Discovering the Power of Consistency: How Daily Writing Transforms Skill and Creativity
The Challenge and Charm of Daily Writing
Let’s explore my initial decision to write and publish every day, delving into the motivation and goals behind this commitment.
I decided to write and publish daily so I would hone my craft.
Let’s compare writing to learning something new like power lifting. There are many things that one needs to consider to even get started and then to succeed.
When I started with lifting, I needed to first of all set a goal. I wanted to become stronger. For writing this means I want to become a better writer. When setting a goal, there are many frameworks to chose from, the most popular is SMART. A goal has to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. With lifting weights, this is quite simple. The more you lift, the stronger you are. With writing it isn’t that simple. Or is it?
What if I start with just writing more. Like lifting or running, first I need to get into the habit. My goal therefore is straight forward. I will write, every day. I will publish every day. That can be measured, is achievable and also quite realisting. As I want to do it daily, for now, I also cover the timely aspect.
If I do that, I will improve. It will get easier. I might not become the world’s strongest person or best writer, but with practice, I will become better at it.
Navigating the Peaks and Valleys of Continuous Creativity
I want to share insights on the journey of writing daily, including the struggles and triumphs, and how it shapes my writing skills.
For a few months I have been writing weekly on my own blog. Before that I wrote regularily, but not under my own name. Since July I have been writing my morning pages daily, but only in my journal. Without this I wouldn’t be where I am now. I would not want to write and publish daily. This is similar to what I experienced with lifting weights. Only after practicing this for a while, starting to learn more about it, I fell in love with it and wanted more. I hope the same applies to writing in public daily. I want to fall in love with it.
The Evolution of a Writer: Lessons Learned from Daily Publishing
Let me now reflect on the tangible improvements in my writing, the lessons learned, and the unexpected joys of a disciplined writing practice.
Right now, I’m only at the beginning. I’m sharing my journey, to fail fast and learn. I want to be better and there is no other way than to write in public and accept the scrutiny of strangers.
I’m looking forward to learning lessons and to share my experiences. For now, I’m learning from successful writers. I revisit books I read in the past about writing, I’m doing Masterclasses.
Writing daily, is a tip from one of these books. One of these books is ‘The Art and Business of Online Writing’ by Nicolas Cole. On one of the last pages he writes:
“The questions is, do your habits reflect your desires?”
Writing daily will do that.
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My Action Items:
Reflect and Refine: Regularly review my work to understand your growth and areas for improvement.
Seek Feedback and Engage: Actively engage with readers and seek constructive feedback to enhance my writing.
Stay Inspired and Keep Learning: Continuously seek new sources of inspiration and keep learning about the craft to fuel my daily writing journey.