If what I imagine is longer than what I can write in the 30-40 minutes I’ve given myself, I often just write a synopsis or a few bullet points about what would change. Sometimes, I’ll write one short scene of it or a prose poem. If I’m reimagining a poem, I might write it as an Instagram post or a TikTok video. It helps me think differently, make something new out of something very familiar. Be playful. Have fun. This is just for you.

3. Write American Sentences

What are American Sentences you ask? American Sentences were invented by Allen Ginsberg, as a 17-syllable sentence that mimics a haiku. (Haikus follow the 5-7-5 syllable rule; added together, it’s 17 syllables total.) This is a good rundown on American Sentences that has a ton of examples.

American Sentences require you to think carefully about what you’re trying to convey in your writing, as well as the rhythm of the words themselves. To me, it’s very helpful to write this way because it forces me to be more concise and direct. (You may have noticed my tendency towards being verbose. No apologies.) For me, it’s fun to play with language in this way when no one is looking—and it helps me feel more creative. Read some examples and try your hand at writing a few. I think you’ll be surprised!

4. Reread Your Old Writing

Whenever I’m feeling particularly stuck, I go and reread something I’ve written. At least once a year, I reread my former NaNoWriMo novels—and often find myself rewriting parts of them, tweaking the storyline or descriptions. I also will sometimes reread stories I started, but never finished. A prime example is a short story I’m currently working on, that I actually started nearly a year ago; I considered working on it for NaNoWriMo, but couldn’t nail down a plot. I reread it recently and started working on it again—getting an idea for at least 10,000 words.

Sometimes, rereading things we’ve written before will give us new ideas—or at least give us a few minutes of working on something that reenergizes us. This kind of writing specifically is helpful because it works on editing, which is a valuable skill we all need.

5. Write About the Weather

Recently, I started a weather journal. This was partly inspired by Nick Cave, but mostly was just a way for me to journal without putting pressure on myself to actually produce something or write something meaningful. Very often writing about the weather turns into me writing something else—things I want to remember, things I’m doing, what Forrest is up to, how I’m feeling.

Every day, write about the weather as you see it from where you are: what do you see? What do you smell? How did you have to dress that day? What does it remind you of? Describe it. Use all your senses! It doesn’t have to be more than a paragraph or two, but it feels like a lot at the end—and might give you ideas for something else to write about.

3 Tips for Staying Motivated During NaNoWriMo

I’ll say one thing about NaNoWriMo that might be a little controversial: I don’t actually think it’s that much of a challenge.

Put down your pitchforks. In terms of a challenge for writing, it’s not that much of a challenge literally, on paper. If you, like me, are paid to write, then writing 1,666 words a day isn’t a stretch. On average, one of my blog posts in 1,000 words or so; if I write one and a half blog posts a day, I meet that goal easy. If I write a marketing strategy for a client, they average about 5,000 words; I have tripled that. If I write email marketing for a client, at 300-500 words per email, I meet that goal in 4 emails or so. If you think about NaNoWriMo in pure word counts, it’s really not that hard.

The challenge, of course, always mental. People sabotage themselves by editing through NaNoWriMo, deciding they don’t like a plot line or a character or how they’ve written something. It goes without saying: NaNoWriMo is not the time to perfect your story. Save that for December, or better yet, January! NaNoWriMo is about word vomiting 50,000 words into existence.

I had a minor tiff with someone in a writing group this past week who was upset at people talking about NaNo being an opportunity to just get 50,000 words out. “I write with intention,” they said, “with the idea that I won’t need to edit it at the end.”

Whew! Girl, have a seat! No one cares!

If you write with the intention that you’ll never need a 2nd draft, first of all, good luck with that. (It’s literally not possible. Every story you’ve ever read has been meticulously edited not just once or twice, but 10+ times. I guarantee it.) But if you go into NaNoWriMo with that mindset, you’re going to have an even worse time. Why? Because you’ll get behind fast; you’ll second guess yourself; you won’t be able to meet the goal.

So how can you stay motivated during NaNoWriMo to just write, write, write without second guessing what you’ve written? Let’s talk strategies, my writing darlings!

1. Write Without Looking.

Don’t go back and read what you’ve written. Period. End of story. If it helps, once you’re done with a scene… turn the font color to white so you actually can’t look at it. I followed this tip for my first 2 NaNoWriMos because the urge to go back and change things was so strong.

