{"id":30766,"date":"2026-08-25T01:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T08:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=30766"},"modified":"2026-08-24T04:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T11:05:09","slug":"do-you-have-to-write-every-day-by-bailey-lang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/25\/do-you-have-to-write-every-day-by-bailey-lang\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Have to Write Every Day? by Bailey Lang"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Do<\/a>Let’s welcome back Bailey Lang<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cDo You Have to Write Every Day?\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I get myself to write consistently?\u201d<\/p>\n

This is one of the most common questions writers<\/strong> ask me in my book coaching work as the Literary Witch.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re often authors who find themselves writing in a desperate rush to meet a deadline and then crashing, wondering all the while what\u2019s wrong with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t I make myself write every day?\u201d they ask.<\/p>\n

The first question I always ask in response is<\/strong>, \u201cWhy do you think you need to?\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, there\u2019s nothing wrong with a daily writing practice if that\u2019s what works for you.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also nothing wrong with wanting a writing practice that feels spacious and magical rather than rushed and stressful!<\/p>\n

But consistency does not have to mean<\/strong> writing every single day.<\/p>\n

In fact, I think conflating \u201cbeing a consistent writer\u201d with \u201cwriting every day\u201d is kind of a trap, and it\u2019s one that can set you up for failure.<\/p>\n

Why We\u2019re Told to Write Every Day<\/h2>\n

The suggestion to write every day is so common it\u2019s practically a truism.<\/p>\n

We see it in canonical creativity texts like<\/strong> The Artist\u2019s Way<\/i>, on social media, and hanging around in the ether like a scary ghost you can\u2019t get rid of.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy advice to give and understand: If you want to make progress on your book, sit down and write a little bit every day.<\/p>\n

Boom!<\/p>\n

Done!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conversation over.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also quantifiable and trackable, which is great for our optimization-obsessed culture.<\/p>\n

Did the number go up?<\/p>\n

You\u2019re succeeding!<\/strong> (Did you break your streak? Uh-oh!)<\/p>\n

We\u2019re told to write every day in part because it offers a simple way to track success or failure.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re writing daily, you\u2019re consistent.<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t writing daily<\/strong>, you\u2019re not consistent.<\/p>\n

Right?<\/p>\n

Well, not so fast.<\/p>\n

When the Advice Doesn\u2019t Work<\/h2>\n

One of the problems with \u201cwrite every day\u201d as a metric of success is that it only measures one small component of your writing practice while ignoring everything else that makes creative expression worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Adding new words to your draft is a single<\/strong> piece of your writing practice — an important piece, to be sure!<\/p>\n

However, simply putting more words in the draft doesn\u2019t reflect the totality of your creative experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWrite every day\u201d doesn\u2019t account for:<\/p>\n