School is over and the summer days are finally approaching. Do you know what that means for the college writer? It’s time to write again. Some writers meet this period with a breath of fresh air. After all, writing a story during the semester is hectic. Believe me, I know. I tried writing a short story for a contest with finals around the corner. I finished the story, but I didn’t finish totally unscathed.
The arrival of summer can mean access to an untapped source of free time that most people don’t know what to do with. But for writers, it’s time to starting writing again. However, this opportunity can often come with an obstacle. Some writers ask themselves, “How do I get back into writing after not doing it for a long time?”
I have a recommendation that's worked for me:
Write. Every. Day.
The topic of writing every day vs writing only when inspired is certainly something constantly debated. Many writers rely on inspiration—waiting for the muse to whisper in their ears to enable them to write with blinding speed.
However, these moments of productivity are often accompanied by long periods of unproductivity where the writer actively allow themselves to not write because they don’t feel like it.
What often follows this lack of motivation is disheartening thoughts. When I only wrote when inspired, I was constantly feeling bad about starting stories and never finishing them. I felt depressed because I spent years following a dream of being a writer, and I had nothing to show for it.
I personally consider inspiration a fool's tool. Inspiration is great for kickstarting projects, but many people believe they're required feelings to accomplish feats such as writing a novel. I think these are flawed mindsets because inspiration is too unpredictable to account for, and thus people don't get things done as consistently.
But you know what has a better track record for helping with finishing writing projects?
Habit.
Habits feel more natural. With habit, the willingness to write is more innate and automatic. Additionally, habit can create a more sustainable sense of motivation for writers to start and finish their projects.
Habit building won’t happen in a day, but it can start with one. Just writing for 30 minutes every day has helped me overcome an overwhelming lack of motivation. It allowed me to finish writing projects on a more consistent basis.
Despite road bumps and a slow start, I wrote every day during that writing contest I mentioned earlier and submitted a piece I felt strongly about.
So, whether you’re writing a novel, short story, or any kind of writing, consider writing a little bit every day. The results for me were astonishing, and I only wish I started sooner.
