If you haven’t read Murakami, you’ve at least heard of him.
He’s penned a number of modern classics, like 1Q84 and Norwegian Wood.
A movie called Drive My Car, based on one of his short stories, won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film this year.
In other words, Murakami knows writing. And if you’ve been paying attention to this section of the newsletter in the past, you know we love sharing frameworks from authors, from Stephen King to Neil Gaiman to Brandon Sanderson.
Here’s Murakami’s novel-writing rule
He writes a specific amount of words each day, about 1,600. No more, no less.
If he’s feeling particularly inspired, he cuts himself off. And when he just can’t write anything… well, he forces himself to hit his word count anyway.
Why?
Murakami believes it’s the routine, the daily rhythm of 1,600 words, that helps keep him honest. Otherwise, it’s easy to get out of habit.
How this relates to marketing
We think it’s equally good advice for those of you who do any sort of creative work, whether it’s content writing, copywriting, design, performance marketing, etc.
We know firsthand that some days, you feel uber-inspired, and other days… you want to do nothing.
Murakami’s consistency rule can help you make sure you’re in control of when and how you generate good work, and save you from being at the whim of the creativity gods.
Happy writing—or whatever it is you’re working on today!
