23 Ways to Create an Obsessive Writing Practice

Why is diving in the hardest step?

Practice makes perfect.

Unfortunately, perfection is often prefaced with panic and procrastination.

This used to represent my writing practice. I loved looking back at a piece of my writing but hated the process of getting there.

I would ponder the premise for a while, panic, procrastinate, and finally produce a rough draft only to be revisited once I was in the perfect headspace to write again.

Creation is like a drug — satisfying, scary, and painful all at the same time. Until very recently, it was a drug I had been inflating my habitual use of.

Getting lost in creative expression is blissful. The sound of your keyboard clanking away, acting as percussion to the melody of your mind. Each finger hovers, patiently waiting to contribute its next note. You’re mind, body, and soul working together to conduct the symphony of your innermost thoughts. Your ideas are projected into reality only to be absorbed, altered, and re-imagined, instantly. Eventually, your electronic canvas is filled with the perfect combination of words organized in such a way that satisfies their purpose — your vision.

Flow-state feels like another dimension, one where time slows down and speeds up at the same time. Where hours can sweep by in the blink of an eye.

Much like a wonderful dream, I’ve always adored the comfort of flow-state but have experienced apprehension around the journey to get there. Maybe it was a fear of failing or the realization of being undeserving. Whatever the root cause, I compare this apprehension to the feeling just before diving into a body of water.

Imagine being atop a cliff or even a diving board. As you near the edge time slows down and reality starts to blur. Your friends are in the water waiting for you and they call out to you to jump. You know where you want to be and how to get there, but there’s a barrier. You must jump.

Why is it so hard?

Before you can arrive at your destination you must give up control. It’s an unfamiliar feeling and it causes you to hesitate.

It’s this feeling that used to prevent me from writing even when I knew I had the time and it’s what I wanted to be doing.

Early on in my short writing “tenure”, I remember reading an article by Nicholas Cole describing how much he wrote. He referenced writing 10,000+ words per day and writing 800-word articles over his morning breakfast. I thought to myself, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this”.

But over time, as I stuck with it, it became easier. Facing these fears on a regular basis allowed me to develop a habit, and get to the point, now, where I have become obsessed with writing. As recently as this month, I’ve observed a noticeable shift in my writing endurance. It’s almost as if my brain finally clued in that this is what I want to be doing. Now, I feel like I can write forever.

I’ve been writing on Medium since 2019 and the entire time I’ve been referring to myself as a “writer”. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that only recently (like this month ‘recently’) do I actually feel like one.

Over the past two years, I’ve stumbled, failed, and crawled my way to being able to produce work that I’m proud of. This is in no small part thanks to the following practices I’ve learned along the way.

I am in no way a writing expert, but the theory behind these lessons are tangible, actionable, and can be applied to developing any skill in the world:

1. Morning pages

I started off writing a minimum of 200 words per day. There were days that I literally wrote, “Ok, I have 100 words left, la la, ok, now what, I’m going to write random words, blah, blah….” Over time, I slowly progressed to being able to write thousands of words in a sitting, easily. Nowadays, I have to reign myself in and remember to say more with less words.

2. Get inspired and THEN write

In that order. For me, going for a walk always does it. Coffee is a close second, and if I’m really needing a boost of inspiration, I’ll watch a good movie.

3. Find your ‘why’ and remind yourself

I write my goals down in a little notebook, each day. Sometimes, all I write is, “get up, stretch, and write.” Seeing is believing and something about seeing my goals in reality, outside of my brain, holds me accountable.

4. Force accountability

I like to think of myself as being disciplined but, like many people, I need direction at times. Purposefully speaking too soon has been a big help for me, giving myself a little push. Even something like saying to someone in your life, “Oh, I need to write today” is helpful and holds you accountable.

5. Do it more for no good reason

Perfectionism is a scary form of procrastination that will rob you of any and all experiences. I combat this by doing what I want, poorly. If I find myself becoming scared to write in fear of doing a bad job, I aim to do a bad job. I will declare to myself “I am going to write poorly and that’s ok”. More often than not this freedom allows me to produce some of my best work.

