It came to my mind one night when I picked up a notebook to jot down an idea I had for a short story. I’d had a shower after dinner, and a great idea came to me while I was in the bathroom. So as soon as I’d finished, I went straight to the couch, took out the notebook that I keep in a drawer next to it, and wrote out the idea so that I wouldn’t forget it.
I liked the idea so much that I wanted to start writing the story straight away, but I already had other things to do that evening.
But that got me thinking: What if, after my shower every night, I could get out a fresh notebook, start writing (I love writing by hand), with no clue as to what I was going to write before I started, and keep going for hours? And what if I enjoyed it so much that I eagerly looked forward to it every day?
In my imagination, I could simply whip out my notebook anytime I felt like it and start writing without having any idea what I was going to write about. I’d just eagerly begin, and miraculously, I’d write an inspirational article, a riveting short story, or the first few chapters of a best-selling novel. And all without a clue what I was going to write. I’d just start writing, and the words would appear out of nowhere as I wrote.
Not only would I be writing great stuff, but I’d be loving every minute of it, so that every night, I couldn’t wait to sit down and write.
It was a great daydream.
But then I had to ask myself, why does it have to be a dream? Why can’t it be reality?
I know that many writers work this way. They sit down and just start writing. It was Dean Wesley Smith who said that all he needs to write a story/novel is a character and a setting. From there, he writes ‘short’ stories and whole novels. I use quotation marks around the word short because his stories are all thousands of words long.
It was Stephen King who said you should write stories you enjoy writing and find somewhere to sell them later. He has always placed the love of writing above everything else, even getting published.
And this is the ‘secret’ to being a writer. You can’t write well if you don’t enjoy what you’re writing. So, you must first enjoy writing. I mean, yes, it’s work, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun once you start.
It helps to have a daily writing goal of how many hours you work or a minimum number of words you write every day, and stick to it. The real secret is to stick to it, no matter how you feel.
I find that I can get lost in my writing once I start and forget the whole world. It’s an escape from everything.
Having set hours or words to write every day doesn’t mean you have to do it all day long. I know at least one writer who is known as being prolific, yet she only writes for two hours a day. And Stephen King only writes two thousand words a day. They say it’s not about how much you write, but that you do it consistently.
Most so-called writers are not consistent at all with their writing. Most days, they don’t write at all. They’re always looking for ways to get the writing done without actually writing, which always makes me laugh when they ask me about it. They ask things like, “How can I write five thousand words a day?” I respond, “Write five thousand words a day.” They never like that answer.
If you want to write, write. But not just once or now and again when you feel like it.
It needs to be every day, and it needs to be consistent every day. Not every day for a week or two, and then back to not writing.
As the great Mike Littman used to say, “In life and in business, you’re either consistent, or you’re non-existent.”
Above all else, you must love to write.
Don’t wait till you're ready to start writing.
Just start.
You don’t have to be a great writer. That comes with practice. You just have to keep on writing.
As Elbert Hubbard said, “The only way to learn to write is to write and write and write and write, and write and write and write.”
And you’ll triple your productivity in no time.
Guaranteed.