Basically, the less you go back and read what you’ve written the better. If you need to remember a specific detail (did I say the walls were grey or green?) then search for it using the search function in your word processor… don’t start reading past scenes. You’ll only get stuck in the quagmire of self doubt. Remember: it’s a first draft, not a last draft. No one is asking you to write a perfect novel… just 50,000 words.

2. Use Placeholders to Advance the Plot if you Need To

Sometimes, when I’m writing, I’ll get stuck. I need to write a transition scene, but I can’t think of one yet—but I do know exactly how I want the next scene to go. So, here goes a placeholder: [TRANSITION SCENE] or [KEYWORD SCENE].

Placeholders are the perfect solution from getting stuck on something for minutes, hours, or even days. If you stick in a placeholder, you can quickly hit your goal and give yourself time to think of that scene, then go back and add it in. This method isn’t perfect; you can use placeholders too much (cut to me with a word doc of ALL placeholders, scream crying into the abyss). I limit myself to one per chapter, with the intention to go back and fill it in within at least two or three days.

3. Follow Your Outline

Oh, you don’t have an outline? I won’t judge you for being a pantser; my first NaNoWriMo was a pants situation. About halfway through, I forgot my main character’s last name and I had list the single sheet of notes where I’d written this information. So I wrote a new last name. Is this novel good? No. Does it have a plot? Also no. Do I recommend this method to anyone who wants to actually finish NaNoWriMo? Definitely no.

I’m a firm believer in planning. I even have a free NaNoWriMo guide to write the easiest possible outline in the world. If you have an outline, you’ll never get stuck; you’ll never find yourself 10,000 words in wondering where to go next. If you have an outline and character details in place in advance, you’re going to be fine; your only challenges will be mentally getting over a few hurdles.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo? Tell me how you’re doing!

Why I Got Rid of All My Notebooks

I've been receiving notebooks as gifts for as long as I can remember. Well, as long as I was telling people I wanted to be a writer. Notebooks are easy gifts: they can be beautiful, they can be practical, and it's an easy writing accessory that everyone understands. 

As someone who has kept a journal my entire life, these notebook gifts have been a blessing, honestly. I've rarely had to buy my own journals, especially if someone goes above-and-beyond and gives me a Moleskine for Christmas. However, it also has meant that I've always had a surplus of notebooks. 

In fact, this surplus started to get really embarrassing when I was pregnant. I unearthed a box of blank notebooks while getting organized and cleaning out Forrest's room. I had a stack of empty notebooks on my desk, on the bookshelf in my office, in a drawer under my desk... I had notebooks. I had notebooks upon notebooks. I had more notebooks than I would ever use in my life. Why? Because I cannot hand write fiction, or poetry, or anything. The only thing I use notebooks for is journaling. And a girl can only journal so much. 

It was time to bite the bullet. I always wanted to be the kind of person who could quietly sit with a notebook and write a story. At least get out the bare bones of it. I like journaling by hand and I like taking notes; I like writing out my grocery lists and to do lists. But trying to describe something, to actually write, by hand is a huge challenge for me. I know myself well enough now to know that it's just never going to happen. That's fine! 

So I had to get rid of all those notebooks. 

Some of them were beautiful, and expensive. Some of them I had bought myself, sure that the "right notebook" would spur my creativity. Some were cheap ones I'd bought in the last days of School Supply sales. Some were gifts. Some were party favors, or I received free from work. 

They all went. Into a box, that went to Goodwill, that hopefully sold them to someone who needed them, who can actually write in a notebook. It felt weird to let go of them, to let go of the idea of the kind of person I thought I could try to be. 

Writing with a Toddler: How to Win NaNoWriMo & More

As another NaNoWriMo check in: I officially won NaNoWriMo on Thanksgiving Day!

I hit a small snag when I copied & pasted my 50,100 word novel into the NaNoWriMo validator and was told I'd only written 49,600 words. I copied and pasted again and, again, was told I'd written 49,800 words. Ok, so at least it went up. 

The word count validator was broken, NaNoWriMo.org didn't believe me on Twitter, and it was a huge pain. I wrote an additional 600 word scene, while screeching at my husband and homph-gomphing some extra coffee, and got validated, but I'm still mad. 

Why am I still mad? 

Because writing with a toddler is really, really hard. 

