Welcome back, me! That's right, I'm back. Again. With a long-ish post this time. I'm going to talk about the idea that writers have to write everyday in order to...I guess be writers? And it will tie in a bit to why I haven't been posting as frequently or as actively.

So yeah, I've been MIA. No blog posts, not much social media presence, just sort of absent.

Why, you may ask?

I've been overwhelmed. Nothing wild, but within the past year I finished, edited, submitted, and got contracts for two novels and a short story. On top of that I wrote and submitted several other short stories. I would come home from work and write for at least two hours everyday. And you know what, it worked. But I feel like it kind of fried my brain a bit. Throw that in with the fact that now I'm trying to plan and do marketing, and live my life in the middle of a fucking pandemic, and my brain is a bit scattered (read: *the sound a balloon makes as it deflates*).

I started three novels this year so far and reached around 5K words across the three, which I'm proud of, but damn was it a slog to get that much out. Nothing like what it felt like when I was writing before. Different, and clunky. Like I was out back pushing my brain-mobile instead of just flooring the gas. I didn't feel rusty, or out of practice, I felt like I was trying to tap a source that ran dry. Same thing for blog posts and social media (which admittedly I've always been terrible at), nothing felt right to post and I really didn't want to waste people's time with whatever half-baked idea leaked out of my left ear.

So I took some time to myself.

All things considered, I guess once February ends it'll be three months of break. It's been nice, save the anxious voice in the back of my head telling me I should be writing everyday lest something terrible happen. I got back into gaming, one of my other passions, got my basement redone thanks to a ridiculously hardworking friend, caught up on/started some new shows, and otherwise just did...nothing. It was great. And during all this I let my brain recover. Now, I'm not a full time writer. I don't really have deadlines so it isn't imperative that I hop immediately to my next writing project. Take the rest of this post with that in mind. The rules change when there's...well, rules. But here's what not writing made me think about writing. “If you want to be a writer, write everyday.”

I hear/see this a lot as a huge piece of writing advice. It's on lists, and in books, and broadcast from the glowing writer hive-mind that floats in the sky (what do you mean you can't see it?). It caused me a lot of anxiety early on when I started writing because “oh god, I've missed a day, hope is lost, the world is burning, I can hear their screams”. Yeah, exactly like that. And even up until recently I would get really freaked out when I missed a day of writing. I had to forcibly extricate myself from that way of thinking. See above.

So why do we tell writers this? Is it accurate? Is it fair? And most importantly, is it healthy?

Like I said, when I had projects, I got off work and wrote for 2 hours a day. Everyday, from 7pm-9pm. I could do that. My work schedule allows it and my job is not so exhausting that I was unable to do so. Plus I don't work on weekends. Those were just free writing days. All of that is...honestly quite a privilege. Not everyone gets that. Some people don't get free writing days, or they work much longer stretches than I do, and come home exhausted. Certainly not in a writing mindset. And sure, I often hear people say stuff along the lines of “well if you really want to do it, you'll make time”, which I agree with, to a point, and I'll get to it shortly. Writing everyday is a tall order for someone whose schedule may not be consistent or who works long, intensive hours. Especially if that person also has other responsibilities: kids, pets, family...the first and last ones I guess fall under the same branch, but you catch the point. It just may not be feasible for them to carve out the time to write without overloading themselves.

And I think that's okay.

I (now) don't think you need to write everyday to be a writer, or even to be a successful writer. Not for an hour, or for ten minutes. It's okay to write once a week, or once a month. It's okay to write when you can. I'm not particularly convinced that GRRM writes everyday, and he's still one of the most successful/well known writers around at the moment. People are still hanging on, waiting for the next book in A Song of Ice and Fire. Sure there are jokes, memes, and impatience running rampant, but I'd be willing to bet that when that book finally drops...everyone's still gonna run out and buy it. So no, you don't have to write everyday to be successful. You just have to write well. Or maybe just hit the bullseye on what the market is looking for. It all depends.

