The art of creating something and self-doubt goes hand in hand no matter how long you’ve been a master of your field, but getting over that doubt and still continuing the process is when you actually succeed. Being a writer requires you to roam in that territory of doubt everyday but eventually still doing it because that is what you love, writing!
Writing is a skill that needs to be enhanced through routine and practice. So, here are some tips for our budding writers on how to make writing a habit:

1. WRITE EVERYDAY

We know you must have heard this advice thousands of times but it actually helps! Maya Angelou, an American poet, strongly believes in her ‘Just Write’ strategy.

She explained:
“What I try to do is write. And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come”

Even other writers like Khaled Hosseini strongly agrees with the strategy of writing daily. So what we recommend is for you to write, even the things you consider boring, and eventually it will come to you.

2. START WITH YOURSELF

We understand how searching for topics to write about that match with your flow and writing style can be a hard ball at first. So what we recommend is for you to start with yourself. Even JK Rowling agrees with this! She advises writers to “write what you know: your own interests, feelings, beliefs, friends, family and even your pets will be your raw materials when you start.”

3. SET TARGETS

Try to achieve a certain level of word count or pages whenever you sit down to write. This strategy has helped many successful writers to achieve their goals. Anthony Trollope’s ‘Timed’ writing strategy, where he writes 250 words in 15 minutes, has helped him to write over 47 novels in the course of 35 years!

4. NO DISTRACTIONS

We believe that creating an environment is very important to writing. Take a break from your social media notifications and turn off your network for some moments of concentration on you and your writing. In Nathan Englander’s words, if you want to get work done then you’ve got to learn to unplug.

5. KEEP A NOTEBOOK WITH YOU

There must be moments when you randomly think of something beautiful and worth writing but forget about it as soon as you sit down later to remember it. We believe carrying a notebook can really help you keep your precious ideas together. So later when you feel like sewing it all together, you have them right there in front of you. Because let’s be honest, we don’t want you losing on some great ideas!

Disha Kumar