8 Benefits of a Daily Writing Habit
I’m celebrating achieving my writing goals for another month of writing every single day as a result of participating in an online daily writing challenge for twenty months since January, 2014. I’ve discovered some benefits from dragging, pulling and pushing myself to meet this challenge.
Eight Benefits of a Daily Writing Habit
1. Stronger. As I force myself to overcome the emotional resistance and obstacles, my self-discipline is strengthened. I feel stronger.
2. Self-Discipline. The self-discipline of consistency enables and benefits me in other areas of my life.
3. Capture Moments. I capture beneficial insights, anecdotes, journal entries and stories that otherwise would be lost.
4. Book material. Consistent themes emerge that will eventually be three or four books so I’m making progress in writing my books.
5. Legacy. Stories are written to pass down a legacy to my children and grandchildren and creates potential material for articles, magazines etc.
6. Reflection. I get to process my day and gain insight from situations. We don’t get much time for reflection in our demanding and busy lives. Writing forces and gives time to mine the treasures of the day.
7. Better Writer. I’m growing as a writer. Practicing writing strategies in my daily writing refines my writing skills.
8. Satisfaction. My eyes are more open, my ears more attuned and my mind more alert to the gems in everyday life so I find more purpose and fulfillment in life.
Writing daily is not an easy habit to develop but it has a great deal of benefits and it’s worth it!
If you’d like to grow in your productivity and overcome some of your writing fears, come join this writing support group. Also, check out my book on Amazon kindle, “From Stuck to Success: Conquer Your Fears and Achieve Your Writing Dreams.”
If you would like to learn to write or learn to write better or write your story, check out my writing course,“How to Write for Fun and Profit.”
Discover the benefits of writing for yourself.
Go write now.
Enjoy the gift of writing!
#strengthtostrength, #fromstucktosuccess, #writenow, #writeyourstorynow, #sharonrosegibsonnuggets, #enjoythegiftofwriting, #15minutewriter.com
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Writing a Responsibility? You’re Not Alone
Do you ever feel the weight of writing as a responsibility? If so, read on and you’ll find five tips to ease the load.
For me, being a writer is both a blessing and a burden.
A blessing because I see all the stories, life lessons and wisdom nuggets in everyday life. Like butterflies, they light on my shoulder and fascinate me with their beauty.
A burden because I have to write them down as soon as possible. Otherwise like butterflies, they quickly fly away and I forget them.
In our busy lives. with all the responsibilities of work and daily living, sometimes writing it all down is a challenge!
I have my daily writing plus writing the books I’m working on. For example, I did my daily w
riting in the morning yesterday. However, throughout the day I had a number of things happen that I wanted to write about as well. By the time I got home it was too late and I needed to go to bed. Before I went to bed, I scribbled down notes to remind me what to write.
Now I feel the burden of needing to write all that down today. Sometimes my writing feels like several crying babies who will not be satisfied until I sit down and feed them. This is what I mean by my writing is both a blessing and a burden. However, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love the role I play as a writer and the call on my life to write.
How about you? Do you have thoughts, stories or books on your heart and mind that you feel a responsibility to share? Do you sometimes feel alone in bearing this responsibility? You’re not alone because this is common to writers. You can find ways to ease the burden so you can enjoy the blessings more.
Five Tips To Lighten the Load
- Be brief. Write down the nuggets, ideas or stories briefly. When you don’t have enough time to write, write down enough words to trigger your memory.
- Write soon. Write as soon as possible after you have the thought or idea. This way you can capture it while it’s fresh on your mind. If you have a phone with recording capabilities, you can record your thoughts to transcribe later.
- Prioritize writing. Move writing to the top of your list even if you have to let some other things go. Good activities can take away from your writing. Let some social media or email time, TV or other things go.
- Think Small. Look for small increments of time you can set aside to write even if it’s for 15 minutes. If you can’t get it all written, write what you can and look for other opportunities. Once you get started, you’ll want to came back to it.
- Allow imperfection. Let go of perfectionism. Don’t worry if your writing is rough. Simply get it written down. You can always refine it later.
