Why I encourage everyone to write every day

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This week marks the end of The Daydreamer, the beta version of my daily writing prompt sequence.

I'm grateful to the twelve people that signed up as testers. From my vantage point, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The survey feedback I'm getting suggests that they got something out of it, too.

One of the testers kindly encouraged me to "be bolder on the value proposition," because they "needed more why." It was a great point. I'm so accustomed to writing every day that I easily forget a) how difficult it is to build that habit and b) how much motivation is needed to turn that desire into a reality.

So, why do I think it's a good idea to write every day?

To be honest, I was initially dismissive when I first heard singer-songwriter Becca Jordan talk about the "morning pages."

It was a local in the round concert, here in Nashville. During an interlude, Becca explained how Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way had fueled her creative breakthrough. I was intrigued. Partly because Becca's songs captivated me, and partly because I was hungry to kickstart my own creative practice.

Earlier that year, I'd started writing again—the first time I'd done anything "creative" in twelve years. (I'm admittedly not counting the many grad school essays, professional white papers, or emails that I worked on in that time.) But then we up and moved across the country, and writing naturally fell to the wayside.

So yeah, I wondered if this book might help me. Except that I didn't care to force myself to write every day. That was way too structured. I figured I could skip that part and glean what I needed from the rest of the book.

But when I finally started reading the book, I discovered that I was wrong. Either I had to accept Cameron's assignment—to produce "three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness" every day—or I had to move on from this book and hope to rediscover my creativity elsewhere.

Grumbling, I chose to accept the assignment.

These pages were, and are, difficult to write on some days. Depending on my focus, it takes about twenty minutes. And they're not always pleasant minutes. Cameron warns about this at the outset: "Although occasionally colorful, the morning pages are often negative, frequently fragmented, often self-pitying, repetitive, stilted or babyish, angry or bland—even silly sounding."

Small wonder that Cameron discourages her readers from showing these pages to anyone.

You might wonder what good could possibly come from writing such things and dwelling in your own negativity. It's a good and fair question, which Cameron preemptively answers:

All that angry, whiny, petty stuff that you write down in the morning stands between you and your creativity. Worrying about the job, the laundry, the funny knock in the car, the weird look in your lover's eye—this stuff eddies through our subconscious and muddies our days.

In these writing moments, I'm not manufacturing bile or darkness. I'm simply getting that garbage out of my head and onto the page. Without that release, all that stuff stays inside me. Gets bottled down. It doesn't go anywhere, and by trapping it in my mind, I give it way more power than it deserves to have.

I guess that's why I often refer to these pages as my prayer time. As I chase a thought that's plaguing me—a fear, a shame, a guilt, an anger—I'm emboldened to name it and face it. Indeed, I often find that my perspective shifts from page 1 to page 3. I see things that, before, I didn't have the eyes to see.

Sometimes I even change my mind.

That's one of the reasons why I encourage others—writers and "non-writers" alike—to write every day.

Because this work doesn't just free me up to write. It liberates me to move differently throughout my day. To show up more fully to my wife and my kids. To be more attentive to my friends and colleagues. To direct my focus on work that matters.

While my daily writing prompts didn't usually delve this deep, I was hoping to nudge others towards this gift that has enriched my life. Something happens when you pick up a pen and start chasing words across the page. This habit might not be for everybody, but I've yet to meet someone who regretted it.

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