Two things I am told constantly about writing:

tinylinus:

1. Write everyday
   
2. Only write when you feel inspired

What you should do instead:

1. Whatever’s best for you.
   

Seriously. Look at any ‘top writing tips!’ list and one of these pieces of advice will be mentioned, or maybe both, depending on how they’re phrased.

Now, I do believe these tips can co-exist. They do so for me quite happily now, but it took me a long time to find my balance, mainly because there isn’t a lot of middle ground between camp “if you don’t write every day you’re not a Real Writer(™)” and camp “don’t stress yourself! only write when you know you can, otherwise why bother!”. Hearing both these things at once hindered me much more than it helped.

For me, I do try and write a little every day. Even if it’s only ten minutes and I only squeeze out five words, putting a moment of my day aside just to think about whatever I’m writing really helps me stay focused. That way, I know I’m still trying. This is not to say I’m inspired every day. By no means. I’ve yet to meet anyone who was inspired to do anything every day. Most days I’m not even inspired to leave my room! But when I am inspired, I bleed that fucker dry. As soon as I realise I’m in that “wouldn’t it be wonderful to write today??” frame of mind, I put everything else to one side (practicality permitting of course) and really really try. That works for me.

Some people need to write at least 500 words a day. Others might only write once a week, or once a month. Neither of these are right or wrong. Do what is best for you and if you read a ‘tip’ that you don’t agree with- ignore it. Just fucking forget it.

It’s taken me a long time to figure this out the perfect balance, and the reason is because of these two tips constantly contradicting each other in my tiny head. Don’t listen to them. You do you.