3 lessons on writing every day for 30 days

Today marks my 30th-day of writing and publishing an atomic essay every day.

It feels long and short all at the same time, and I am proud of having come this far.

If you're thinking of embarking on a similar challenge, here are the things I learned, which I hope can help in your writing journey.

Consistency above all else

When I started, the only thing that mattered was that I published on that day.

I wasn't trying to publish perfectly worded essays consistently. I wasn't trying to nail down my niche topics. I wasn't trying to gain new followers or increase engagement.

My only aim was to publish consistently.

Anything else was a bonus.

Focus on the 80%

Writing is a misnomer.

Writing is only a small part of the process because 80% of it is about thinking, researching, refining, and editing.

As soon as I hit publish, my mind immediately goes to my next potential writing topic. I then spend the rest of my day trying them on for size and figuring out the best approach.

By the time I'm ready to write, the big questions have answers, and all I have to do is fill in the details.

Keep all the drafts

Not every day is a good writing day.

There are days wherein I publish an utterly different essay than the one I started with. Making these judgement calls is how I manage to post consistently.

Because once I feel that the piece isn't writing itself, I set it aside to be worked on and edited on a different day. Then I start a new one.

This is why I keep all my drafts. Today's abandoned draft could be tomorrow's published essay.