Writing 1600 extra words per day with a toddler is a challenge that I'm not entirely sure why I took on, but I did it. 

And I did it exactly 5 days before the deadline. 

I'm sorry, but I'm very impressed with myself right now. 

I'm somewhat less than impressed that I've blogged what? Five times in November alongside NaNoWriMo? That's a big oops, but in my defense, November has been quite the month, personally and socially, so it's to be expected. 

When it comes to writing with a toddler, I find myself constantly challenged. I'm creative all day at my day job and when I get home, I'm pretty much moving nonstop. I'm playing with Forrest; I'm making dinner; I'm cleaning as I go. It's hard to be creative when you're mentally and emotionally wiped out, that's for sure.

But when it comes to writing, I set a few rules for myself. 

1. I try to set aside 30-60 minutes every evening to write.

This might be when Forrest is spending time with Danny, post-dinner but pre-bedtime. Or this might be when Forrest is already asleep. If I have important chores to do (like vacuuming, laundry, or deep cleaning the kitchen), I put them off until later in the evening. I make myself write--whether it's for NaNoWriMo or work, my blog or in my journal--for at least 30 minutes. It just has to be done. 

During NaNoWriMo, by keeping this schedule, I really improved my word count. I also found that if I got Forrest to nap while I wore him in our Ergo, I could get a solid 45 minute (or more!) writing time in. It all adds up. 

2. Don't worry about writing when your toddler awake. 

Maybe it's just me, but I know myself and I know my child. I cannot get anything done with him during the day. I can lightly clean the kitchen, keep him fed and clean, and work on organizing downstairs. But the minute I try to sit down, he's all over me. If I'm on the couch with my laptop, he wants the laptop. If I'm at the kitchen counter with my laptop, he's standing at the gate crying because I'm not with him. If I try to write while I'm feeding him lunch, he's yelling because he needs all of my attention. That's how it is with toddlers. And really, I'd rather get him to repeat "all done" or play pattycake than write anyway. 

3. Give yourself a break.

You know what? There are some days where I just can't write. Where I'm just so tired (Forrest is teething or he refused to eat all day, or we had doctor's appointments, or whatever) that I can't do anything else. On those days, I curl up on the couch and watch the Simpsons, or I run a nice bath, grab my Kindle, and turn on my favorite podcast. And you know what? I don't beat myself up. It's ok! You can't get everything done! That's fine. Forgive yourself. 

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Follow Up: Is It Possible to NaNoWriMo with a Newborn?

Months ago, in the time I refer to as "pre-Forrest," I wrote a little post about attempting NaNoWriMo the month after Forrest was born. At the time, I really felt like NaNoWriMo was both possible and totally impossible. So much of it depended on "how things were going" with the baby and, as I've written before, I had no reason to believe I wouldn't have the absolutely perfect little darling newborn. 

I got a comment recently on that old post about whether I succeeded at NaNoWriMo. In November of 2015, I had fully planned to write follow up posts--but if you go back in my archives, you'll see I posted only 3 times in an entire month. So that's how that went. 

I realize, however, that I never actually wrote a follow up. So here it is, nearly a year later. My NaNoWriMo with a newborn follow up. 

Did I Succeed? 

When it comes to success at NaNoWriMo, the deciding factor is, obviously, did I hit 50,000 words? The answer is no, I didn't. So I failed. 

However, I did write about 20,000 words in the first 2 weeks of November. That is obviously Not the Goal, but it's a sizable enough number, especially given the fact that I was caring for a very fresh little human, pumping every 2 hours, and taking care of a house. For the first 2 weeks of November, Forrest still slept relatively well in his swing for naps, so I could squeeze in 30-40 minutes of writing before I had to hold him and watch TV. (Not that I minded.) By the second week, however, he was rebelling against the swing, so I took to wearing him in my Boba wrap to write. This worked reasonably well until he started to hate the Boba wrap, so I was relegated to the couch again. 

In November, Forrest was still quite small and sleeping a lot--like, most of the day. If I got a few spare minutes, I was eating or making another pot of coffee or trying to clean up my house. I stopped worrying about NaNoWriMo and thus, gave up on it. 

I got about halfway there, which is farther than some people get. And, full disclosure, I also pumped about 800 ounces of breast milk in November, so who's a failure really? 

