It is natural to have doubts about our ability when we set out to do something new. I had that doubt about my writing. I was on the edge thinking whether to start a blog or not for a very long time. Many questions ran through my mind. Will I be able to write like other good writers? What will I be writing about? Will anyone care to read my posts?
After writing on and off for a year now I have answers to these questions. You do not have to be a poet to write. You just need to understand the basic language construct. As long as you are able to express your ideas clearly, you are writing well. All you need is the desire to write. You will get better as you write more. To write consistently you need three things.
- Writing Prompts – We all have a lot of ideas about many different things. But we let it slip our mind. The best way to capture your thoughts and ideas is to keep a Personal Logbook. Scribble anything and everything that comes to your mind. This helps with creating a backlog of ideas from which you can pick your writing prompts. Most of what I am writing now has come from my logbook.
- Writing Time – Committing to doing something at the same time everyday frees you from making the same decision everyday. You decide once and stick to it. I have set an hour from 11.30 to 12.30 everyday to write. The only thing I decide is what to write about.
- Writing Partner– We can get better at anything if we can get honest feedback. You need someone who can tell you what is wrong with your writing and how you can improve. Find a feedback partner and exchange feedback on each other’s writing.
Your first 100 posts are going to be shitty. But to get to the 101st post, you need to get through the first 100 posts. Julian Shapiro calls this The Creativity Faucet.
“At the beginning of a writing session, you must write out every bad idea that reflexively comes to mind. Instead of being self critical and resisting these bad ideas, you must openly accept them. Once the bad ideas are emptied, strong ideas begin to arrive.”
He further writes “Most people never get past their wastewater. They resist their bad ideas.” Flush out the first 100 or so posts and you will see a new and a better writer in you. Now go write.