Don't Write Every Day

I’m going to give you what I suspect is the most controversial piece of writing advice I will ever give:

Don’t write every day. (Or, perhaps more appropriately, you don’t have to write every day.) 

This goes against the vast majority of popular writing advice, which often advocates for schedules, discipline, and seeking out inspiration rather than waiting for it to come to you. Already I can hear the throngs of writers in their outrage: “You won’t finish anything if you don’t write every day!”  they cry. “If I only sat down to write when I was in the mood, I’d never get anything done!” 

But of course, these writers are missing two key points: 

1) The point of advice is to take what you need and leave the rest. (Ie: nobody is forcing you to take this advice if you don’t like it.)
2) Productivity is not the sole purpose of writing. 

So I maintain my stance: you don’t have to write every day. You don’t need a schedule. You don’t need a daily or weekly or monthly progress goal to meet. You are allowed to simply write whenever you feel like it, or jump from project to project, whether you’ve finished it or not.  

The key thing to remember is that writing is a choice, not a chore. And if it starts feeling like a chore, you need to pull back and let yourself choose when to start up again. You aren’t doing yourself any favours by forcing yourself to do it—just let it be fun. 

I get that this advice sits on top of a very slippery slope. Consistency is key to improvement and progress. And considering that many writers (myself included) dream of turning their craft into a career, a part of that will eventually mean incorporating a certain level of discipline into your writing routine.  

The problem is, at least when it comes to fiction, there is no secret job board, no 9-to-5 position we can just go out and apply for. Our writing starts on the side, during lunch breaks and on weekends. It doesn’t pay the bills, so in the meantime, we need to keep a day job. And a day job will inevitably decrease the amount of free time we have to spend on anything, including writing. 

Writing is not my day job. I have a different job—a full-time, 40-hour-a-week job. I want writing to be my job, but I don’t want writing to be my second job. I don’t want a second job at all. I put in my hours, I get my cheque. I don’t want to spend all my free time stressing about another chore, I want to spend time doing whatever I want. Sometimes, that may be writing. I may spend all evening writing. Other times, I may spend all evening playing video games, watching movies, or reading a book. Some people live for The Hustle; I am not one of those people. 

“Hobby” isn’t a bad word. You can let writing be a hobby, something you do when you’re in the mood. It doesn’t have to be a career that you’re actively pursuing all of the time. It can also be both—as your goals or life circumstances change, so too should your approach to writing. You should be changing your writing habits to fit your lifestyle, not the other way around. 

The fact that “write every day” is so prevalent as advice is the very reason I feel the need to advocate for the opposite. My goal is to be your validation, the voice to reaffirm that the way you’re doing things—so long as it works for you—is good enough. 

I don’t stress about writing every day. I set an alarm for a reminder, but if I’m busy, or tired, or just not in the mood, I’m not gonna worry about it. Will it take me longer to reach my ultimate goal? Yeah, obviously. But I’d rather take the extra time and enjoy myself than put myself under undue stress during the process. And if I can enjoy the process, isn’t that the better option? 

Say it with me, kids: writing is a choice, not a chore. Let yourself have some fun. 

Until later,

-Justyne