Writers write. That is obvious, isn't it?
There is nothing else that goes on. Writers write. The problem that arises is that most people do anything but writing. They think about writing, talk about writing, even read about writing, but end up not producing even a full sentence at their so-called writing sessions.
I am not immune to this at all. I have about three quarter-written novels, none of which I intend to finish in the near future. The reason is I attempted too much. Instead of spontaneous bursts of writing, I spent long hours purely writing, finally exhausting in "writer's burnout."
The thing about writing is: it happens in increments. You can't produce a successful business in a day. You can't write a novel in a day either. You write words, string them into sentences, which turn into paragraphs, then chapters, and finally a book.
Currently, I am about twelve thousand words into the novel I plan on publishing in 2021. And it's scaring me. It feels so important, writing a book. I know I have already written one—that was my first baby step, barely five thousand words. My first novel, however, seems grander than Mount Everest. I don't want to mess it up. How should I approach it?
It took me a long time to figure out a method that works for me. Note that I say "for me." Study habits differ for every student, and likewise, my method will not work for everyone. Bare that in mind.
I should not write the whole novel in one sitting or even a few, as I did with my unfinished "burnout" novels. Instead, I have been making an effort to write a minimum of 500 words a day. For the past three weeks, I have been quite successful in maintaining that goal. In fact, I have been writing close to 800-1000 words a day, depending on the amount of school work I have on that particular day.
As expected and a well-known fact, it turns out that writing really doesn't produce an outcome in one sitting. And writers should acknowledge that. 500 words a day seems to be the perfect short-term daily goal for me and in turn, as much as I sound like a ninth-grade health teacher, if there is anything you are trying to change in your routine or life, setting achievable short-term goals is imperative.
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