“Do I need to write daily to be a writer?”

I hear variations on this question frequently, “Do I need to write daily to be a successful writer?” “Must I write every day to call myself a writer?” “To write well?”

Many writers beat themselves up over not writing daily and I want to dispel the myth that this is the only way to write.

Writing every day can certainly support your writing life, your writing growth, and your success, but it’s not a requirement. And there’s more…but first, let’s look at the benefits of a daily writing habit.

The Benefits of Writing Every Day

• Writing daily gives you lots of practice! And with all that practice, your writing will likely improve faster than if you wrote less often.
• A daily writing habit gets you in a groove so that you don’t have to decide whether or not you’ll write each day—you just do it! The daily habit requires less and less willpower over time. And this is especially helpful since having to decide whether or not to write each day can lessen the chances that you will.
• You’ll likely complete your projects faster when you write daily.
• It’s great for your self-confidence to write daily, reinforcing the habit and the good feelings that accompany your consistent commitment.
• When you show up daily for your muse (creative source), it tends to show up consistently for you as well.
• Writing when you wake up every morning can be especially powerful for tapping into your most creative and innovative work.

But I promised to discuss why daily writing is not a requirement for being a writer.

Take a Writing Break

For some people, taking writing breaks can help them write! Here’s how:

• Taking a few days off from writing can help you “miss” your writing practice and feel excited to return, especially if you’ve been feeling somewhat fallow or less passionate about it recently.
• A writing break can help you dive into other practices that nourish your body, mind and spirit, so that when you return to the writing, you’re rejuvenated and bring something new and enlivening to your practice.
•  A writing break can help you return to the work with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Such time away can save you time (you make changes in the work sooner rather than later) or help you make optimal decisions (“Oh, I want to be writing for this audience, not that one!”).
• A writing break can inspire changes in your habits, which may lead to breakthroughs (for example, stop writing in the evenings, and you may discover that within a few days, your muse wakes you up an hour before work to write at an even more fruitful time).

My Surprising Writing Break “Aha!”

Until a few months ago, I’d been journaling most mornings, often leading to additional writing such as poetry, book ideas, or blog posts. But recently, I changed up my morning routine. Partly, I’m working on a book of poetry, and I have so many years of poems that need editing. I felt overwhelmed at the thought of writing even more—it’s already challenging to choose which poems to type into my computer and work on with my editor. My poetry mentor/editor may talk me out of this hiatus once I confess to her, but for now, it feels nice to let go of the stress of producing and ease into a writing life of mostly revising.

I also have a book project that I return to from time to time, but somehow it feels like too much to work on two books simultaneously. I’d rather devote these next few weeks, maybe months, to poetry revision and some deep personal growth/healing work I’ve been delving into. Healing takes creative energy, too, and there’s a richness that I want to embrace fully. So that feels right at the moment.

So, what am I doing each morning? Some mornings I read voraciously. Other mornings, I practice qigong, play in the yard, respond to emails, try to figure out how to use Substack, or lie in bed and daydream.

Here’s what I discovered in that time:

• In the mornings, I went straight to my computer for email, or Substack didn’t feed me, and I felt more tired and less inspired. That was a good lesson!
• Immersing myself in reading felt like playing hooky for a while, but I soon found that it was not nearly as satisfying as the writing, qigong, or time in nature. I plan to do most of my reading in the evenings and on the weekends.
• I’m sensing that the feeling of overwhelm (too many poems to edit, too hard to work on two projects) is also partly that I tend to work hard and my body and soul call for more spaciousness. Time just lying in bed and daydreaming felt nourishing, for example.
• My best writing time is still in the mornings and I’m beginning to miss it. I will experiment with setting a few mornings aside for writing, starting with Sunday mornings before my qigong meditation class at 10:30.
• My friend, qigong practitioner and healer Luakini Ma’o Heublein, offers a 7 am morning qigong practice five days a week. I’d not attended much due to my writing in the mornings, but I began experimenting with the morning qigong this week and found it quite empowering to start my day this way. I now think I may experiment with days that I go to bed earlier the night before and wake up in time to write and practice qigong. Stay tuned!

Do You Write Daily?

Do you write every day? Why or why not? What works best for you holistically? Creatively? What challenges are coming up? Share any insights about your writing habits/practice, as well.