6 Habits That Help Elite Writers Stay Consistent

1. Don’t carry the burden of the past

Tanzan and Ekido were monks from the Buddhist temple who were travelling down a muddy road. It was muddy because it rained heavily the night before. On their way, they got to an intersection along a bend and came across a lovely young lady finding it difficult to cross.

Tanzan without thinking it twice lifted the girl up and carried her in his arms across the bad road. Ekido immediately went quiet and didn't say a word.

Finally, after over 6 hours he let out in frustration, “Why did you do that Tanzan? As monks, we are not supposed to touch, let alone carry a woman.”

Tanzan replied; “I’ve put her down Ekido — why are you still carrying her?”

Most writers are like Ekido — they lament and ruminate over a piece they had high hopes for, but turned out poor.

There are times when you spend hours, even days, making research, jotting down points and ideas, structuring, spend hours writing, and even more hours editing. You hit publish, yawn and stretch, lean back and expect to get positive feedback, but the article falls flat.

You begin to wonder, what went wrong? What did I do wrong?

The answer is nothing. As an online content creator, there are many factors that are outside your control. Writers that make it in the end, are the ones who do not allow such disappointments or temporary failure to hold them back. These writers, do not stay too long crying over spilt milk. They pick themselves up and move on to the next piece.

If you haven't done a close study or spoken to the top writers on this platform who you admire, from afar, you will think every published piece is a hit back to back. And you'll be wrong to think so. Even the biggest writers have published articles that returned crickets on the stat page.

Does that mean the piece was bad or they are bad writers? Absolutely not. But despite that, they still come back again and again, and they keep writing for years. How do they do it? Aside from the first point above, here are five more habits or tips that make writers consistent. Let’s talk about them…

2. They would write even if they weren't paid

With a little bit of google search, you'll find out that Medium started off in August of 2012. But what most people do not know, is that when medium kicked off, it was free. This means you weren't paying to read articles, neither were the writers paid to write.

The first generation of Mediumers, wrote because they wanted to write. Now maybe I am wrong, and maybe some writers had other agendas. But why would you write consistently if you ain't been paid?

Zulie Rane, on her YouTube channel, talked about her start on the platform. She started writing on the platform when there was no partner program. She wrote just for fun as a cat lover. And when the medium partner program rolled in, she already had gained momentum and had a good feel of the platform. Today she stands at the top 1% of the top and highest-paid Mediumers.

The best writers are the best because they write even though there is no monetary incentive. If you desire to stay for the long haul, then you must be among those who write their way through financial deserts.

3. They create a writing a routine

The best writer you should listen to on the topic of routine is non-other than Jessica Lynn. She has written exhaustively on the importance, and not only that but also the benefits of having a morning routine. And boy, is she right.

When I started deliberately and actively writing just over three months ago, (and mind you there is a difference between just writing and deliberately actively writing), I was sporadic and inconsistent. What happened was that I couldn't write often because I couldn't regularly get into my writing state where words stream freely and poetically. If you know what I mean.

However all that changed, the moment I spent a few minutes reading Jessica’s articles on bettering ones writing.

I heed her advice and created a writing routine, instead of waiting for the mood to hit. The result has been astronomical, within three months I've written and published over a hundred articles and counting.

My writing starts in the morning, from 9 am — 12 pm. Within three hours of writing, and depending on what article I’m working on, I can birth two articles every morning.

The writers who go on to do great things, writing consistently and stand out, are the ones who create for themselves a writing routine, and stick to it.

4. They invest in their craft

If you read the articles of the likes of Michael Thompson, and Jessica Lynn, you’d discover that these effective and successful writers took the time and the resources to invest in improving their craft.

I was listening to a video by Les Brown the other as he recounts his early beginnings on the stage, he was poor and was often booed. Today, however, he is one of the best orators in the world. How did he do it? He had a teacher, by the name of Leroy Washington.

Listening to Les share his humble beginning got me thinking, of a truth, no one starts off great. Even the teachers you need to better your craft also started off needing teachers as well.

Starting on this platform, and as Ayodeji Awosika said, I accepted the fact that I do not know how to write. The moment I came to accept this, I got off positively and in hurry to quickly let out those crappy pieces I have within me. And that is true for everyone.

Writing, just like anything else you'll begin with, your first few contents, or even many contents, would be horse shits. It is absolutely fine.

But the key is to accept the beginnings are always awful, however, you want to take the path of the best writers: that is taking the time to invest in your craft by finding teachers who can help you quickly get over your early crappy pieces.

5. They invest in their mental bank account

Do not mind the analogy. Although, the mind can be likened to a bank account where deposits are made. How true?

When you stroll to your bank or pull out your debit or credit card, to make a withdrawal from your account, you do so without blinking because you know you got stuff in there.

Now imagine there’s been no prior deposit, what do you expect to withdraw?

The same applies to our mind. As writers, we must understand that writers are readers.

From my experience, I have discovered that the few times I have experienced a dip in my creativity or laid on the surgical table of the infamous writer's block, has been when I neglect reading over an extended period of time.

You want to know the secret of great and consistent writers who seem to be flushing out five-starred fresh contents daily or weekly? It is because these writers read anything readable.

From books to tweets, to other users articles, you name it. Writers are hunters. We basically are constantly on the hunt for ideas and inspiration. Even when listening to our friends, we are hoping they say and drop something that can inspire our next article.

The key in my opinion to stay on top, to write consistently is to consistently go searching for knowledge and ideas.

Closing statement

I honestly do not believe making it on this platform or any platform, or even as a writer is impossible. I really do believe as a writer, we will win if we put our mind and heart to it. If I were to write a 7th pointer, it would be this; Writers who truly care about writing, find a way to write consistently, irrespective of how many excuses they find to quit. They just choose not to pick up those excuses.

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