Advice for Writers: Write First, Write Every Day

If you, like me, are hungry for academic writing advice, two suggestions will come up again and again: write first, and write every day. Today, I’d like to think through how that advice might apply to Walden students, many of whom are caring for family members and working in their fields while completing their studies.

Write First
In her book Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day, Joan Bolker explains a piece of advice given to her by her own adviser: “write first.” She outlines two different meanings for this advice. First, put your writing first. Make earning your degree a priority in your life rather than something that you squeeze in around the edges. Second, write first thing in the morning, before the rest of your life has a chance to get in the way.

I recommend interpreting this advice loosely and “writing first” by thinking about what time of day you have the most energy and the best ability to focus and, if possible, blocking that time off on your calendar for your writing. If that’s not a possibility because of your other obligations, that’s just fine, but try to avoid sitting down to write at your lowest energy times of day. You’ll likely find that you are able to produce much more writing—and probably better writing at that—if you write during a time of day when you feel energized.

As I examined the daily rhythms of my own energy levels, I found that I was best able to focus on my writing either first thing in the morning, before the chaos of the day had begun, or after my son had gone to bed and my work was finished for the day. However, when I tried to write in the evenings, I was simply too tired to accomplish much. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I now wake up early to write before my son wakes up and I need to go to work. I have to go to bed early to make this schedule work, but it’s worth it to me to have some dedicated time to focus, and I love beginning my day with a sense of accomplishment.

Write Every Day
The other piece of advice you’ll often see is to write every day. Write at least X number of words or pages each day. Write even if you don’t feel like it. Don’t worry if it’s bad; just write.

Some writers take a very narrow interpretation of this advice. They sit down at their desk at the designated time each day, and they don’t leave until they reach their target number of words or pages. Depending on your circumstances and the kind of project you are working on, this may work for you.

Other writers use a broad definition of the term “writing,” thinking of it as an umbrella that covers researching, reading, brainstorming, prewriting, outlining, drafting, revising, editing, and anything else that relates to a writing project. If you’ve ever felt down on yourself because you don’t think you’re a very productive writer, a definition like this might be good for your relationship with writing: maybe you haven’t written any new words today, but what have you done to move your writing project and your degree forward?

Writing every single day might not be a possibility for you right now, and again, that’s okay. The important thing here is consistency. If you can manage to do a little something on your writing project or coursework each day, that will keep it fresh in your mind. If not, schedule consistent times to work, and make sure that you show up for them (unless you’re sick or have an emergency, of course).

I find that working on my writing project every day helps me feel like I’m always moving forward, but that doesn’t always mean new words on the page. For example, on a recent morning, I only had half an hour to write, so I spent my time thinking through next steps on my project and ordered some library books. These weren’t glamorous tasks, but they needed to get done. When I have a longer stretch to work this weekend, I’ll be able to take full advantage of it because I will have a plan and the resources I need.

How might you adjust your schedule to write first and write every day? We’d love to hear how you make space for your writing in your busy life.

If you’re interested in learning more about writing strategies like these, we recommend checking out Joan Bolker’s Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day.

Cheryl Read is a Writing Instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. She loves finding strategies for writing to be a less painful--and even enjoyable--process. When she’s not helping student writers at Walden, Cheryl stays busy playing with her son and working on her dissertation.

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