We are always bombarded by well-meaning “rules” on being a good, if not better, writer. One of these is that a writer must write every day.
I won’t rattle off all the reasons why, because they are all reasonable and hold true, the most being that a daily writing goal helps writers stay on task and produce work.
This means that whatever story or novel you’re working on, you remain absorbed in your plot and your characters, preventing any gap in writing which may make you forget the sequence of scenes or dialogues.
Write Every Day = Joy Every Day
But writing every day should be a joyous task, not a heavy burden, for a writer. If it becomes so, there will come a time when creativity will dwindle because writing becomes forced, not freely given or brought out spontaneously.
For some, writing every day works until it doesn’t, which may result to burnout.
This is why some writers do not write every day, aside from various reasons such as jobs, chores, life situations, and others. And it is totally acceptable and extremely understandable.
Write Every Day – Or Don’t
Don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t written a single word today.
I love this writing advice because it came from a writer who has been there, done that: he wrote every day, until he didn’t, learning from his experience:
Write every day if you want to, and it feels right to do so. Or don’t.
Because you see, all those writing rules are really just “guides” for you to discern, learn, and implement your own writing process. As every person is unique, so is every writer.
Ultimately, only you know what works best for you as a writer. Don’t let anyone else tell you different.
Ultimately, only you know what works best for you as a writer.