# What I've Learned About Writing (So Far)

By Randall Degges · December 19, 2011 · https://rdegges.com/2011/what-ive-learned-about-writing-so-far/

> Ten days into a daily 30-minute writing habit: practice works, I enjoy writing more, and I've stopped polishing every sentence in my head before I type.

![Writer Sketch][]


As I mentioned a few days ago, I've been working on establishing a
[writing habit][] in my daily life.  Today marks the 10th continual day, since
starting, that I've been writing for at least 30 minutes a day.

I figured now would be a good time to reflect on what I've learned so far.
Above all else, what I've learned so far is that


## Practice Works

I've read numerous books on skill building, including one of my all time
favorites, [Talent is Overrated][].  The book discusses how people who are
excellent at what they do become excellent.  The secret is: disciplined
practice.  Top performers (in all fields) set aside time each day to practice
what they are bad at, and struggle through exercises.

Focused practice over longs periods of time builds skill.  There are no
shortcuts.

While I've always enjoyed writing casually, this has been the first time in my
life that I've actually set aside time each day to sit down and write for a
specific time frame.

Although it has only been 10 days so far, I've noticed that my continued
practice is already making a difference.  So far the difference doesn't seem to
be in my writing itself, but in my attitude towards writing.

I've noticed that I've been able to write with a much higher level of joy in
the past few days than at any previous time in my life.  Maybe this is just an
emotional side effect of the continuous success I've had in sticking to my
schedule for the past 10 days--but I have been enjoying writing a lot more than
normal.

Furthermore, I've become a lot less rigid with my writing.  As a perfectionist,
I've always had problems expressing my thoughts on paper.  When I would attempt
to write, I'd spend long periods of time working out each sentence in my head
perfectly before writing it down.  This behavior tended to eat up a lot of
momentum.

Since I've started writing daily, I've been able to simply type what I'm
thinking, gradually refining it.  This feels great.  It feels like the shackles
that have held me back from expressing my thoughts are beginning to loosen.


## Goals

I don't have any specific goals in regards to my writing at the moment.  At
least for a while, I'd like to simply continue writing for 30 minutes each day,
and gradually become better at expressing my thoughts in a clear, concise, and
structured way.

I'm hoping that as I practice writing more and more, it will become more
natural for me, and I'll be able to experience a greater feeling of relief and
happiness while writing.


[Writer Sketch]: writer-sketch.png "Writer Sketch"
  [writing habit]: /2011/establishing-a-writing-habit/ "Establishing a Writing Habit"
  [Talent is Overrated]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842948/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591842948&linkCode=as2&tag=rdegges-20 "Talent is Overrated"