Jumpstart your writing

17 Sep 2014

Writing has lots of benefits, I hear. I know this sounds like truth, and I know it has helped me greatly before. I also know that it's not enough for an activity to be good for us, to actually make us do it.

We do a lot of things that are not the best use of our time, some more bad than others, and some just plain self destructive. So why is it that we don't just do what's best for us?

I'm not sure. I think it has something to do with laziness, because I'm sure you're aware that doing the stuff that matters takes time and effort, and sometimes we're just not willing to move a finger, not even for our own benefit. That's sad, in my opinion.

Although, I also think that we couldn't do what's best for us all the time, or maybe some times what's best for us is really just sit and watch TV. Some might argue that TV is never good, but let's keep an open mind here. What I'm saying is that leisure time is also a good thing, at the right times.

To the point

Anyway, all this about what's best for us just to say that writing is good for you, so do it.

Writing can help you define who you are, which is a major step into becoming what you want to be. And better yet, live the life that you want, and constantly improve yourself. Maybe not everybody wants this, but for the ones that do, writing can be a big help, I hear.

Writing helps you clear your mind and your thoughts. You can dump your brain in one afternoon, feel relief, and have a source of knowledge about what you want in life right there. You can get all your ideas out of your head, and make room for more. You can practice a session of creative writing to get your dose of "right brain" activity. You can get your thoughts out there, get feedback, validate your ideas, share your knowledge, blow minds away, get paid, and generally be an awesome person. Oh, and you get to call yourself a "writer".

At least that's what I'm hoping for with this writing thing. It's a good thing I don't have high hopes, right?

Some practical advice

So how do you jumpstart your writing? I almost quoted Nike here, but that's too cliche. I mean, it's true, but I'd rather give you a few pointers that have helped me before, and some that I'm in the process of trying.

• Know that you really want this, for whatever reason. So it's decided, you're going to do it.
• Try to make it a habit of writing every day.
• If nothing else, just write what you did that day, or what you want to do. You don't have to call it a dairy if you don't want to.
• Have a dairy.
• Experiment writing at different times in the day. You'll notice you feel more in the zone while writing at certain hours of the day. Maybe you write better in the morning, or perhaps at night.
• Don't get discouraged if/when you miss some days, every habit has it's ups and downs, just get back to it.
• Try to think of it as a conversation you're having with someone else.
• You don't need to share it, but if you do, you'll get much better, faster.
• Try sharing your writing with your closest circle at first, see what it does for them.
• If you're out of topics, just think of what you'd like to talk about with your friends next time you see them.
• Don't edit while your writing. You need to write everything that comes to your mind first, and then you'll edit it, if you want to, no pressure.

The goal here is to start. Don't worry about if it's good or not, just write. You have to start in order to get good, so the sooner the better.