“If you’re just starting out as a writer, you could do worse than strip your television’s electric plug wire, wrap a spike around it, and then stick it back into the wall. See what blows, and how far.”

–Stephen King, On Writing

I admit it: Stephen King has never been my cup of tea, and yet with him here I do not demur.

I was recently reminded of this quote by a writer named Jon Morrow, who not quite two years ago said the following:

A couple of years ago, I decided to do a test. I cut my TV time to one show per day and then read for two hours instead.

The result?

My creativity exploded. I went from writing 1,000 words per day to pumping out over 2,000 words per day in the same amount of time.

So, now I’m a believer. Television may be popular, but it’s poisonous to creativity, and all truly dedicated writers need to limit their exposure to it.

A high-jumper I used to be friends with, a former teammate named Mike Kylop, once told me that the best jumpers love to jump.

So how do you become a more productive writer?

First, you make writing your passion. Next, you make writing a habit.

Is television really poison? Is Twitter? Facebook? Instagram?

I don’t know about all that (apart from the obvious fact that these platforms are nothing more than propaganda outlets), but I do know that if there were only one thing I could pinpoint that’s made me personally into a more productive writer — and, really, when you get down to it, there is only one thing — it’s this:

1. Write.
2. Write more.
3. Write even more.
4. Write even more than that.
5. Write when you don’t want to.
6. Write when you do.
7. Write when you have something to say.
8. Write when you don’t.
9. Write every day.
10. Keep writing.