I Used to Hate Writing Consistently. Now I Embrace It
3 reasons to reframe consistency as a tool and not a chore
The advice to write every day didn’t click with me for a while.
It’s not that I don’t believe it personally.
It’s just that a majority of my writing came from a beautiful and unexpected connection between the dots.
I’ve seen plenty of articles and content revolved around the power of consistency.
Most of them failed to ensure that the concept of consistency would survive my habits and judgment.
Here are 3 reasons why writers don’t write consistently
1. There’s nothing exciting about a terrible piece of work
I’ve stared at a page that had its content rinsed off with the backspace button.
I’ve felt disgusted by the bland flavors of my forced writing.
I’ve told myself to take a “break” to recover from looking at a terrible piece of work.
It is very hard to complete a product you deem unworthy of your time and effort. Before you know it, you prefer to do something else. Something that actually sparks joy.
You could watch youtube, doodle on a page, start texting a friend, attempt another project, or any other activity that generates a comparatively higher level of pleasure. I hated it when my writing failed to bring me the pleasure of creating something I felt is excellent.
The results didn’t seem to reflect anything about my ability in writing concise prose, my grasp of imagery, or the persuasiveness of my piece.
When there seems to be more terrible writing than those that are good, inspiration can easily present itself as the only trigger to writing something great.
So why waste time writing regularly?
2. The immediate results don’t match your expectations
Consistency comes with expectations.
If I was writing every day, I expected a certain result.
I felt that the returns from this particular action should be visible. I’m quite an impatient person and if I’m regularly writing, I want my work to improve noticeably with each interaction.
I wanted my works to attract more and more viewers with each piece. I wanted the impending writer’s block to remain increasingly distant. I expected the writing to become easier and easier, to the point that I’m pouring my ideas onto a page without hesitation.
As a result, the motivation to continue producing is muddied by a constant need to rationalize my efforts.
3. We wait for inspiration
We’ve all experienced the rush that comes from the alignment of your ability, inspiration, and motivation. The dots click and you’re doing all you can to control this wild torrent of ideas into a vessel.
I’ve rolled out of bed to pump out a writing piece at 3 am in the morning. I’ve stopped a movie to write down a story plot on my phone.
Inspiration is powerful and addictive, and it’s a much more attractive alternative to a process as procedural as consistent work.
Some of my more receptive pieces have been created within an hour and as a result, inspiration markets itself as efficient and natural compared to consistency.
I began to trap myself into a certain train of thought.
That inspiration is the only source of improvement and quality content.
Over time, my satisfaction with inspiration dwindled. The quality of my work was inconsistent, and I couldn’t gauge my improvements over the years.
The mistakes that often froze my progress failed to thaw.
I felt like I was relying on luck rather than my actual ability.
I decided to consciously write consistently, and I came across some new ideas that transformed my understanding of the process.
3 reasons why writers should embrace writing consistently
1. You can reverse engineer terrible writing
By writing consistently, you’ll come across terrible writing.
But every terrible piece of writing contains something you need to improve on, a lesson waiting to be uncovered.
When my first batch of draft articles was deemed too long and boring, I was driven to learn how to manage my sentence lengths, identify which words to cut out, and practice techniques that enhanced readability.
I found myself discovering ways to create more impactful headlines, methods to effectively utilize research, and new ways to access to writers who have encountered similar issues.
Terrible writing forced me to look for ways to improve future pieces.
When I was struggling with ideas, I found that my abandoned articles contained content that could be used right now. I was just missing a certain amount of experiences and research, something that I can now add to my current articles.
By writing consistently, you design a system that identifies your weaknesses, a treasure trove of unused content, and a blueprint for improvement.
2. You can regularly access usable feedback
Feedback is crucial, at least for pieces for which you aim to publish.
You need the feedback of both parties. Yourself, and your audience. If you don’t have an audience yet, share your writing with friends and families, those with writing experiences or not.
The goal is to curate a stream of issues to supercharge your growth.
I found that consistent feedback allowed me to identify a pattern of mistakes, which for me was the inclusion of incorrect use of terminology, specific grammatical mistakes, or expressions that bogged down my prose.
I identified how certain pieces resonated with audiences after seeing repeated compliments on certain angles, and I was able to draw additional material from future articles.
Feedback illuminates your progress, and by writing consistently, you’re clear on things you’ve achieved, and the things you will.
By writing consistently, you are creating opportunities to hone your skills and recognize ways to develop your writing.
3. Not everything has to be published
If my end product failed to impress me, I deemed it a failure. Sometimes the first impression of my writing was enough to derail me from continuing. When I started writing, this habit greatly stunted my growth.
The point of writing every day isn’t to make each and every one of those pieces publish-ready.
With the right attitude, every piece of writing can be repurposed as useful.
Writing can be research, a practice run, therapy, brainstorming, and even for pleasure.
A piece that isn’t ready doesn’t mean it’s useless or a failure. The goal is to identify what it can be used for, or the lessons learned from the piece.
In fact, this article was inspired by writing a journal entry on my struggles with writing, and I wouldn’t have been inspired to do so if I didn’t maintain my routine.
Final thoughts
Writing is my reference, but being consistent with any craft is an essential but troublesome path, especially for those starting out.
It’s not necessarily related to how much you love it, or how good you are at it. We’ve all experienced moments where we couldn’t stop writing, and so the issue doesn’t stem from capability.
It’s the attitude and intention threading your every move. I’ve accepted that by writing consistently, I’m not just connecting the dots.
I’m actually creating the dots themselves, populating my mind with quicker and more complex pathways.
What are some methods that have helped you remain consistent with your writing?
