things I learned in six weeks of writing

I have always thought of myself as a writer. All my life I have written in various forms. Essays, journals, poetry, letters and a design blog at one point. The vast majority of what I write is never seen and, in more recent years, has been inconsistent. But when I do write and see my thoughts on the page I come alive.

I knew I needed to do something to push myself back to writing. Six weeks ago, I set a goal for myself. I was going to write every week day. And I was going to write between 250 – 500 words each day. I would rise by 5am to create space in the day to write.

I was going to put the reps in. Write with consistency and find my voice again on the written page.

And guess what? I have stuck to my plan. I have now written over 20,000 words. I have 40 essays on a variety of topics. I am writing every morning. And now I can’t stop.

Here are eight things that I have learned in six weeks of writing:

1. There is never a good time. Just start.

2. Pick a consistent time and place to write. I start writing about 5:30am after I have written in my journal and done some stretching to wake my body up. The house is generally quiet at this time and I am not interrupted.

3. You will have days you don’t feel like writing or don’t have anything to say. Write anyway. Even if it is garbage.

4. If you miss a day don’t stress about it. Write the next. But don’t let two days go by without writing. Work the writing muscle.

5. Brainstorm a list of topics to write about. Some days I note a topic or title for the next day. This helps when I find myself staring at a blank screen and blinking cursor.

6. Don’t allow yourself to be interrupted from your planned writing time. After a few weeks of writing I explained to my husband what I was doing and asked him not to talk to me when he came downstairs in the morning. Now he says Hi and goes about his morning thing until I move away from my desk.

7. Stay off the ‘gram, don’t check email and don’t read the paper until you are done writing. Most mornings I do this with ease – other days the distraction pull is strong!

8. Keep going. Even when you feel like you aren’t sure what you are doing or why you are doing it keep going. The more you write the more you will develop your voice and get clear on what you have to say.

So, what is next? For one, I am going to continue writing every day and keep working the writing muscle. And I am going to release some of my essays out into the world. I have things to say, ideas worth sharing, conversations to have and stories that can make a difference.

Watch out … here comes more of Sarah the Writer.

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