A Little Goes a Long Way

We tell ourselves we’re going to write every day for a month, or even two months. However long you decide. The first week is going strong. You’re halfway through week two, when—

You miss a day.

Suddenly, your streak is ruined and you feel like a failure. You might as well throw this challenge out the window. You want to give up.

Don’t. Just don’t.

For one thing, you’re not a failure if you don’t write every single day. And, also, don’t feel as though you have to write thousands every day. A little goes a long way.

A valuable piece of writing advice that I find to be true is to at least “touch” your writing every day. Even if that means you only write 100 words — that’s something! And you know what? If you keep that up for one hundred days you will have 10,000 words by the end of it! (Check out Go Teen Writers 100-for-100 challenge)

One hundred words may not sound like a lot. But it’s something. And those 100 words can add up to a lot. Especially when, on the flip side, you would’ve given up, or skipped a day, or decided writing wasn’t worth the trouble that day. More times then not, when you sit down to write — even with the expectation of only writing one hundred words — you get way more written then you would have thought! All because you made the commitment to write one hundred words.

You see, everyone lives a busy life or at least goes through busy times. On those days it’s easy to say, “I don’t have time,” or “there’s something else I should be doing.” Maybe you are too busy in certain seasons of your life. I am not saying don’t take breaks, I’m simply challenging you to “touch” your writing daily and see the difference it makes.

If you’re writing a novel then you know, the more you take breaks from it, the more you’ll feel detached from it. It’s easy to take breaks, easier than sitting down and actually writing. I get that. But when you think of the long run, you see that building the discipline right now is so important.

If your goal is publication then whether you traditional or indie publish, you are going to be on some sot of deadline. You cannot take years to complete one novel. You have to write.

But you don’t have to write tons. All you have to do is write a little bit and, who knows, maybe you’ll end up writing more.

The point is, you don’t have to be the next Arthur Conan Doyle and write three thousand words every day. You just have to find a rhythm that works for you. You have to find a pattern, a schedule, that fits your lifestyle and helps you not give up on your writing.

Because that’s the ultimate point here — never give up on your writing.

Your turn!

Do you feel you have to write tons every day? Have you ever done Go Teen Writer’s 100-for-100 challenge? Do you skip quality writing days because you believe the lie that you must write thousands to make it worth it?

Blessings, Allyson