As a writer, it’s easy to believe productivity is everything. People tout the benefits of writing every day and where setting goals and achieving writing outputs is essential. Many urge writing every day even if you’re not feeling up to it because of the importance of showing up every day, even if it’s not your best work.
And that works for some people.
I realize it doesn’t work for me.
Sometimes, the best writing comes from not writing. It’s easy to feel like you’re lazy when you’re not writing and calling yourself a writer, but not writing is when you heal. It’s when you recharge. It’s when you come up with ideas — and let’s be honest: who wants to read writing from someone who writes all the time and never gives themselves a break?
Two literary agents, Jessica Faust and James McGowan discuss the benefits of not writing — the conventional wisdom that you improve at writing is not true. And the advice of writing every day comes with an obsession with doing, and constantly feeling like we have to be full speed ahead at all times.
For Faust, this obsession with always doing is hampering the creative process for a lot of people, even if some people can benefit from always doing. Some people and many people probably benefit from that every day routine.
As a runner, I don’t run every day. I take days off. Yes, I run a lot of days, but I just ran a marathon today and I need to take the next week off, lest I completely destroy my body. Throughout the rest of the day after my marathon, of course I’m not running. I’m just laying on the couch, having a beer now and again, and watching TV. It’s not me being lazy — it’s exactly what I need.
People have to do what works for them, and not everyone benefits from writing every day. What works for me is not writing every day. As a runner, you need to rest to improve. And as a runner, you also need rest to improve, especially after days where the writing is draining and taking a lot out of you, you also need time to rest.
Faust says the creative brain is also a muscle that needs rest. Forcing a story makes “your creative brain start to atrophy.” Different things outside of writing help creativity, like reading or just living your life.
I’m not saying a writer shouldn’t write forever. But there needs to be support behind the writing to improve, like reading, like resting, like working out and staying mentally and emotionally healthy.
A writer needs balance. And writing every day might not be the balance for everyone. Not writing is sometimes, and maybe a lot of the times, the best path forward.
—
This post was previously published on Inspired Writer.
***
You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
 White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism |
 Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box |
 The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer |
 |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: Unsplash
