10 Reasons Why Writing Daily Makes You a Better Writer

I hate to break it to you but, writing isn’t a skill that you’re born with – it has to be taught and practiced. That’s precisely why so many people take classes and courses to enhance their writing skills.

If you ask any professional writer or journalist, they’ll tell you one thing; practice helps a great deal when it comes to writing. If you consider writing like you do any other craft or skill, you wouldn’t even question the need to practice every single day. While you won’t notice the progress from day to day, when you look at your previous pieces of work, you’ll see just how far you’ve come.

Still feeling skeptical? Here are ten reasons why should write every day.

1. It builds up your discipline.

Every athlete will preach about the importance of discipline. They wake up every day, train, and repeat. Even on days when the weather is gloomy, or they didn’t get enough sleep – they force themselves in order to better themselves.

As a writer, you should adopt this same mindset. However, as adults, this can be difficult. We’ve been given such free rein in our lives that forcing ourselves to do one thing every day seems impossible. The good news is; practice and discipline go hand in hand with each other. The more you practice, the easier it’ll be to do every single day. Research suggests that it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become a habit – making those first two months the most difficult. After 66 days, it should be smooth sailing.

One motto that we live by is “word by word”. When you look at a task ahead, it seems daunting. Often, you’ll see a 3,000-word article hand-in or a 500-word blog post. If you look at it word by word, it becomes insanely more comfortable. In the same way that bodybuilders get stronger weight by weight, writers get better word by word. The takeaway: discipline comes with practice. Try writing for 30 minutes every single day, and it’ll improve your skills and your habit. Don’t worry if you’ve never had much discipline in your life, just like writing, this comes with time.

2. It makes you smarter.

Writing makes you think and reflect. The skills you use in reading and writing have a spillover effect. To write a meaningful piece of work, you have to pay attention, learn, and use your words wisely. Also, writing encourages research. Whether you’re writing a fiction book or a journal article. You still have to rummage around for relevant facts and authentic information.

What does this have to do with improving your writing skills?

As you get smarter, you’ll become a better writer. The more you research and write, the more your general knowledge and vocabulary will expand. Before you know it, you’ll be writing amazing pieces, with very little thought or research –because it’s all there in that wonderful brain of yours. Studies have also shown that writing by hand encourages cognitive function. Of course, with technology at our fingertips, it seems like a waste of time to write via pen and paper. We suggest writing down notes and ideas on scrap pieces of paper – just like J.K. Rowling did.

The takeaway: there’s a reason why some of the smartest people in the world write. Regardless of whether it’s articles or blog entries. Writing down forces you to clarify everything in your brain and rationalize your thoughts. As you write more, you’ll effectively be able to express your point and transform your feelings into opinions. The result? You’ll be more confident in your work, and this will shine through your writing. Just keep on writing.

3. You’ll feel like you accomplished something.

Have you ever lied down after a productive day and felt super proud of yourself? Imagine the feeling once you’ve completed your first book? As humans, we don’t like to waste time. We’re programmed to feel like we should always be doing something – it’s our fight or flight response. If you write every single day; you’ll have achieved something every single day. It’s as simple as that. It doesn’t matter how little or how much you wrote. Sure, writing can ultimately pay the bills or gain you a following. Above all, it will fulfill you and charge you with excitement. Ultimately, if you can’t write for fun, you won’t be able to write every day. In short, writing should be fun and exciting for you.

How does this make you better at writing? It’s a win-win situation. The practicing will help build up your vocabulary, and the writing will engulf you in excitement. As you get closer and closer to finishing your project, you’ll look forward to writing. As you sit down and write, you’ll improve your craft. Make sure you’re getting that “feeling,” if not, consider changing your genre or schedule.

4. It helps you find inspiration in everything.

When you set your mind on writing every single day, your entire mindset changes. Walking down the street, you’ll find yourself searching for new ideas, storylines, and article ideas. This is creativity, and inquisitiveness is crucial when you’re aiming to be a great writer. It enabled you to see the world in a different way and completely perfect your writing.

“With writing, you don’t only have to perfect your writing skills. There are tons of other crafts you have to develop too. Storytelling, communication, reasoning, and organizational skills are essential also.” — Marie Fincher, writer at Studicus, and head of content at Trust My Paper. Finding inspiration in your everyday surroundings makes it easier to work on your craft and become a better writer. After all, writers are some of the most creative and imaginative people you’ll meet.

5. It teaches you to fail.

Writers and failure seem to come hand in hand. Take a look at some of the greatest writing success stories – there were several rejections before they got their big break. Writing every day makes you comfortable with failure, enabling you to embrace it and use it to become a better writer. Trial and error are really a big thing when it comes to writing. The best way to improve and grow as a writer is to experience constructive failure.

