Your writing practices are not unlike your diet and exercise habits. You’ll get the best results if you start slow and develop a regular routine.
This doesn’t mean you have to do the same thing every day. Sure, you may be working on a novel, but you can take breaks to write poetry or essays. If you don’t have a project in the works, then do some writing exercises. I have found blogging to be an excellent way to ensure that I write consistently, especially between projects.
On Journaling
One of the easiest, most natural, and creative ways to commit to writing and produce better writing over time is to keep a writing journal or notebook.
Writers who are not working at the professional level are juggling their writing projects with full-time jobs, families, school, and a host of other obligations. Writers also get stuck. You’re working on a manuscript and then one day, the ideas just stop flowing. You decide to step away for a day or two, and three months later, you’ve practically forgotten all about that book you were writing. In fact, you can’t remember the last time you sat down and actually wrote something.
Journal writing is many things, but first and foremost, it’s a solution. Journaling is best known for its artistry and is highly recognized for its self-help (vent-and-rant) benefits. But few young or new writers realize that a journal is a writer’s most sacred space. It’s a place where you can jot down or flesh out ideas, where you can freewrite or work on writing exercises when you’re blocked, and where you can scribble notes when you’re short on time. It’s a space where you can develop better writing skills and learn new techniques through trial and error.
The truth is, you don’t have to write every single day to be a professional or published writer. Daily writing is the best practice, but many writers keep a regular, five-day work week. A few writers get their work done by writing heavily for a few months, then not writing at all for a while. But this truth is self-evident: those who succeed treat their writing as a job and they commit to it.
Journal writing is an ideal way for writers to fulfill that commitment. When you keep a journal, you rid yourself of excuses. You can no longer say that you’re stuck on a plot twist because you can write in your journal until the plot becomes untwisted. In fact, writing in your journal may help you do just that. When you’re short on time, you can always turn to your journal for a quick, ten-minute writing session, even while larger projects are sitting on the back burner. And your journal is distraction free, so you can stay focused during your writing sessions.
Do you have to keep a journal in order to succeed and become a professional or published writer? No, of course not. There are many paths to professional writing, and there are many ways to improve your writing. Journal writing is just one trail on the mountain, but it’s a trail that is entrenched with the footprints of successful writers throughout history who have benefited from journaling.
Here are some tips for journaling:
· Stock up on journals, notebooks, and pens.
· Try different products and find what you like best.
· Try using different notebooks for different projects, and try using a single notebook for all your writing projects.
· Keep a notebook and pen or some other writing tool with you at all times.
You can keep a journal on your computer, or you can use an old typewriter if that appeals to you. But most writers use a good, old-fashioned notebook: pen and paper. While we can certainly crank out more words when we type, we are also at risk for the many distractions of the computer and the Internet. When your journal writing sessions are offline, your productivity may increase tenfold because you spend the entire session writing. After all, your journal doesn’t have Twitter or solitaire on it.
Chapter Two: Writing
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