Do You Really Need to Write Every Single Day?

The final answer to the most common question on writing

“Do you need to write every day?”

That’s a common question people ask writers.

The short answer would be (for a dramatic effect, read this in an imaginary writer’s voice): Huh, well, hmmm, no, huh… But it helps.

The long answer ensues.

Yesterday I wrote an article after 4 days of doing very little writing. And man, was it difficult. In Czech, we have this saying that “your words are coming out of you as if out of a fluffy blanket.”

Translate as: “You’re being slow and frustrating, come on, hurry up, speak!”

I’ve been in the habit of writing an article almost every day for about two months now. And it has felt wonderful. I’ve become faster, more easily focused, sharper when choosing the appropriate vocabulary, and very appreciative of Grammarly.

What’s more, I’ve fallen in love with writing again after years of procrastinating and whining about it instead of actually doing it. I’ve started to regularly generate new ideas for articles, and it’s become dead easy for me to get into the creative zone.

When I write, the time flies by, words flow out of me as if out of a waterfall (not a Czech saying, unfortunately), and I’m having a blast.

Then I didn’t write an article for just 4 short days. And it stopped me in my tracks. Suddenly, it was difficult to sit down and get to work. It felt tedious, annoying, and like hard work that I didn’t want to be doing. This slowly dissipated as I kept writing, but let me tell you, the first few paragraphs were hell.

Naturally, this got me thinking.

Is there a reason why writing every single day is such a common piece of advice? So many successful authors do it.

In his book On Writing, Stephen King says:

“I like to get ten pages a day, which amounts to 2,000 words.”

If I remember it correctly, he suggests setting a minimum quota of words that you need to write every day. It doesn’t matter if the words are good or bad, all that matters is keeping the habit of writing alive and showing up.

Haruki Murakami’s routine is very specific. This is what he’s got to say about it:

“I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.”

I also really like this quote by W. Somerset Maugham that I found in an article about Margaret Atwood (who is a very prolific writer as well):

“I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”

There must be a reason why so many writers try to get some writing done literally every single day. Luckily, I’ve read Atomic Habits by James Clear recently, so I can see the clear connection between forming habits and forging one’s identity. Combined with my own experience, it all makes sense.

James explains:

“Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits. It’s a two-way street. The formation of all habits is a feedback loop.”

You become what you do. Your actions shape your identity. If you implement a daily activity into your life, it will have a huge impact on how you see yourself.

When you embrace your new-found identity, it only encourages you to keep up the habit. It’s a circle where the more you write, the more of a writer you become, the more you write.

It’s not just about sculpting yourself into a writer, though. You can do that just as well when you write three times a week, not every single day.

There are other factors that come into play.

Quality x Quantity

James Clear tells us the story of a professor who separated his class on photography into two groups. One was focused on quantity — they would be graded based on how many photos they’ve produced. The latter concentrated on quality. They only had to take one photo, but it had to be the best possible photo they could come up with.

He was surprised to find that all the best photos were in the quantity group. That’s because while the quality group sat and pondered, the quantity one was out there, taking photos, experimenting and producing content regularly.

The same applies to writing. The more you practice, the more you learn about your craft. You get faster, more experienced, you push your limits further. It doesn’t matter that some of your work isn’t as good. What matters is that you decide to show up anyway, because even the bad work is progress. It shows you what not to do in the future and it teaches you a lot about yourself.

The Habit Momentum

We often don’t realize how important it is to keep a habit alive.

I’ve been trying to set up new habits for ages now. I’ve wanted to regularly exercise, meditate, write, read books on scholarly topics, do yoga, drink more water, invest lots of time into French, German and Spanish, volunteer, make my bed in the mornings… the list goes on and on.

Nothing of it stuck. Except for writing and some small language practices. Why?

Because I’ve realized that 1) I need to start with only one habit, focus on that, and then add another one at least 1 month later to have enough time to properly build the initial one and 2) I need to do it every day.

Not every Sunday, not three times a week. Every. Single. Day.

This is because when I skip, it’s easy to skip again. And again. And give up on my habit. James agrees:

“Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.”

When you try to build a new habit, it’s essential to keep it up for some time to actually automize it. It’s easy to forget when you don’t do it every day. Forgetting is the death of your habit, which is where you don’t move further on your self-improvement journey.

Habit makes writing easy

The more you practice something, the easier it becomes. The more regularly you write, the easier writing gets.

The longer you go without writing, the bigger your distaste for writing can grow. It gets harder. The fulfilling feeling of being inspired, creative, and productive expires. Your writer identity isn’t re-affirmed. Your habit dies.

I don’t think this has to necessarily happen after years and years of regular writing — I haven’t experienced it. However, when you’re starting out, it’s easy to stop when you stop and easy to continue when you continue. It’s hard to continue when you stop. Therefore, continuing might be a better call.

The Final Answer

Writing every day brings many benefits. Apart from those I’ve already mentioned, you collect a vast portfolio of your work, which is always great. You have something to show potential employers.

If your main focus is on Medium, writing every day makes your chance of going viral much higher, which makes the possibility of making a living on Medium much more real. You also keep generating ideas more frequently because you’re constantly in the creative zone.

If writing is your main passion and your ultimate dream is becoming a full-time writer, you become happier and more fulfilled because you spend every day doing something you love.

Writing becomes your priority. You do it every day, after all. It no longer exists as a small part of your universe that you might forget about — your universe revolves around writing. This also feeds into your potential to be a full-time writer soon, because what you prioritize is what you build your life around.

And what you build your life around successfully is what can create the life you’ve always wanted.

Sometimes, I apply the two-day rule. It’s okay to miss once. It’s not okay to miss twice because that makes it way too easy to miss repeatedly.

When it comes to your mental and physical health, though, remember to take breaks when you really need to. Nothing is worth damaging your health. There’s some advice on taking breaks in this article by Dawn Bevier.

So, what’s the final answer?

No. No, you don’t need to write every day to be a writer. You don’t even need to write every day to be incredibly successful.

But it helps. And it’s definitely worth trying.

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