Writing can be a hassle, a pleasure and daunting all at once for those who take it up. I know some writers who are paid gobs of money and who hate writing so much that they fill up their days with all kinds of procrastinations until at last, it’s time to go to bed and they missed the moment. Others, like myself, love to write and are always writing whether it’s in a journal, on a napkin or via tweet. Then there are the writers who haven’t begun yet and are daunted by the process.
It’s really not that big of a deal. If you can speak, you can write. Even if you can’t speak out loud, a world is happening in your head and you can write it down. There are even ways for those with no hands, no arms and no vocal ability to write so there are not excuses. If it’s a passion or a calling, write!
1. Read, Set, Start Writing!
Don’t get tied up in judging yourself, just write a stream of consciousness. Worry about spelling and punctuation rules later. Sometimes seeing mistakes and misspelling certain words inspires more ideas to write about. You could write a whole essay on not being able to write. Just write. A book I love from writer Anne Lamott is Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year where she wrote about getting pregnant and birthing her son in such real and hilarious ways that it breaks your heart – and opens it.
A great book to help you get in touch with what to write, what moves you and where to even begin is an Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir
2. Write Everyday
It is your job to write. Yes, it’s your job even if you don’t get paid to do it. If you look at writing like your job, you’ll schedule time to write. Although if you loath the word job or work, toss that idea right out the window. I happen to love what I do and see work more as play.
A great practice to get you into writing daily is doing the journaling that is perfectly outlined in The Artist’s Way. If you haven’t done the Artist’s Way, I highly recommend it. I’ve done it by myself and with others and it’s very helpful with setting time for yourself. I personally love the taking myself on dates part!
The Complete Artist’s Way: Creativity as a Spiritual Practice
The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal
3. Work on Two Things
Focus is key for writing but sometimes you can get annoyed, lost, uninspired or just plain bored with what you’re working on. It’s great to have another project to pop off to. In one day I may write five pages on a comedy screenplay, ten pages on a dramatic book and then go back to the silly screenplay when I get bored with the book. I’m not one to buy into the whole notion of writer’s block. If you feel blocked, go write something else and come back to it. No need to fall into the whiskey bottle or God forbid the television set. Although watching TV is great if you’re writing for TV.
To get you started on your projects, this is a great book: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala Library)
Also a very well known and much loved writing book, again by Anne Lamott from Operating Instructions, is the lovely Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
4. Go someplace you’ve never been
There’s something about transition that gets my creative juices flowing. Transition or those in transit, transit stations and just all around transportation. Whether it’s an airport, bus station or train station or small dirt runway on an open plain somewhere in Africa, it invokes writing in my head. Those places provide perfect opportunities for the pen! You could even go Couch Surfing and write a whole book about your adventures. The point is creating in places besides your typical dwelling or your usual desktop or laptop computer.
5. Write longhand
The art of handwriting is dying – keep it alive! Write a love letter to someone. Write yourself a love letter and mail it. It’s so fun to receive. Get a journal that you love the feel of and write in it when you go to places you’ve never been before. Go sit on a bench somewhere and write a letter to a stranger across the way. Giving it to them is not the point, writing longhand is. Hum a tune and write the lyrics to it. Write to the beat of the drummer in your head. I have a vast collection of those very small journals that can fit in your back pocket. I bring them with me on bike rides. I’ve been known to pull over and write the lyrics to a song that came into my head during one particularly perfect peddling session!
6. Do something fun
When was the last time you went swinging? Not that kind of swinging, I mean sitting on a swing! Fun for me is riding my bike, hiking my dog, going swimming and of course my all-time favorite is dancing. When you do something fun, it relieves stress, gets you out of your head, raises your vibrations and plants the best ideas in your for you to write down! Try it. I look forward to seeing what you create.
7. Stop the Competition
We all have a story and some of us have many stories to tell. We all have our unique ways of telling our unique stories and there is room for all our creativity in this world. It’s not like there’s a limit on love. There isn’t a quota that you get and someone else stole your allotment. Sometimes the competition is with yourself and you’re way too concerned about who’s going to publish your work than you are writing it. Just write. Get “them” out of your head. Where you work ends up will reveal itself, the important thing is to start with step one – start! We all have the freedom to create whatever life we’d like to create. Write it down. Your process may start with a simple commitment to yourself to release any old resentments, competitive thoughts, anger, fears or anxieties and promise yourself that you’re going to write what you love.
Pictures by Hiking Artist!
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