Do you have to write every day? Many writers believe this habit is absolutely necessary to be a successful. They feel that master works are only created by continual and steady practice. But is this the only way? Upon closer examination, only some writers actually write daily. Many admit that a daily writing habit is not on their agenda. To find success in any field, author Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success recommends the "10,000-hour rule". He claims the key to success in any field, regardless of the specific task, is about 10,000 hours of practice. So what is the best way to put together 10,000 hours of writing practice?
The answer is... it depends. There are pros and cons to a daily habit versus an organic habit (one that grows at its own pace and that has seasons). What are the benefits of these different writing approaches? The following discussion should help you answer this question.
A daily writing habit is like exercising a muscle. Everyone knows if you work out every day you will be in better shape. You can run faster, lift more, and endure more with a daily workout. The same applies to writing. Writing every day keeps you submerged in your ideas. You are close to your story and characters because you don't have huge gaps of time in which you forget the thrust of what you were trying to say. Daily writing practices help you turn out a steady stream of work. It helps a writer gauge where they are in terms reaching that overall goal of 10,000 hours. A daily writing goal helps many writers stay on task and produce work.
So what if you can't write every day? Most writers do have a day job and often a family and it may not be possible to work daily writing into the schedule. Another problem, what if you find you can't seem to make your creative abilities show up on demand? What are you supposed to do then? Some writers don't write every day and take a more organic approach to writing. Many of these writers like the competition of events like the National Novel Writing Month challenge. Thousands of writers worldwide write novel drafts during the month of November in marathon chunks. The camaraderie of this kind of event is just the inspiration some writers need. Other writers take writing vacations instead of building a daily writing habit. They join with other writers who set time aside to dig deep into their stories, renting spaces like The Writing Barn in Texas or the Colony House in Oregon. These spaces help them focus.
There is no right way to create your master works. The best way to figure out what works for you is to experiment. The only important goal is the 10,000 hours of practice. It doesn't matter how you put those hours together.