What you won’t hear often is first drafts, and initial ideas don’t always look amazing. As a writer, your first attempt at something is never going to be your best work – learning to develop and grow is so important.  “Although failure is a harsh word to use, it’s an essential part of the writing process. It’s crucial that you use failure to better your writing, and not as an excuse to give up.“ — Neightan White, writer, and blogger at Supreme Dissertations.

6. It expands your vocabulary.

We touched on this point earlier, but it obviously deserves its very own section. Writing all comes down to the choice of words; the better you can express your point, the better your writing is. Writing every day requires a lot of research. It requires you to read other pieces and try out new styles. Word by word, you’ll expand your vocabulary and become a better writer.

Generally, this doesn’t mean that you’ll discover big, formal words. If archaic writing isn’t your style, they won’t be useful to you anyway. Instead, it’ll give you knowledge of the best words for you and your pieces. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been writing for though. Every now and then you’ll come across a new word or phrase, that will completely enhance your work. Obviously, to expand your vocabulary, you have to research extensively. Read work from your favorite authors and those you’ve never heard of before.

Writers very often dive into a thesaurus every now and then. It can be extremely beneficial. The more you read, the better you’ll become as a writer. Don’t believe us? Look back on your vocabulary from 10 years ago – like we said, it’s a learning curve and one you should embrace.

7. It helps you to find your style.

Every writer needs their own specific style. It’s their voice. It’s what makes them stand out from the crowd. However, when every writer first starts writing, they’ll have a very generic style. Over time, we begin to craft our own writing style, which helps our readers decipher our work. Again, this kind of individuality only happens with practice. You find what works best for you, what words to use, and where to place punctuation.

Once you find this specific writing style, everything else will fall into place. Your writing will be fun to read and easy to spot. To find your writing style, make your observations completely unique. Don’t copy anybody else’s work or idea – use your imagination. As we mentioned, writing makes you more imaginative, and thus, everything tends to fall into place. Avoid any clichés with your writing and use your own experiences as a catalyst for your writing. Write in a way that’s conversational and similar to how you speak. Even add your accent, if you wish.

8. It helps your work get noticed.

The more you write, the more you’ll get noticed. It’s as simple as that –granted that you’re publishing your work. If you blog about your travels, your travel work will be noticed by more people. Likewise, if you write fiction novels – you’ll slowly but surely gain a following.

You may be trying to become a better writer for yourself. That’s great. However, becoming a better writer can lead to amazing opportunities; you just have to get noticed. Whether you agree with it or not, becoming a better writer is sometimes defined by how many readers you have. Therefore, if you write more, you’ll gain more readers.

9. It’s a refreshing part of your day.

Believe it or not, but the majority of people write. Sure, it might not be a hefty fiction novel, but everyone in the world writes statuses or tweets. They even try their hand at Instagram captions. Arguably, it’s like a modern-day equivalent of a daily diary entry. Why do we do this?

Simply because it’s a refreshing part of our day. It’s a chance to vent or articulate our feelings. Writing every day is excellent for the mind, and that in turn makes us better writers. Think how much better our writing skills could be if we wrote blogs as much as we wrote tweets?

10. It makes you fearless.

Writing takes a lot of guts, regardless of the topic. Sure, journalists might have a bit more adrenaline-pumping times than a fiction writer, but writers are some of the most courageous people you’ll meet. Every time that they submit a draft or press publish on a blog post; it takes courage. There’s always a feeling of worry that it’ll get rejected or fail. Now, in the internet days, there’s the worry of whether or not it will go viral.

Writing prepares us for anything and the more we do it, the more apathetic to fear and failure we become. As you write more, the more fearless you become. Sequentially, this makes you a better writer. Soon, you won’t hesitate to publish your book or send out your article. It’s your opinion, and you have to stand by it.

How to write every day

We know, it’s not as simple as just doing it. We already stated that discipline came with practice. So, how do you do it without the training? Our best advice is; sit down. We know, it seems too simple to be true.  Try to sit down in front of your computer (or pen and paper) every single day, and train yourself to write. It may be challenging to begin with, but writing is such a fun, and creative form of expression, that you’ll slowly but surely start to love it.

We also highly recommend blocking out any distractions. We lock our phones into a drawer and stay away from televisions. Complete silence or non-distracting background noise can also help greatly.

Also remember, just write often. Even if it’s just 10 minutes every day, it’s still better than nothing. Make no excuses and no exceptions. A habit will be formed, and you’ll be so proud of yourself.

Conclusion

Writing is excellent for the mind and soul. You grow where you devote your attention, and writing will ultimately make you happier and more productive throughout the day. Many writers use their craft as a form of escapism. Rather than bottling up their feelings, they release them into a book or blog. It clarifies everything – it’s a skill or hobby quite like no other.

We challenge you to start writing every single day. It could be the most productive and beneficial challenge you every commit to.

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