Daily minimums are a great tool, but the key word is reasonable. If you think that you can write 1,000 words every day this year, do it. Go for your upper limit. But if you have a full-time job, friends, a needy pet, classes, and a whole laundry list of other obligations, set a goal that you think you'll be able to accomplish. Maybe it's 200 words a day, with weekends off. Maybe it's 20 minutes a day, word count irrelevant. Pick a goal and work towards it. You can always up your daily word count later, and you'll feel more motivated if you choose a goal that's within reach.

Look, writers, I get it. You say you get your best writing done at 2am, and maybe that's true. But if your day job starts at 8am the next morning, you're setting yourself up for a tired, cranky year. Sometimes the key to writing more in the long run is getting to bed on time and waking up early, so that your mind is sharp and well-rested. All-nighters were cute when you were a college freshman, but that chapter you wrote while hopped up on Diet Coke at dawn is just not as great as you think it is.

If you're terrified of writing badly, you're never going to improve. Writing is a skill like any other. It takes work. It takes crappy first drafts. Don't stress about making it perfect, just get it down on paper. Lock your internal editor in a trunk, and let yourself write without judgment (do not do this to your real editor, though, they will not appreciate it).

I'm not going to tell you that you must quit all social media cold turkey, and I'm not going to tell you that you can't mess around on the internet doing research for your book. But... are those adorable photos of Prince George with a candy cane really research? Cut down on procrastination. Download a self-control app, or buy a cute board game timer, or delete Candy Crush from your phone (well, Candy Crush Jelly, at least). Your time is too valuable.

You never know when inspiration will strike. Get into the habit of scribbling down ideas and quotes, wherever you are. Carry a journal with you, or a pack of note cards, or start using that memo app on your phone to keep yourself in writing mode even when you can't actually be writing.

I know—you set aside all this time for writing, and now you have to find time to read more too? Well, yes. You do. Reading will inspire you to write more. Reading is fun and relaxing. Reading will keep your mind sharp like a sword for stabbing people with. Every moment you spend reading is secretly educating you as a writer, so bring on the books.

Do you write best in the morning? While drinking a latte? While standing up? After your S.O. has gone to bed? While hiding in a cupboard under the sink? Find or create an environment that supports your writing, and then go there and write.

Some people like to keep the world updated on every stage of their writing with a constant stream of selfies. Other people finish a manuscript and then bury it in peat moss and refuse to let anyone else ever read it. But if you want to write outside of personal journaling, you'll have to share eventually. Wait until you're ready, and then share excerpts with a trusted person who can give you helpful feedback. Chances are, they'll encourage you to keep going. Even better, find a writing buddy to hold you accountable for your daily writing goals!

Deadlines are a cruel but necessary fact of life. Maybe you have incredible willpower and don't need self imposed deadlines. But if you're a weak-willed disaster of human being like me, then you're going to want to make a writing schedule with firm deadlines in place. Find a writing contest you want to enter, and finish your story before it ends. Treat yourself to a fancy new candle every time you reach a deadline. Send an embarrassing photo to your crush every time you miss one. Do whatever it takes to motivate yourself to drag that draft across the finish line.

As J.K. Rowling puts it, “Be ruthless about protecting writing days... Some people do not seem to grasp that I still have to sit down in peace and write the books, apparently believing that they pop up like mushrooms without my connivance. I must therefore guard the time allotted to writing as a Hungarian Horntail guards its firstborn egg.” Writing time is scared. Guard your precious writing hours from social plans and work emails like a mama dragon with its egg.

You can do it! Be patient with yourself, even if it takes a while to get into the habit of writing everyday. If all your glorious plans start to crumble, just start over. Keep trying. Forgive yourself for lapsing. Every writer has off days. Persist, and soon enough you'll find that writing has become an unbreakable daily habit.

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