Did you know that little daily choices can help boost your writing career?
Last weekend, I spent the bulk of my days working on my next novel.
I had a lot of other things to do. Some of them I squeezed in before or after the writing, but many of them went undone in favor of the writing.
Today, I feel great! I should have known I would. Every time I choose to write, I feel this way—elated, joyful, full of energy.
So why don’t I make this choice more often?
I do…a lot. Else I wouldn’t get the writing done that I do. But there are many times when I don’t choose to write that I wish I would. In the moment, the choice seems like the right one. But in hindsight, I’m almost always sorry.
As writers, we face countless choices every day, even if we don’t realize it. From deciding how to start our day to what thoughts to entertain, the distractions we fight off, and the direction of every scene, we’re always at the helm, choosing—or sometimes, reacting.
After 25 years of writing, I can say this: How much you’re doing of one or the other can make or break your writing career. Because in the end, it all comes down to your daily choices.
Boost Your Writing Career: The Writer’s Crossroad
What’s the difference between choosing and reacting, and why does it matter so much?
Choosing is purposeful and rooted in self-awareness. We have to stop and weigh our options. We can sit down and get in 15 minutes of writing, or we can do something else—like clean the house, watch television, or call a friend.
Reacting, on the other hand, is automatic. We do it without thinking, and it’s often built on habits. If you normally scroll through social media on your lunch break, you’ll default to that behavior naturally without thinking about it. If you normally watch TV to fall asleep, you’ll keep doing that too unless you purposefully change that habit.
Choosing and reacting are two fundamentally different ways of approaching your life, and they each have a distinct impact on our writing journey. When you choose, you have to stop and consider, then actively decide on a course of action. When you react, you’re simply following your well-ingrained habits, whether they’re good for you or not.
Reacting takes you down the path of least resistance—it’s the easiest thing to do. Choosing is harder and takes more mental energy.
Paying closer attention to what you do throughout the day and deciding to choose more often can be transformative for you as a writer. When we react, we’re allowing our environment, our emotions, and external pressures to influence us. But when we choose, we step into the driver’s seat, creating a path that aligns with who we want to be as writers.
Boost Your Writing Career: 5 Examples of Daily Choosing vs. Reacting
Let’s look at a few examples of how we may choose or react in our daily lives, and how each affects the writing outcome.
1. Reacting to Morning Laziness vs. Choosing an Energetic Start
- Reaction: Hitting snooze repeatedly, deciding to start the day later, and ultimately losing prime morning writing time.
- Choice: Getting up at the planned time, making a cup of coffee, and sitting down to write while your mind is fresh and distractions are minimal. This sets a productive tone for the day.
2. Reacting to a Busy Schedule vs. Choosing Time for Writing
- Reaction: Allowing errands, appointments, or social engagements to fill every part of the day without leaving space for writing.
- Choice: Carving out 30 minutes between activities, or even scheduling writing time like an appointment, to be sure you make progress on your project. Even short bursts can add up over time.
3. Reacting to Negative Thoughts vs. Choosing Self-Belief
- Reaction: Thinking, “I’m not good enough,” and spending your time scrolling through social media or reading about other writers’ successes, reinforcing your self-doubt.
- Choice: Reminding yourself of your strengths, re-reading positive feedback from past work, and sitting down to write despite lingering doubts. By choosing self-belief, you build confidence through action.
4. Reacting to Feeling Uninspired vs. Choosing Routine Over Inspiration
- Reaction: Waiting for the “right mood” to write and allowing days or weeks to pass without making progress because inspiration hasn’t struck.
- Choice: Committing to a daily writing time, even if it’s just for a short period, trusting that the act of writing itself will eventually lead to inspiration.
5. Reacting to Fatigue vs. Choosing Small Wins
- Reaction: Feeling tired after a long day and deciding to skip writing entirely, thinking, “I’ll get back to it tomorrow when I’m more rested.” This often leads to missed writing days and stalled momentum.
- Choice: Acknowledging the fatigue but deciding to write for even just 10–15 minutes, trusting that small steps still contribute to progress.
