Why It Might Be Better For Your Wellbeing to Not Write Every Day

Last month I shared a wonderful guest post by Desiree Villena—4 Reasons Writing Every Day is Great for Your Wellbeing. While I agree with the points Desiree makes, I also found myself questioning whether writing every day is great for everyone. If you follow author Becca Syme on YouTube, you’ll know about QTP—Question the Premise.

I found myself questioning the premise after reading Desiree’s post. Writing every day is great advice, and there are many successful authors that swear by it, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone. While I do write most days, there are many days when I don’t write, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. 

Becca’s QTP work (both on her YouTube channel and in her nonfiction books) is based on strengths psychology. I’m simplifying here, but strengths psychology is the idea that if we focus on our strengths, we can improve more than if we focus on improving our weaknesses. Some writers may find the idea of writing every day exhausting. Or, if they’re like me and have thinking-based strengths that take over, they like to think about their book (a lot) before putting pen to paper. 

If the thought of writing every day overwhelms you, I guarantee you are not alone. It’s not right for everyone. The key is finding what works for you. Taking a break from writing isn’t a bad thing. Actually, it can be very good for some writers. 

Taking a break from writing every day can help you:

Get unstuck

From my own experience, when I write every day, I have a hard time figuring out where I’m stuck. I just keep pushing forward and then, when I edit my work, I wonder what I was thinking! When I take a break, I allow my mind to work through various scenarios. I’m not typing or writing, but I’m still working on my story. Sometimes it takes a few days, but eventually I have an “aha” moment and can get back into my story.

Be more creative

Taking a break from writing always helps me come up with new ideas when I do get back to writing. Sometimes when I write every day, my creative well runs dry. I find myself using the same descriptions over and over. 

I love to get out of the house and people watch or eavesdrop on conversations. The people around me are the best inspiration.

Fall back in love with your story

Last month I tried an experiment with the third book in my Cynthia Webber series. It was my own version of NaNoWriMo where I calculated how many words I needed to write each day to finish the rough draft. So, I wrote every day. By the end, I was so glad to be done with the draft, I missed a lot of things when I was self-editing. It made me realize that I’m one of those people that produces better work when I let it rest for a while before I start editing. I’m more of a ‘slow and steady’ type of writer, and now that I’ve had some time away from the story while my editor was reviewing it, I’m really excited to get back to editing!

Get some well-deserved rest

Burnout is all too common among writers. Last April I wrote this post about self-care for writers. Thankfully, my husband and I aren’t getting up at 3 a.m. any more. I never did get used to that! But I still have my morning routine where I workout and either before or after the workout I read.

Taking a break from writing every day can be a great way to care for yourself. You know best what you need. Listen to yourself. Sleep is one of the most important things our bodies need. If you’re exhausted because you’re staying up late writing, try taking a night off. It might do wonders for your career.

As much as I love writing, I’m not the type of writer who can write every day and do it well. If it works for you, that’s great! I encourage you to try your own experiments to find out what works best for you. There are many weeks when I do feel inspired to write every day, but I also realize, for me, there is a lot of value in taking breaks too.