Write Anyway, One Choice at a Time

Five simple practices to clear your mind, focus your work, and keep moving forward

This week, I had a coaching call with one of my authors.

She published a book last year. Now she’s sitting with several new ideas, trying to continue marketing her book The Good Father, and wondering how to get it all done.

Minutes after the call, I opened an email with the subject line: “I Quit Writing.”

The author described investing in courses and coaching, learning the craft, but never actually producing consistent work. No one had taught him how to show up and write.

Two writers. Two very different situations. But the same underlying challenge:

How do you move forward when writing competes with everything else?

Maybe you see yourself in one of these stories.

Knowing about writing is very different from actually writing a blog post… or finishing a manuscript. And even if you do become consistent and publish, you quickly discover something else:

There is always more to do.

More ideas. More opportunities. More noise.

So how do you move forward, faithfully and practically?

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Here are five daily choices that consistently work for me and the authors I support.

1. Brainstorm: Clear the Mental Clutter

Most writers aren’t lacking ideas; they’re overwhelmed by them.

When your brain is trying to hold onto everything, it quietly drains your energy. So start here: get it out.

Try this:

• Find a quiet space

• Grab a notebook (physical or digital)

• Set a timer for 10 minutes

• Write everything that comes to mind

No filtering. No organizing. Just capturing.

This simple habit frees up mental bandwidth and gives you something concrete to work with.

Call to action:
Set a timer today and do a 10-minute brain dump. Don’t overthink it; just write.

2. Set Priorities: Choose What Matters Now

As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

The challenge?
We often think there is time for everything. Most of us are trying to live in all the seasons at once.

If you try to do everything, you dilute your effectiveness.

My dad used to say,
“If the devil can’t slow you down, he’ll push you so fast you’re not good for anything.”

After brainstorming, choose your top three priorities.

Why three?
One can feel restrictive. Three gives you both focus and flexibility. When you get stuck on one, you can still move forward on another.

Call to action:
Look at your brainstorm list and circle your top three priorities for this season.

3. Be Consistent: Small Daily Wins Add Up

Clarity without action leads to frustration. If you don’t create space to write, your priorities will remain as goals. Consistency doesn’t require hours. It requires intention.

Start with 20–30 minutes a day.

When my children were young, that meant waking up 30 minutes earlier.
Now, with a full schedule, my writing often happens in the early evening.

The exact time doesn’t matter.

What matters is that it’s repeatable.

Call to action:
Choose your writing window today. Put it on your calendar. Protect it like an appointment.

4. Be Accountable: Don’t Do This Alone

Even disciplined people struggle to build new habits in isolation. Accountability adds structure and encouragement.

This can look like:

• A simple daily text to a friend

• An email check-in

• Posting a short Substack note

• Partnering with another writer

Some writers hire coaches for this reason. Others build informal partnerships.

Either way, the principle is the same:
Consistency grows in community.

Call to action:
Reach out to one person today and invite them into a simple accountability rhythm.

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5. Celebrate Successes: Train Your Mind to See Progress

Most writers are highly aware of what they’re not doing. That inner voice can become your harshest critic.

As Grandmaster Kevin Horsley writes in Unlimited Memory:

“Your inner voice…is just a thought—it’s not set in stone… So change the thought.”

If you only focus on what’s missing, writing will always feel hard. But when you start noticing what’s working, something shifts.

Progress builds momentum.

So celebrate the small wins:

• Did you open your notebook today? Celebrate.

• Did you write 100 words? Celebrate.

• Did you find the right word? Celebrate.

• Did you connect with another writer? Celebrate.

• Did you learn from a mistake? Celebrate.

These moments matter more than you think.

Call to action:
At the end of each day, write down three things you did well in your writing.

Final Thought

Writing isn’t shaped in big, dramatic moments; it’s shaped in quiet, daily choices.

The choice to sit down.
The choice to focus.
The choice to keep going.

You don’t need to do everything today; you only need to be faithful in taking the next step.

So, what’s your next step? (I’d love to hear about it in the comments.)

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