What I Learned

Life is nothing without lessons. Whenever I don't do as well at something as I expected, I try to at least take some kind of lesson from it. So, if you're expecting a baby and thinking of attempting NaNoWriMo with your newborn (or just-out-of-that newborn stage baby), here are my suggestions: 

• Be realistic. Not every baby will nap independently as a newborn. Some babies are great sleepers, but poor eaters, which means you have to keep a diligent eating schedule. If you are having your baby right before November, you have no idea what kind of baby your baby will be, so set realistic goals for yourself. 
• Know that you'll be exhausted. This goes without saying, but if you have a few spare moments to sleep, you'll take them--versus writing.
• Get a good wrap or baby carrier. I love my Ergo (I wish I'd gotten it instead of the Boba wrap). I still wear Forrest for naps in the Ergo now. It's easy to sit and work, or wash dishes, or do all kinds of things while you baby wear. 
•  It's ok if you don't "succeed." Realistically, you might not hit the goal, but if you try, you've still at least tried something. 
• At the end of the day, flexing your creative muscles, in whatever capacity you can, will keep you feeling human, even when your life is taken over by the tiniest, meanest boss you've ever had. 

Have you attempted NaNoWriMo with a newborn or young infant? Tell me about it on Twitter @michellelocke_! 

Preparing for NaNoWriMo in 3 Easy Steps

Are you a NaNoWriMo newbie? 

Take it from someone who has won three (four? I can't even remember) times: preparing for NaNoWriMo is a way of life. I mean, if you want it to be. 

The truth is that you're just as likely to "win" NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month) whether you dive in without a minute of planning or spend a month outlining, scene building, and character mapping. But that doesn't mean you should jump in willy-nilly. If you're really dedicated to writing a 50,000 word novel in November, planning should be part of your process. 

Here are my tips for a successful NaNoWriMo November. 

1. Plan your time.

What's your November look like, time wise, really?

For those in the U.S., November is a holiday month. I've always struggled with NaNoWriMo during the week of Thanksgiving. Be honest with yourself: how much time can you see yourself dedicating to writing (and I mean, really writing) every single day? 30 minutes? An hour?

My goal has always been to spend 30 minutes to an hour every weekday after dinner writing, hopefully to my daily goal (1,700 words). On weekends, I try to dedicate two hours to writing--with the intention to get as many words on the page as possible. This has always worked well for me: on weekends, I can often write 5,000-7,000 words ahead of my goal, which means when Thanksgiving rolls around, I don't wake up at 1am in a cold sweat realizing that I'm now 4,000 words behind my goal. 

2. Write an outline. 

Depending on how you like to write, this might not be an option you love. But hear me out! I'm not typically an outline writer either. I usually like to have a rough idea of what I want to say, what my characters are like, and that's about it. But when it comes to NaNoWriMo, that just won't do. 

When it comes to NaNoWriMo, you have to think of it like this: it's more of a brain dump than a novel. I know, I know, unpopular opinion. But it's true! When trying to get 50,000 words on the page, you eventually have to settle for any words on the page. And that's much easier to reign in when you have an outline. 

I recommend dividing your rough idea into 10 chapters. Each chapter needs to be at least 5,000 words to hit your goal. Now, write down 5 scenes (1,000 words each) that you want to take place in each chapter. 

Why does this work? Eventually in November, you're going to forget a day, get sick, get tired, or just plain hit a wall. You can always glance at your outline, pick a scene, and write... and at least hit your goal for the day. 

Then you can worry about editing later... like in December. 

3. Get support.

Talk to your friends, your family, your cat or dog. Tell them about your novel; get them pumped about it. Describe the plot, the characters, the setting. Tell them you how much time you want to dedicate to writing everyday. 

Why? you ask. So they can hold you accountable. When you decide to ditch writing for after dinner drinks, you might notice your literature-loving coworker giving you side-eye. "How's the novel?" She'll ask and you'll remember: you're writing a book that she's excited about too. 

The more support you have, the more your friends and family know about your goal, the more they can help you to reach it. That might mean watching your little ones (if you've got 'em) for an hour while you write, or taking your dog for a walk, or promising to bring you a bottle of wine and a pizza after you finish your writing. Start talking about it now and you'll breeze through that novel this November. 

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Do  you have your own tips for preparing for NaNoWriMo? Share with me on Twitter or in the comments below!