Over the past month, I have been MIA, missing in action, as a writer. Or at least it feels like it. I have shared some of my stories recently but overall my writing output has declined.

This month I have only published nine articles which is about one article every other day. For me, that is a low number since I normally write closer to 15 or 16 articles by now.

It feels like I wrote a lot less for some reason.

There are a few reasons for my numbers, most of them are good.

I started writing on Medium last year around March timeframe. Like most writers, you have no idea what the platform will bring you.

After writing and then figuring out my niche in money, and cryptocurrency articles with a few other topics that I add from time to time, my writing took off this year.

On Medium, I’m a decent writer and cracked the 6% every month. My pay hasn’t exploded to allow me to call it a day. I still have to write to make some money.

Writing on this platform allowed me to expand my writing skills to other platforms. In total, all of the platforms allowed me to become a full-time writer this year.

Last year, I was laid off from my job but I knew that was coming. I purposely worked hard to improve my writing output last year. If I wanted to be a full-time writer, I had to make some sacrifices.

My overall writing output jumped up another level

On Medium, I wrote over 548 articles not including this one in less than two years.

On NewsBreak, I have written 273 articles since December last year.

Then with some articles and freelance articles and various companies, I wrote about 20 articles. I should keep count but haven’t.

By the time I finished one article, I went on to the next one with little time for a break.

I averaged about two articles a day. Of course, most of the additional articles increased toward the end of last year.

From June 2020 to June 2021, I wrote at least one article a day. I started this as a challenge to myself to see if it was possible. While doing this, I also learned more about myself.

When you challenge yourself, you learn about your strengths as well as your weaknesses. As a writer, work on your strong points. This will help further your goals.

Working on your weak points will not get you anywhere and only create more headaches.

Challenge yourself but start small

When you challenge yourself to something, you learn about your strengths as well as your weaknesses.

I didn’t set out to write every day for a year but took it week by week which eventually became month by month.

It’s hard for you to say you’re going to take on a 30-day writing challenge when you haven’t decided to write for seven days.

You need to trick yourself and look at the smaller number. I have seen several writers claim they were going on a 30-day writing challenge but many did not make it.

I think if they set out on a smaller goal, it may be more realistic for them to achieve.

Starting out with a seven-day goal may be the better challenge. After that, you should add another week and then another until you four weeks

Write your way to a new writing gig

As I continued to write, I applied to several writing jobs. Some of these worked out and others didn’t.

When you write, sometimes you have to fit the style of the company you apply for. It is key that you read the articles to become familiar with what they publish.

Besides applying to jobs, they asked me to write for other companies, specifically, cryptocurrency companies. This was the niche I concentrated on.

These writing gigs were one-time offers but a few companies have asked for a follow-up article.

Add more income along your journey

I knew early on that I wanted to increase my income as a writer. After a few months, I saw a few writing publications would not do it for me.

This is when I stopped looking at low-paying companies that paid pennies for every word you wrote. The more you write, you need to realize that your time is money.

Writing an article for $10 can barely buy a meal at McDonald’s. This is when you need to stop giving your services to these companies that rob you of your time.

You are worth much more than that.

Some articles may take a few hours to research and draft the article. This is when you need to look for companies that pay $50 or more per article.

Final thoughts

The more you write, you become a better writer. The question always gets asked, how much should a writer write?

Stephen King said it best.

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”

The life of a writer requires a lot of time, hard work, and dedication. There are few simple paths available.

If you know where you want to be a year from now, this requires planning and setting your goal today. You may not know all the details involved, but a little effort will get you there.