In each moment, the choice to write moves you closer to your writing goals, while reactions often pull you away. Which feels best to you when you’re looking back on it?
Boost Your Writing Career: 5 Examples of Big-Picture Choosing vs. Reacting
Now let’s look at some examples of how reacting vs. choosing can affect our writing lives in the long run.
1. Reacting to Distraction vs. Choosing to Focus
Writing typically requires concentrated focus, but we live in a world full of distractions. Reacting might look like mindlessly picking up your phone when you get a notification, scrolling through social media instead of writing, or allowing an unexpected text to interrupt the flow of your scene.
Choosing means creating a plan to protect your writing time. It could involve putting your phone in the other room, setting a timer to write without interruption, and deciding in advance how long you’ll spend on a writing session.
- Reacting: “Another writing session cut short by distractions.”
- Choosing: “A focused, productive writing session completed.”
2. Reacting to Criticism vs. Choosing to Persevere
As writers, we’re going to face criticism somewhere along the way. If we react, we may spiral into self-doubt, shelve our work indefinitely, or feel discouraged and unable to continue. (I’ve been guilty of all three.)
If we choose to persevere, however, we decide to learn from the criticism rather than let it define us. There are several ways to do this. My favorite is to focus on the parts of the feedback that genuinely help me improve and discard the rest.
It’s also always a good choice to finish the work regardless of what others say because we learn to tell a complete story by writing a complete story, even if we never publish it.
- Reacting: “Discouraged and unable to move forward.”
- Choosing: “Strengthened by feedback and continuing with confidence.”
3. Reacting to Perfectionism vs. Choosing Progress
A lot of us struggle with perfectionism. It sneaks into our process in our reactions to early drafts. If we just react to it, we might end up editing endlessly without ever completing the work, stalling or procrastinating on the project, or abandoning it because it doesn’t yet feel “right.”
If we choose progress over perfection, we understand that nothing will ever be perfect, but that doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. We make a deliberate decision to finish the story and move on to the next because we know that’s the best way to learn. (If you stay stuck on one story, your skills never improve.)
It’s one thing to make your work as good as you can, but it’s another to prevent your progress by allowing perfectionism to fence you in. We can choose to set a deadline, complete the project, send it on to an editor, and move to the next one.
- Reacting: “Stuck with endless editing and little progress.”
- Choosing: “Forward momentum with each story completed.”
4. Reacting to Comparison vs. Choosing Your Own Path
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others, whether it’s other authors’ polished books, social media posts, or impressive publication achievements.
Reacting to these feelings involves doubting our own style, veering off course to copy others, or feeling inadequate about our own progress.
Choosing means that we embrace our own unique path and voice. We decide that our stories matter and that our perspectives are valuable. We find joy in our current state of writing progress and remind ourselves that our journeys are unique.
- Reacting: “Doubting your voice and losing motivation.”
- Choosing: Empowered by your unique story and style.”
5. Reacting to Setbacks vs. Choosing Resilience
Every writer experiences setbacks. We receive rejections from publishers or bad reviews. We may suffer from writer’s block or know that a novel, even though we finished it, isn’t good enough to publish.
Reacting to setbacks involves giving up on a project, losing confidence, or procrastinating out of discouragement.
Choosing to be resilient, though, means deciding to keep going even when things get tough. We may choose to create a support system for ourselves, plan out rewards for small milestones, or remind ourselves of how far we’ve come.
- Reacting: “Defeated by obstacles and giving up.”
- Choosing: “Pressing on, turning setbacks into strengths.”
Boost Your Writing Career: Choose to Choose More Often!
As you go about your daily life, think more about the choices you’re making—or not making. When you choose, you create space between the situation and your response. You pause long enough to avoid reacting so you can choose instead.
When you start making more conscious choices that support your writing life, you’ll find that your journey improves. You’ll probably get more done, but you may also feel more motivated and energized by your writing goals.
Each choice empowers you to grow as a writer. Consistently choose instead of react and you’ll be embracing the writer’s journey on your own terms, one intentional decision at a time.