The importance of writing each day as an aspiring author

Writing is a key skill in life but for writers and aspiring authors, practising writing every day is more beneficial than we probably realise.

If you've read my blogs before, you will know I'm an aspiring author. My dream in life is to write a full manuscript for my novel, which I have actually started.

But if there's one thing I've learned whilst studying Creative Writing and trying to accomplish this dream, it's that writing every day has its benefits...and probably more than we think.

The other day, I took myself out for lunch to our local café and whilst I was there, I did some reading of my current book, Six of Crows. But I also did some writing in a writers' journal my parents gifted me.

The writers' journal was created by an author whose books I love, Kandi Steiner. It features four different parts and each part includes different writing prompts. The first section focuses on non-fiction, the second focuses on fiction/prose, the third section is all about finishing off the prompt and then the final section is all about poetry.

Whilst at the café, I used the third section and finished off the prompt:

'I woke to the sound of screaming.'

For this prompt, I was actually able to write a scene from my novel using the two protagonists I've created.

Now it's been a while since I've written some of my manuscript, which hasn't been all too helpful as I have found certain things to do with my story and the world it's set in aren't all that clear in my mind. So it felt really good to revisit that world and those characters and get inside their heads again.

Since that day, I've made notes on my phone or saved pins on Pinterest that relate to my novel and its aesthetic. Making notes on my phone about it and writing a scene, even if it's just my characters getting up in the morning, has been really beneficial.

Writing each day as an aspiring author has meant that my ideas are kept fresh in my mind.

All my characters and their personalities stay with me so when I go to write a lengthier piece of my novel, for example, a couple of chapters, it's effortless when I'm trying to convey my characters' true selves.

For me as well, the world my novel is set in is fictitious - it's a product of my imagination and nothing like the real world. Frequently writing from my characters' perspective about the world they live in allows me to remember important details but also discover new things along the way and therefore develop my ideas and better my writing.

If you're an aspiring author, try writing every day and see if you notice any benefits for you.

Until next time...