Would you like to learn to write better? If so, I’d love to teach you and encourage you in your writing. Check out some of the ways I can serve you here and my writing course, “How to Write for Fun and Profit.” How do you assume your responsibility as a writer? What works for you? Share with us in the comments below.
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Achieve Your Writing Dreams By Creating Momemtum
Do you have a goal, dream or desire in your heart you want to pursue?
Yesterday in my daily writing challenge group, the writing prompt invited us to look back on our writing goals. They suggested we look at our progress and write about what we didn’t expect.
More than a year has gone by since I started the challenge to write daily. I’m in my second year of the writing discipline. I share because the principle applies to any dream you pursue. By sharing my experience, I hope it will encourage you to persist in pursuing your dreams.
One thing I didn’t expect is the momentum gained in the challenge to write daily. The longer I meet the writing goals, the more this drives me.
Many times when I’ve been tempted to quit, I cannot because of the momentum. I don’t know how to describe this phenomenon, but action produces action and keeps me going. I miss a day occasionally.
Still, I find it easier to go for it again because of the momentum. At times I want to give it up and quit the challenge, but I cannot. Part of it is because I find writing rewarding. I feel a sense of satisfaction after I’ve made my writing goal for the day.
Other benefits reward me.
I feel a sense of satisfaction of the insight that comes from writing and reflecting on life’s experiences.
Sometimes what I wrote, fits in with one of my stories I want to preserve for my legacy.
Writing daily improves my writing skills. Editing comes easier.
Momentum brings all these benefits.
Action after action creates the driving force and keeps the energy going.
More than a year has gone by since I started the challenge to write daily and now I’m in my second year of the writing discipline.
Discipline is difficult, but it brings rewards. The momentum created by the discipline is a pleasant surprise.
The secret is consistency. Consistency creates momentum. Momentum keeps you going.
The key to developing consistency is finding encouragement, support, and accountability.
For this reason, I created a writing group where you can find encouragement, support, and accountability by clicking here.
These three factors can help you develop a habit and keep you consistent.
Pursue your dreams with consistent action. Create momentum. You will experience the satisfaction of achieving your goals!
This proverb encourages me and I hope it will you as well in the pursuit of your dreams. “The desires of the diligent will be fully satisfied.” Proverbs 13:4 (NIV)
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Writing Tip: Let the Child in You Out to Play
Today, I had a lot to do. I walked by my watercolors. My heart longed to stop and enjoy them. Most of the time I walk on because it takes time to get everything out and then put it away. Because of other demands with my work, those creative urges get repressed and leave an an unfulfilled longing.
However, today I decided to apply the 15 minute principle. I pulled out my little travel case of watercolors and sat down and began to play with them. I have taken drawing and watercolor classes before but set those on the shelf for years. Recently, I started going to a watercolor class again.
My grandsons inspire me with their simply joy in creating art and they don’t care what it looks like. “Look what I did!” They exclaim as they eagerly point to their paintings.
I decided to let myself be a child again and simply be creative and capture the joy I see in them. I had learned other more formal methods to make everything look good but somehow that approach also hindered me because it took so much time.
So I imitated my grandsons and simply sat down and did a watercolor sketch and then wet into wet paint. I’m sharing it here to say, “Look what I did!”
After I finished in about 15 minutes, I felt renewed and refreshed and my business tasks seemed lighter and more doable. Then I decided to write about it and I feel more inspired and creative in my writing too.
I encourage you to experiment with other creative activities and hobbies to give you a fresh approach to your work and your writing.
This is a fabulous productivity tip to motivate yourself and to get your writing done.
Come be a kid again and learn how to write or learn how to write better. Check out “How to Write for Fun and Profit” and play and learn with me.
A proverb that inspires me to pursue the desires of my heart says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
Be a kid again. Pursue the desires of your heart and don’t be afraid to share with us your creative endeavors even if they’re childlike. The important thing is to do them!
For additional insights, read 5 Tips to Nourish Your Creative Side and Let Play Support Your Work.
What do you like to do to nurture your creative side and how does that help you with your writing? Share with us in the comments below.
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