10 Reasons to Write Every Day, Even If You Suck

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People who write on a regular basis are more likely to have their shit together.

I totally made that up, but you’re paying attention now, aren’t you?

What if I told you that if you sat down to write for at least ten minutes every day, you’d feel more in control of your life?

What if you kept writing every day until it became a habit that you pretty much couldn’t function without?

And what if those words you wrote every day eventually turned into a book or some other passion project?

All those things are possible.

For me, when I was in college, I wrote pretty much every day for my Fanfiction magnum opus, a 230,000 word Harry Potter story that’s still getting reviews, favorites, and follows to this day, and the last chapter was posted on December 11th, 2015.

What if you wrote every day and discovered that when you journal your feelings and emotions onto the page, you felt less burdened by them?

What if all you need to do to gain a little more control over your life is to write down what’s been bothering you at work?

And what if you wrote down your goals for this year, this quarter, this month, and this week?

Would you feel like you could get it done?

It doesn’t matter if your writing quality is at the level of Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, or Stephanie Meyer.

All that matters is you putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and getting in the zone for at least ten minutes a day. Make it part of your morning routine if you need to.

I don’t care if you’re a crap writer.

I was a crap writer when I first started at age twelve. And I can guarantee that the stuff I wrote at age twelve sucked big time – and still sucks. 

I’ve still got those sucky manuscripts from junior high on my laptop.

You don’t have to want to improve, either, but that might be a natural side effect.

When we write, we’re in charge of what goes on the page.

We get to decide what our goals are, what we want our characters to do, or how viciously we score the paper with our frustrations.

Here’s a quick list of ten reasons to write every day, even if you think you suck at it:

1. You’ll feel more grounded and in control of your life
2. Writing cements whatever idea you’re writing about, especially goals
3. You’ll be less angry, upset, frustrated, etc. by writing those feelings down
4. I believe every person has a book inside them – and the only way to get it out is to write it down
5. If you don’t, you’ll never get past the shitty stage of not knowing what to write about
6. Writing and reading improve vocabulary. Want to sound smart? Write.
7. You’ll be able to say “I’m a writer” without it being a lie or an aspiration
8. You’ll prove to yourself that you actually CAN write
9. After a while, you’ll suck less at it
10. People will read it if you let them

So, do you think you can do it?

Here’s my challenge to you.

Tomorrow morning, wake up ten minutes earlier, and at some point, before you go to work or class, set a timer for ten minutes and just write.

When the timer goes off, put down your pen or stop typing, even if you’re in the middle of a sentence – or even in the middle of a word.

Ten minutes.

That’s all you need.

And then do it again the next day.