Here on the podcast, we’ve been doing a short series on writing habits. I hope this has been helpful and that you’ve enjoyed it. Today, we’re going to conclude this series with our final writing habits practice:

Finish what you start.

This might be the most important practice of all.

It is easy to get distracted by other projects. I have done that many times myself. But I encourage you to finish what you start, and then publish it. When you have too many things you have written but not finished, it’s demoralizing. You feel like you have put in a ton of work, but you have no results.

A few years ago, I spend months and months doing research for a book. I literally took 150 pages of notes. I had a massive Scrivener file full of ideas, outlines, details, and plans. But I never finished the book.

Now, I do plan to write that book someday, but since that time I’ve developed the Daily Writer and built a ghostwriting business. But I have to tell you, I was really demoralized and discouraged for a long time after putting together all that material and never finishing it. Since then, I have done a much better job of starting… and finishing… projects.

And honestly, the thing that broke me of the habit of not finishing was doing client work. When you are a ghostwriter, you have to produce on demand whether you feel inspired or not. That’s a pretty good habit for all of us who are writing, whether we’re doing it for ourselves or someone else.

When you finish what you start, it gives you incredible confidence and momentum to keep going.

Plus, you can’t sell what you don’t finish. Readers don’t buy half-finished books. When you finish and publish, you have products you can sell to readers that will change their lives and bring you income.

Question: What do you need to finish and publish? How could it give you the confidence and creative fire you need?