Two Crappy Pages a Day: The Path to Prolific Writing

How Ryan Holiday Embraces Consistency and a Well-Defined Writing Process

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In this week's issue, we're profiling author Ryan Holiday, his writing process, and the impact that small, consistent actions can have on your writing. 

Read time: 3-4 minutes.

Ryan Holiday is a prolific writer. 

Just how prolific? 

Ryan writes roughly one book per year, a pattern that he's kept up for the past eleven years. He demystifies Stoicism, an ancient school of philosophy, and teaches how we can apply its principles in the modern age. 

In addition to his books, he emails me his “Daily Stoic” newsletter every Monday through Saturday and hasn’t missed a day since I subscribed over six years ago.

He's written twelve books and isn't even 36 years old.

The man is a machine.

You can check his work out here, which is also where he blogs!

Superhuman?

For years I've been studying Ryan's work. I'm fascinated with the sheer volume of material he produces, which is also very good and well-written.

But as much as I love the material, I'm more fascinated with his process. How does someone keep up the pace and produce so much volume for so long?

Doesn't he experience writer's block?

Does he ever stare at a blank screen trying to think of something to say like the rest of us?

Is he a workaholic?

Is he superhuman??  

Surely he must spend countless hours writing, leaving little time for his family and friends, right?

Nope, not at all.

In fact, he only spends a few hours a day of focused writing. 

Two Crappy Pages a Day

When asked about how he's able to produce so much material, he replies, "I show up and write every single day, and if you show up and write every single day, pages come out the other side. I'm also always reading, which is creating the material that is setting up the next book. So I have this system that is in motion all the time and I'm a part of that."

He also goes on to say, "There's a great rule in writing - write two crappy pages a day and eventually you'll have completed your work."

It's so damn simple, but it's true. He's a writer, so he writes. If you write every day, words will appear on the page - it's not so magical after all.

Two crappy pages a day. That's roughly 500-750 words a day. Certainly, something that's achievable for the rest of us.  

And if it's not 500, try 250. Set a goal that you can stick with religiously.   

Ryan's Writing Process (simplified)

So, while it's not some supernatural force that enables Ryan to be so prolific, it does require a ton of discipline and a well-defined writing process. 

Ryan's writing process, from the initial idea through the final draft is extremely well defined. While a deeper dive is out of scope for this issue, the one thing I can say is that for every 100 words Ryan writes, he's reading 10,000.

The writing doesn’t start without a clear idea, followed up by lots of reading, research, and careful categorization of the material.

How much reading? How much research? It depends on what it is.

Ryan finds a book, and meticulously takes notes in the margins, then transfers what he needs onto 4x6 index cards, which he categorizes by chapter.

When it comes time to write, Ryan grabs a stack of index cards that has the material he needs for that session. By the time he sits down to write, he's simply molding the material together. It's his process that allows him to write like he does. In fact, the writing is the easy part.  

Ryan writes for roughly 90-120 minute sessions. The key difference is that is hyper-focused and extremely productive.

So no, he's not superhuman, but he most certainly is disciplined and has a highly efficient process.  

Key Takeaways

1/ The compound effect of smaller, consistent actions produces an insane amount of output. 

2/ Don't write a book. Instead, write 500 words a day. Can't do that? Do 250. Adjust as needed. The quality isn't as important as the volume - at least initially. 

3/ Adopt the writer's mindset. If you are writing, you're a writer. Act like a writer and allocate the time you need to get your work done each day. 

4/ Accept the fact that it could take years to develop a process, find your voice, find your niche, etc… None of what you're reading about happened overnight.

5/ Accept that the first draft of everything you write will be absolute s***. Stop seeking perfection in your writing. It will get better over time.

6/ Develop a process that you can stick to. You can't wing it. Maybe you can in the short term, but if you want to consistently produce high-quality work, you need to have a process. What the process is, isn't as important as having one.

Finally  

The importance of a writing process can't be overstated. Great writers and great writing are more the result of a defined process that is repeated over and over. It's not some magical talent that only a few select people possess.   

A good writing process has a few important elements:

• A method for idea collection and research.

• A method for organizing and categorizing the research.

• A dedicated time EACH day to sit and turn the research into words.

What that process is isn't as important as finding something that enables you to show up and check the box every single day.  

Almost everything that you will achieve in your life is the result of an effective process, system, or habit. 

Once you get that right, you'll find happiness in your work. Happiness is not something you find, it's a state that occurs when you are doing the work that needs to get done every day.

Until next week!

Tom