How to Write Everyday

In 2025, the average human has a lot on their plate. Productivity can be an elusive white whale, especially when it comes to creative productivity. Forcing inspiration AND landing on your word count goal after a long 9–5 (or longer) at the day job? It seems impossible.

That’s exactly what I thought for literal years of my life. Before I joined the workforce, I felt like an unstoppable wizard of creativity, but once I set goals to become a functioning adult, that creativity took a back seat. Sure, I would dabble here and there but I just didn’t have the drive.

I told myself that I was waiting for inspiration. But really, I was using that as an excuse to not take charge of inspiration and MAKE it happen.

Until one magical day, I decided to get back into writing regularly, no questions asked.

I was in my 30s now and once upon a time I had a goal to be published at 18. So, setting aside that little bit of self-resentment, I signed myself up for NaNoWriMo.

National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month, more affectionately known by authors as NaNoWriMo, happens every November. The goal is to write 50,000 words in a month and, ideally, end up with a complete first draft.

When I first started, one of the biggest draws was the sense of community. By signing up, I held myself accountable—not just through my own profile, but within my local NaNoWriMo chapter. That accountability was intimidating at first, but it was exactly what I needed.

(Though I no longer participate in NaNoWriMo due to their stance on AI, I still believe in the power of structured challenges and creative support. That’s why I founded The Order of the Written Word—to give writers a space that prioritizes human imagination and offers the same kind of motivation and encouragement that helped me in the past.)

The Introvert Writer

Writers are more commonly introverted than extroverted. Writing itself is a very inward-facing practice. Because of this, it can be tough to take a step that brings community into the mix. Many creatives take years or decades getting comfortable sharing their work with others — some are never truly comfortable. Whether it’s fear of idea theft or fear of judgment, there are a lot of walls we put up in front of community.

But community is not something to fear as an author. If you plan to publish, judgment is something you need to learn to accept, so it’s best to get practice early on with fellow writers who understand that fear. And, where idea theft is concerned, that’s a topic for a whole other article but I’ll just say it’s worth taking the risk to receive feedback and get your novel out into the world faster.

1,600 Words a Day

If you divide 50,000 by 31 days you get 1,612.90 words per day. Round that off to 1600 and that’s what you should have in your head to write a 100-page first draft in one month.

An average page is 500 words. You’re now looking at just over 3 pages a day. Not so terrifying, right? Well, when you’re starting from zero, 3 pages can be a lot.

But as with any other habit, all you need is practice.

What I learned From NaNoWriMo

Completing NaNoWriMo gave me exactly what I needed to maintain a daily writing practice. When building a new habit, it’s often said that it takes 21 days to really solidify it—NaNoWriMo provided the perfect opportunity to do that.

Whether you participate in an official challenge or create your own, the key is to start by jumping in with both feet and then adjust as you go. The structure and momentum can be invaluable, no matter how you approach it.

Create a Goal

NaNoWriMo is a great teacher because you don’t even have to think about your goal. It’s already set. But if you’re just starting to build a daily writing habit, I’d recommend a goal of 500 words per day or one page of writing. Do this for 21 days and then raise the bar from there.

For those looking for a structured challenge, The Order of the Written Word provides three different ways to stay motivated:

• The Novelist’s Initiation – Write 30,000 words within your current novel. For the bonus task, use as many words as needed to complete the first draft of a new novel.

• The Trials of Verse & Vignette – Choose between writing 15 poems or 8 short stories (1,000 to 10,000 words each). Completing this challenge would be enough to put together a small collection.

• The Refinement Ritual – Focus on revising a draft of your novel, short story collection, or poetry collection. This is your chance to polish and perfect your work.

No matter where you are in your writing journey, having a goal in place makes all the difference.

Sit Down and Write

The most important step to writing every day is to write every day.

I bet you’re rolling your eyes at that statement, and, I did too when I saw this prior to trying it. But I think you’ll find much as I did that simply sitting down at that desk in front of your laptop or notebook, will switch your brain over to where it needs to be. Don’t fuss about doing it. The longer you let your brain gnaw on the prospect, the less likely you are to do it.

Pick a time. Sit down. Write.

Accept Your Mistakes

One of the biggest things that will halt your writing productivity is obsessing over what you’re writing. I know, many of us feel comfortable editing as we go, but for your initial 21 days or month of writing every day, don’t do this. Outline in preparation and just write.

If you really want to read your writing back to yourself, only allow this once you have finished your writing goal for the day, and read only what you wrote that day. It’s ok to make mistakes on your first draft. That’s what the editing process is for! Your goal with a first draft should simply be to get it done.

Make Yourself Accountable

Let’s loop back to the introvert writer. Making yourself accountable is important when writing. If you don’t have anything on the line, what’s to make you keep up a habit? Sure, simply wanting to is a start, but as humans we’re really good at finding other activities we’d prefer to do, and reasoning with ourselves why we can do those instead.

You’re going to have to find a way to keep yourself accountable. Here are some suggestions:

1. Get a writing group. If you're having trouble finding one locally, you can join The Stygian Society/Order Discord server which offers writing support all year ‘round!

2. Ask your most reliable friend or relative to check in on you.

3. Announce what you’re doing on social media and promise to update your followers every day.

4. To avoid social accountability, set a reward for yourself at the end of each week if you’ve been successful in writing every day (pizza, anyone?)

   
   

Celebrate

If you’re not having fun when you’re writing you shouldn’t be writing. Does that mean you should be in a state of joy every time you sit down at your desk? Not at all. Many writers are miserable. But, you should get some form of joy upon completion of each sentence you believe you’ve worded perfectly, each paragraph that came together simply; each page that you complete in full.

If you are uncertain about whether you would even like to be a writer, writing every day is the best trial through fire you can give yourself to see if it’s for you.

Setting rewards can be used for both accountability and celebration. When you do well, always celebrate that. Don’t get lost in the process — enjoy it!

Just Bloody Do It

If you take anything from my article today, it should be from my second point:

SIT DOWN AND WRITE.

You can surround yourself with all the support and rewards in the world but in the end if those are your larger focus your goal is going to suffer. Use the tools I’ve provided to help in your writing but always remember that writing is your top priority.