These Bad Habits Will Destroy Your Writing Skills
We all do it. “I’m a writer, I’ve been writing for years. I’m working on a trilogy. My magic system is based on…”
We talk a lot about writing. We buy books on writing and read about writing. We buy writer starting kits and courses.
We have these conversations with friends and family and it makes us feel good for a moment to talk about our story and to get quick reactions.
It is A LOT easier to get a good feeling from these little moments than actually sitting down and writing 2,000-6,000 words a day.
If we were honest with ourselves it’s a lot easier to talk about writing and buy things about writing than to sit down and type something out.
The dirty work is in the details.
It’s easier to just pick up bad habits instead that mostly waste our time and don’t make us much better as writers.
Netflix.
If you aren’t nodding your head right now you live on Pluto.
How many nights have you thought, “I should write something,” only to remember a show you have been binging or one that interested you lately and then give in to going and watching that and writing nothing?
Try unsubscribing from things like Netflix for a month and writing instead. Trust me. They’ll be waiting for you with open arms to take your monthly subscription again. (Not finance advice, but check to make sure you don’t have a “grandfathered” account before unsubbing from anything.)
Social media.
Sounds familiar?
“I should go work on my story…or I could surf insta for 2 hours and go to sleep.”
FB, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter, you name it. They all have their positives and negatives.
One really bad habit is reading social media every free second you get chasing that social media buzz that ultimately leaves you feeling empty and unaccomplished.
Tonight, don’t go to FB. Go write something instead. You’ll feel much more accomplished. Plus, you’ll have something to show for it the next day.
Talking about it instead of writing it.
This is a trap I personally used to fall into (and sometimes still do) all the time.
We get an emotional buzz of good feelings when we talk about our ideas. And nice people don’t mean to but they actually fuel this bad habit.
When we talk about our ideas and our friend says, “that’s an awesome idea! I’d read that. You’re so creative.” Our brains get buzzing with good feelings and instead of taking that incentive and writing down the idea, we walk away feeling accomplished after doing essentially nothing other than talking.
The best way to get past this bad habit is to stop talking about our ideas. Instead, write them and do them. Then when someone comments on it you can actually feel good about that comment because there is substance behind it.
Buying books on writing.
Let me put a disclaimer here. In order to get better at writing, reading books that help us will inevitably help some, but not if we don’t write. If we just read and research but don’t put it into practice then it is almost pointless.
I could read all the books in the world, but if I don’t actually apply what I read… what was the point? The tough love question is- Am I actually any better at writing?
So the bad habit here is buying more and more books and never actually writing.
Here is a great way to break this habit is two-fold.
When you read a good tip in your next book, write a short story that uses that principle you learned. Put it into action right away and it will be more embedded in your memory to bring back up later, compared to reading a bunch of tips and using none of them.
If you read a tip use it, read a tip is it, rinse repeat, you will remember and be able to use more of the tips instead of reading 10 Tips and try to remember them all the next time you write.
You can split this up however you want and whatever works best for your memory. You could read two tips then write.
The point is to read with the intent to write.
Video games.
You might be thinking, “Hey! Story games give me ideas and are a part of my process!”
While that could be true, it isn’t for most people that want to write but get distracted on a daily basis by bad habits.
I recommend rewarding yourself with a game, not playing it instead.
You may use it to get creative ideas but at the end of the day, if you didn’t write something inspired by it, it didn’t help you become a better writer.
Instead, set a time to write and say no to gaming until after that time is up.
If you write for your time limit then you reward yourself with some game time. If you don’t write, you don’t play.
Final Thoughts
Anything can become a bad habit if it keeps you from doing things that are important to you.
These bad habits mostly stem from choosing to do things that are fun and easy compared to doing something that seems rewarding, but is ultimately hard and takes discipline.
At the end of the day, the only way you are going to overcome these bad habits is to start making good habits to replace them.
Take time to write each day. Choose to say no to the thing that keeps you from writing until you’ve written. Shut off the Internet. Lock your phone in a time box. Go to a room where you don’t have access to the things that distract you and leave them out somewhere else until you’ve accomplished your timed writing.
Find ways to turn your distractions into rewards instead of distractions.
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These Bad Habits Will Destroy Your Writing Skills
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That’s all for now.
Hope this helps!
Happy writing!
Other Resources You Might Enjoy:
How to Start a Blog in 11 Simple Easy Steps in 2020
How to Write a Book: 32 Tips | Your MASSIVE Guide How to Write a Book
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These Bad Habits Will Destroy Your Writing Skills
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