11 Mar
How does one become a successful writer? Many writers have asked this very question once in their life. In truth, you can’t define success into one simple phrase or word. It depends on what field of writing you’re in or at what point you are in your writing journey.
Regardless of which steps you take to reach success, you can rely on the wisdom of writers who’ve made it. In this article, find out what life habits writers do. Plus, check out some simple (and some pretty obvious) tips to lead you to success.
Life Habits Successful Writers Do
Before I further discuss how to become a successful writer, learn what known writers have done on their journey to success.
1. Stay Active
As writers, we don’t notice how time passes when we get so inspired. Eventually, we get fired up and type and we don’t see how long we’ve sat on our chairs.
They say that sitting for long periods can contribute to a shorter life span. So, what you can do is exercise. If you want to keep your mind working, your blood needs to flow.
Renowned authors Kurt Vonnegut and Haruki Murakami squeeze in minutes to hours worth of exercise in a day. A.J. Jacobs takes a step further by writing while on a treadmill; it’s multitasking at its finest.
Blogger James Clear doesn’t work out every day, but he schedules them on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights.
You don’t have to be like the authors above. Most trainers on YouTube would say that 10 minutes worth of exercise is enough each day. If exercise is too strenuous for you, you can try yoga or a 10-minute walk around your home or workspace.
2. Set Aside Time to Write
Successful writers don’t write the whole day. Writers have other things to do. After all, some writers aren’t full-time bloggers or authors. Try to schedule your writing during the day. That way, you have writing time. This may work, especially if you have other responsibilities.
So, know when you’re most productive. Some would write in the morning, like Maya Angelou or Simone de Beauvoir. Some others are active in the night, like Robert Frost and Charles Dickens.
3. Minimize Distractions
It can be easy to say that we should get rid of distractions.
Since we live in a digitized world, we’re connected to our devices and technology. It can become challenging to unglue our eyes from our smartphones and computers. We all write on our laptops or computers. We need the internet to research particular words or topics.
How writers deal with distractions:
- Copywriter founder Brian Clark admits that he listens to ambient music. But he doesn’t mind listening to songs or tracks with little to no lyrics as well.
- However, E.B. White doesn’t listen to music at all.
- Mentioning James Clear again, he doesn’t keep his phone in the same room where he writes.
- Writer Nathan Englander turns off his phone completely.
So, what you can do is dedicate some time to writing only. Distractions can’t be helped, obviously. But, we can reduce those distractions so we can focus solely on writing.
4. Take A Break
[person sitting on a white couch]
Any successful writer will take a break. Authors and bloggers alike may have coffee breaks in between writing sessions.
Charles Dickens would walk for three hours in the afternoons. Jeff Goins also walks during the day, and it helps him with his thoughts. On the other hand, Henry Miller would paint if he’s feeling low or empty.
Don’t punish yourself if you only wrote a few words and decide you want to take a break. If that works out for you, so be it.
Become a Successful Writer With These Tips
We may have different definitions of success as writers. Some would say, connecting with the audience or creating something we can become proud of. Even with different objectives, it all boils down to these simple but actionable tips to get you productive and attain your goals.
1. Write Regularly
As writers, we hone our craft by writing.
You know what they say about practice makes perfect? Well, that saying no longer applies. We practice to improve and grow.
Content writers know that we have to produce deliverables depending on the content goals of the company or client. Authors, on the other hand, may have one novel and write other pieces. The idea is to keep writing.
You don’t have to write pages-worth every single day. We all have days when our muse doesn’t come to us, or writer’s block hits us. If you can, try writing a sentence or two. Then, write a paragraph and so forth.
If you can, set writing goals for yourself. For example, you could set a 500-word goal a day. Then ramp it up to 1000 and so forth. That way, you can say you wrote something for the day. It doesn’t have to be related to your blog post or novel.
To combat writer’s block, try using these writing tools:
- The Most Dangerous Writing App
- StayFocusd
- Calmly Writer
- ilys
- Evernote
- Trello
2. Read and Learn
A successful writer knows that reading is key to improving our writing skills. There’s no need to read novels every single day. You can read blog posts or articles from renowned writers, bloggers, and marketers. Consider reading writer’s magazines to inspire you as well.
Mix it up by reading fiction or nonfiction works. This will diversify your reading selection. Plus, it allows you to learn more about various topics and writing styles.
Aside from books and articles, do some random research about new topics that you want to explore. It may or may not be related to what you’re writing, but you force yourself to read on those topics when you learn something new.
3. Change Your Surroundings
You may have a home office or a desk where you need to write. But the thing is, once we get too comfortable in these locations, we might lose our motivation to write. Or we don’t meet writing goals.
In Steal Like An Artist, the author, Austin Kleon, urges creatives to get uncomfortable by finding different places to do their work. We need to change our surroundings from time to time. Some writers find this true, especially when holed up in one place.
So, what you can do is change your writing spots in your home. If you have a cramped space or don’t want to work at home, you can go to a nearby cafe or a co-working space.
Another way to tackle this is by going outside. We all sit for long periods in rooms or spaces. Going out can help refresh your mind, so to speak.
Take a walk or your furry friend out for a walk. Bask in the sun for a long time to get your dose of Vitamin D (don’t forget your sunscreen!). Do some gardening. Go out with friends.
Who knows, the writing bug might bite once more, and you get to accomplish your writing goals for the day.
4. Connect with Other Writers
No one is ever alone in their writing journey. Authors need help from editors and publishers. On the other hand, content writers may depend on their clients or teammates. But one thing you might be missing out on is building relationships with other writers. A successful writer isn’t afraid to ask for help. They don’t mind the competition either. If you want to become a better writer, you need to surround yourself with other writers to motivate you.
You can join online writing communities like the Absolute Write Water Cooler or Writers Helping Writers. Reddit has subreddits that writers can join. Meanwhile, you can also join Facebook groups dedicated to writing.