Now...are there reasons to write everyday? Of course. If you write everyday, you'll probably reach certain milestones faster, since you'll finish projects faster and so on. Your skills will get sharper faster. If you have a goal set for when you want a piece finished or published, then yeah, you probably should write everyday to meet it. But otherwise, you can write at your own pace and still reach certain goals if you put in the effort.

Which brings us to “if you really want to do it, you'll make time”.

Yes.

Agree.

100%.

Make time for writing if you're passionate about it. Look at your schedule, see where you have time and write then. Maybe that is everyday. Maybe it's once a week. Or once a month. Or on that odd-night when everyone else in the house is asleep for work or school and you're off the next day so you sneak to the computer and write until the sun comes up. As long as you write, you'll finish your project. Writing, publishing, authoring...none of them are a race. And a book finished in a month can be just as good as a book finished in a year and vice versa. And if they're rough drafts, they'll both be pretty bad. So a book re-written­ over the course of a year can be just as good as a book re-written over the course of a month. The amount of time it takes really doesn't matter. What matters is the amount of effort the author puts in.

“But won't I get rusty if I don't write everyday?”

Yeah, probably. Writing is like working out. You stop and lose your progress pretty quick. But the one thing I never see brought up is muscle memory. Yeah, when you stop working out and lose your progress it's difficult when you jump back in, but in general your body remembers and personally, for me at least, once I start again I get back close to where I was rather quickly. Now before this workout metaphor goes on too long, back to writing...it's the same. Sure, as the book gets longer you'll have more to familiarize yourself with when you pop back in, but remember this is your passion project, it's the story you long to tell. You know what happens and (ideally) what will happen. It'll come back to you the second you dive in. And if things get jumbled, THAT'S WHY WE EDIT. Rust only becomes a problem if you let too much of it build up.

“But real writers write everyday”

No.

Real writers write. That's it. They write when they can, how they can, and for how long they can. Forcing yourself to write everyday on top of everything else in your life can burn you out. Then what? That thing you love and are passionate about sours every time you think about it because yeah, you've written everyday but it's just been gobbledeegook to meet the requirement. And that doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel like progress. It's ticking a box, and nothing more.
​
Writing is work, hard work, but it isn't just hard work alone. It requires that passion and joy you feel when you put pen to paper or fingers to keys. And forcing it...putting down words for the sake of putting down words with no quality or real progress can take the passion and joy out of writing. And everyone knows that having to work hard for something you're not passionate about sucks. Hard work doesn't bring joy and passion, joy and passion make hard work bearable.

So don't let ridiculous standards burn you out and smother your passion for writing until nothing is left but all the hard work. Find a schedule that works for you and stick to it as best you can. You'll probably miss a day here or there, you'll be sick, the cats will need all of your attention, or your friends will want to hang out. That's life. You may be a writer, but you have a life to live as well. Finding time for it is important for your well-being. So, no, you don't HAVE to write everyday to be a writer, you just have to write. And if you do write everyday, make sure to find time to take breaks. Do other things. Relax and recharge. Your ideas will still be there when you come back. And they'll be better if they're fueled by life.

So my advice: Write as much as you can, when you can. Take things at your own pace. And take care of yourself.

I should say writing advice is always given with the inherent bias and privilege of the advice giver (even this). As with all advice it should be taken, analyzed, dissected and then, whatever parts are useful and work for you and your life, should be stitched onto that shivering mass of other stolen pieces of advice to make up your own shambling writing style. IT'S ALIVE!

So my break is coming to an end. I feel rejuvenated and the writing itch is back scratching at the walls of my subconscious. So I'll leave you with some teasers: 
My current projects are a horror comedy that involves accidentally ending up in Hell, a civil war era vampire hunter, and a fantasy story with a familiar disposition.

And thanks for being patient with my sporadic schedule (if you have been patient that is...if you've been frustrated, uh, sorry, I guess). Regardless, I hope you all are well!