Write every day

If you really want to be a writer, you should write every day. In an excellent brief essay, blogger Leo Barbauta (pictured) explains why, and how to get into the habit.

Here’s a sample:

Writing for an audience (even if the audience is just one person) helps you to think from the perspective of the audience. That’s when the magic starts, because once you get into the reader’s mindset, you begin to understand readers and customers and colleagues and friends better. You have empathy and a wider understanding of the world.

. . .

Writing daily forces you to come up with new ideas regularly, and so that forces you to solve the very important problem of where to get ideas. What’s the answer to that problem? Ideas are everywhere! In the people you talk to, in your life experiments, in things you read online, in new ventures and magazines and films and music and novels. But when you write regularly, your eyes are open to these ideas.

The Takeaway: Get into the habit of writing every day. It’s easier than it sounds and it’s more valuable than you can imagine. Read Mr. Babauta’s essay and follow his advice. (Please note that this is not an endorsement of the Sea Change Program promoted at the end of his essay.)

See disclaimer.