How to Write Regularly

How to write regularly is one of the most common obstacles aspiring writers face.  Time is the number one reason most cite for why they don’t routinely sit down and compose, but there are other issues as well, such as writer’s block.  This is when you have the time and inclination, but once ready to write, the words just won’t come.  The remedy for these maladies?  The method that I have been using here on this very blog: writing a minimum of 20 minutes a day, no matter what.

The magic of 20 minutes a day of writing is that almost anybody can come up with 20 extra minutes over the course of a 24 hour day.  Even if you have to break the 20 minutes up and write for 5 minutes 4 times a day, you can still come up with the 20.  That means you can literally sit on the toilet and write if your life is so full that this is the only time you get any peace.  (And there are many mothers who are in this category, I know.)  But the point is, you can actually create a way to get your writing in.

The other benefit to the 20 minutes a day of writing is that it will break writer’s block.  If you are timing  yourself for those 20 minutes (or those 4 five minute increments), you can by-pass your inner critic by writing so fast that there’s no time for all those negative thoughts that bring on writer’s block.  The key is to have one rule for this timed writing: keep the fingers or pencil moving for the entire time.  This will force you to get past all those nagging thoughts that grind your writing to a stop.

The other important aspect is to allow yourself to write junk.  You’ll find that initially you might write only the same word over and over or sentences on how much you hate timed writing.  But after a week, you’ll be bored with that and start writing other things, such as describing where you’re sitting or what’s happening around you or a movie that you found compelling or you might even begin to write a story during those 20 minutes just to amuse yourself.  That’s when you know you’re onto something because your writing will gain fluidity in only a few weeks and you will start noticing that the words come easier.

I have been teaching writing privately for 13 years and I have watched this process work over and over with my students.  I often say, “If you never come back to me for another lesson but write everyday for a minimum of 20 minutes, your writing will vastly improve in just one month.”  I know it’s true because I’ve seen it happen and have had the chance to track many of my students over several years since they usually stay with me for a long time.  People who initially have struggled with getting a few sentences on the page are often writing 2 to 3 pages in 10 minutes in just a week or so all due to 20 minutes a day of timed writing.

So, commit to writing every day for 20 minutes just for one week and you’ll see that you’re already on your way.  After that week, you can assess and decide if you want to continue for another week.  I can almost guarantee that you will continue because those 20 minutes a day become a way for you to focus and get thoughts down on the page, which are rewards in themselves.  If you aspire to write regularly, then one week will show you that you indeed can make that goal a reality.  One week can lead to two and two to three.  Before you know it, you have a writing habit, which is the goal you have set for yourself in the first place.

Do you write 20 minutes a day now?  What have you learned from this process?  Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section.

If you don’t write regularly but want to, then give this method a try.  I am living proof that it works.  My writing discipline is based on that basic 20 minute a day approach.

Happy writing to you.