I work on my book every single day, whether that be typing up a few pages, editing or brainstorming. Until a recent holiday, this cycle hadn’t been broken in nearly a year.

That’s not to say it’s THE way.

It personally works for me, though. It gives my day focus and structure. If everything else goes wrong at least I can always say I’ve made some progress. I also believe that that consistency has helped make me a better writer.

However, it’s not easy. These are the main challenges I face when writing every day:

Working out what to write

I’ve discussed this before. Creativity doesn’t always cooperate with your schedule. Numerous times I’ve just had to write something, even though I’ve not figured it all out in my head yet (the results can be hit-and-miss).

Finding the energy

We’ve all had those days where we’re just not in the mood. Could have been down to a long day at work, or a bad night’s sleep. Whatever the cause, I still have to push through. If I flaked out whenever I wasn’t feeling it, that would be a big clue that writing isn’t for me.

Finding the time

It’s one thing to find a decent chunk of time to write occasionally, it’s quite another to create that window every single day. Sometimes that means writing just before bed, sometimes it means getting up early. It almost always involves sacrificing time elsewhere.

It can become a chore

I’ve had writing on the top of my to-do list for the last eight months. Writing ever day doesn’t allow me to step back, take a break, clear my head. But sometimes that’s precisely what is needed to get through a tricky plot point or laborious editing session.

Some people won’t get it

The world isn’t going to end if I miss the odd day here and there, but once I’ve started building that chain, I’m very reluctant to break it. However, it can be hard to explain that to people sometimes. Fortunately for me, my wife is very supportive.