6. Read more!

Reading is great on so many levels: vocabulary, voice, inspiration. If for nothing else, it makes you feel accomplished.

7. Fight panic with panic

If you think of skill development as an accumulation of experience, stop worrying about being perfect. Instead, just put the hours in that are necessary to develop. One monumental game-changer, for me, has been to think of my developmental time as time on a stopwatch. Any time I spend procrastinating or worrying about not writing, that stopwatch is not moving. This has helped me dive right in, even if it’s uncomfortable or I’m not feeling ready. The panic of a stagnant timer outweighs the panic of feeling like I could be doing a better job.

8. Allow yourself to be a copy cat

Maybe it’s a deep-seated childhood memory (we’ll revisit that another day) but one of my worst fears has always been to be viewed as a copycat. Everything came from something and everyone has been inspired by someone. Especially if you’re just starting out, allow yourself to learn from others’ experience. Maybe this means using a proven headline like “23 Ways to Create an Obsessive Writing Practice”. It’s ok to copy for the purposes of learning and it will help you blossom into the flower of originality you are. If you start feeling guilty for copying someone, give them credit. There’s nothing wrong with a little humility; it will probably make your inspirer feel nice, too.

9. Be open to failure

Imagine a world where you had a finite amount of “wrong” steps available. You’d be silly not to sprint out into the world and use them all up to guarantee yourself future success. Well, life is not so different. If you’re making sure to learn from every mistake you make, eventually they will guide you towards success — whatever that means to you.

10 . Lean into your obsession

Lastly, lean into the uncomfortable feeling of creation. I believe that everyone on Earth is born to create but the majority of people don’t. This is because it’s uncomfortable and painful. Just like in life, in order to grow we must lean into what’s uncomfortable. Dipping your toe into a hot tub is a shock at first but once you get in it’s bubbly, relaxing, and an utter delight. So much so, that you probably won’t want to get out.

What you have just read is a list of ten philosophies that have allowed me to open the floodgates of my passion and visit the realm of creation, often. All of these have contributed to my habit of obsessive writing.

What I will cover next, are specific examples of leaning into my obsession. Everyday actions that reinforce my practice, allowing me to write consistently and effortlessly.

You’ve probably heard of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule — that it takes ten-thousand hours of practice to become an expert at anything. Maybe we are not all striving to become experts, but developing any skill takes a lot of practice, nonetheless.

What I don’t hear a lot of in popular culture, is the ‘how’. Other than sheer determination, how does anyone consistently put in the effort needed to build an unshakeable habit? Even with a solid ‘why’, a habit can crumble in the face of distraction. The only real way to ensure consistency is to construct an evergreen habit.

To become obsessed.

Anything can become a habit with enough practice. And effort is the fuel that drives consistency. Obsession is not about ‘grinding’ or ‘hustling’ but rather giving up control and watching the wheels spin all on their own.

Here is exactly how I put the wheels in motion for an automatic, consitent writing practice. By:

• Writing for the sake of writing (on a napkin, in a Google doc, in my notes app)
• Taking typing tests (just because I like the feeling of typing)
• Helping others to write (revising friends’ resumes, helping with cover letters, crafting emails, etc.)
• Writing about what I am interested in (my choice)
• Writing about topics that I’m NOT interested in (freelance writing)
• Writing by hand (and doodling)
• Writing on different platforms (I’ve recently begun answering questions on Quora, writing lengthy Linkedin posts, and have started a Substack Newsletter)
• Listening to how people speak (actually listening to their words)
• Looking up words’ definitions (even ones I know)
• Looking up song lyrics (and using them to sing along)
• Reading more (anything — shampoo bottles, fine-print, product descriptions)
• Watching Netflix with subtitles (English subtitles — just to see the words)
• Respecting texting as a form of writing (no spelling errors… lots of ‘*’s)

There’s an age-old adage that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. In my humble opinion, that is total bologna. Love is hard work, and it’s painful, but if you love something you can’t help but put in the effort to make it work.

So, my advice is to lean into your obsession. Take that leap, dive in, and let time slip through your fingers. It’s uncomfortable but it’s worth it.