The Big Mistake Most Writers Make About Consistency

Consistency is a word that comes up often when people talk about writing. We're told that it's all about consistency, which means showing up every day and writing for a set number of hours or words.

I always believed that was true, yet I constantly struggled to maintain the discipline of a daily writing streak. Then I read something that blew that belief away and not only makes way more sense, but also makes building a writing habit so much easier.

This is the quote that I read: 

"In theory, consistency is about being disciplined, determined, and unwavering. 

In practice, consistency is about being adaptable. Don't have much time? Scale it down. Don't have much energy? Do the easy version. Find different ways to show up depending on the circumstances. Let your habits change shape to meet the demands of the day. 

Adaptability is the way of consistency."

~ James Clear

Once I read that, it became so obvious how wrong the belief is that consistency means strictly keeping to a daily set number of hours or words. I mean, sure, it may work for some people, but it doesn't work for me.

Life gets in the way of my plans all the time, making it hard to stick to a rigid target.

And I was looking at it the wrong way.

Consistency doesn't mean adhering to a strict schedule. It simply means turning up every day, which is pretty much what I do. Some days I work more than other days, and some days I don't do much at all.

Just the other day I was feeling guilty because I'd slept badly the night before and felt tired all day. I had a meeting with someone that morning, which was scheduled for 2 hours but took an hour longer than expected, and then Dean and I had to go and buy a few things we needed for the work we're doing on our house at the moment.

By the time we got home, took everything out of the car, had lunch and did the dishes, it was late afternoon, and I was exhausted and almost fell asleep as soon as I sat down. So no writing got done. I just looked over a few things, made a few notes, checked my emails, and left it at that.

At first, I felt disappointed, but then I realised there's no point in stressing about it. I usually aim for a minimum of 2 hours of writing every day, but days like the previously mentioned one don't leave mental or physical room for 2 hours of focused work. Most days I do manage it easily - often I do more.

The reason I aim for a minimum of 2 hours writing every day is because that's all it takes to be a prolific writer.

But I also need to be adaptable to whatever life throws at me. 

So for me, as James Clear said, consistency means showing up every day, no matter what or for how long.

That way I can keep writing fun, because if it's not fun, it's not sustainable.

Goodbye Writer's Block

How to Be a Creative Genius and Have an Abundance of Ideas Plus the Inspiration and Motivation to Write
https://cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/WB.html

How to Handle Writing Saboteurs

Have you noticed that whenever you commit to a big writing project, an unending stream of disruptions starts to happen?

It seems like everything and everyone in your life wants to sabotage you.

And it can be anything - a spouse who needs your attention, kids getting ill, friends dropping round, an old habit tempting you, or your own desire to quit and go and do something easier.

Whatever it is, the more you commit to a goal, the more resistance you'll get.

Why?

No one knows. 

It's one of the mysteries of life.

So what can you do about it?

There's nothing you can do except get comfortable with it and keep working towards your goal.

Deal with the saboteurs as quickly and efficiently as you can. 

Don't ignore things. 

Deal with them. 

If a friend knocks at the door, answer it and tell them you're busy and you'll catch up when you've finished. Don't ignore the door, or they'll come back and keep knocking. 

And don't ignore your writing. Keep going and work on it every day as much as you can. Even two minutes a day is better than missing a day.

If you let these things drag you away from your goal, then you need to ask yourself if you really were committed to it.

How about committing to the challenge of writing 12 books in a year?

Even if you don't make it, you'll have achieved so much.

The 12 Month Writing Challenge
Write and Publish 12 Books in a Year

https://cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/12MTH.html

Winners an Losers

I'm currently re-reading the book 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, and I'm finding so much wisdom in it that I wanted to share some of it with you. I'm only on the second chapter, but even in those few pages, there is a lot to learn. 

As an aside, considering this is the second time I've read the book, I'm wondering why I didn't notice all this before. But this is why I always read books more than once. It's like watching a movie for the second time; I always notice things I missed the first time around.

But back to the book...

In the title, he uses the word 'atomic' to mean small. He says that success doesn't come from having grand plans, but from making small changes (the size of an atom) one step at a time. This produces lasting change.

Big goals (like the ones we always make every New Year) fail because it's too overwhelming to make big changes all at once, and we quickly get tired of trying too hard. But small goals that only mean minimal changes are easy.

In the book, he nailed it when he said that the goal itself isn't what differentiates winners from losers, or success from failure.

In the gym, they all want to get in shape. Olympians all want to win the gold medal. Every applicant wants the job. Every writer wants their book to be a bestseller.

What sets apart winners isn't their end goal because they all want the same thing. They all want the same goal, the same outcome.

What sets them apart is the daily systems they follow.

One does the work, the other doesn't. To be a winner you need systems that improve your results for good. You need to work in a way that changes your habits one atom at a time so that you'll stick to your new habits and not find them overwhelming. 

He says that if you're a writer, write daily, even if it means visiting your work for just two minutes a day. Don't skip a day. Build a daily habit, no matter how small.

I think building a daily writing habit, even a small two-minute habit, is extremely important, even though it doesn't sound like it is. It's just that sitting down to write every day is the hardest thing about writing. We can all think of other things that need doing when we know we should be writing. 

But when you know you only have to sit down for as little as two minutes, it's doable, because no one can say they don't have two minutes to spare. And that is the start of a daily writing habit. I've been doing it for the last two weeks, and it's working really well. Once I sit down and look at my diary to see what I should be working on, the next thing I know, half an hour or more has passed, and I didn't notice because I was so busy writing.

And it's while I'm writing that I can find systems that work for me. I can't possibly know what will work unless I'm actually working, and then it's easy to know what works and what doesn't.

James Clear says to find systems that create results and keep on refining them for endless improvement.

You'll love the process.

A Quick Heads-up Submission Opportunity

 This is just a quick post to let you know about an open writing opportunity from People's Friend magazine.

They posted on Twitter (X) that they are currently looking for fiction stories in all genres and all word counts.

What they posted is:

"Calling all authors! We're currently looking for stories set in August onwards for our weekly, and from late autumn onwards for our Specials. We're also now ready to read Advent and Christmas stories to feature across all 'Friend' publications. All genres and word counts!"

They also posted that they do not want any formatting in submissions, including no double line spacing and no page numbers.

You can read more at their website. But this is a high-paying market that publishes mostly fiction, including serials, so there are plenty of opportunities.

Their website is at https://www.thepeoplesfriend.co.uk.

Good luck.