How to Write More

The more you write, the more you write. —Rochelle Melander

An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. —Isaac Newton

Here’s what I’ve noticed about exercise. The more I walk, run, lift weights and do yoga, the more likely I am to do more exercise throughout the day. Despite putting in long days at work, I welcome invitations to get active. Walk the dogs? Sure! Trek down to the library? No problem. On the other hand, if I spend a whole day reading on the couch, I’m much less likely to want to walk to the bookstore or hike the Oak Leaf Trail.

The same thing happens with my writing. On the days I write, I tend to write even more and more easily. If I let go of writing for a few days or a season, it’s harder to get back into it. Here are five ways to write more every day:

1. Write Daily Pages. In her book, The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron encourages writers to write 1-3 pages about anything each day. I tend to do daily pages in spurts. But I have noticed that when I am working on a book, writing daily pages makes my writing go faster and easier. Writing daily pages is much like priming a well, it opens up the flow of words until the words run clean and clear.

2. Try Writing Practice. Teaching writing to tweens and teens has taught me the value of doing writing practice. When we write outside of our genre or on a new topic, it frees us to write without judgment. We try new words or unique ways of phrasing ideas. Often, doing daily writing practice can breathe new life into your regular writing work.

3. Tweet. Twitter is an online social networking platform that invites users to share their wisdom and activity in 140-character posts. Since being on Twitter, I’ve met people who tweet poems and stories via their 140-character posts. Whatever you decide to do with your Twitter account, tweeting counts toward writing. So tweet away!

4. Blog. Writing a blog challenges the writer to create good content on a regular basis. Bogging will help you to write more than you ever have before! Many blog challenges exist that dare bloggers to blog daily for a month, 90 days, or even a year. Sign up for one of those and get writing.

5. Join a Write-A-Thon! A running friend of mine tells me that signing up for a race will motivate would-be runners to actually run. I feel the same way about write-a-thons. When I signed up to do National Novel Writing Month, the race motivated me to write every single day. If you need the ultimate push to write more, sign up for a write-a-thon. November and NaNoWriMo is just around the corner!

There are many ways to add writing to your life. How you do it is up to you. But here’s my guess. Once you start writing more, you will write more than ever before!

For more tips on writing more. Today I’m leading a webinar for Writer’s Digest called, Making Time to Write. It will be held at 12:00 PM CT/1:00 PM ET. If you’re interested in attending this complimentary event, you can register at the Writer’s Digest Website.

Also, don’t forget to mark your calendars for tomorrow’s Write Now! Mastermind Class on Social Media for Writers. The class will give you a basic overview of the key social media tools and how you can use them to research and promote your work. The class will be held Wednesday, September 28 at 12:00 PM. Sign up at the Write Now! Mastermind page.