So, are you talking about writing… or actually doing it? That is what I seem to always fall back on as I search the internet for ideas. So many people, all writing about how to be writers. It makes me laugh at some of the attempts to sound professional. They aren’t supposed to be comedic.
This is the difference between amateurs and professionals. The awakening comes, you have searched for new tips as a writer and you all of sudden have the realization. There is an alarming amount of “writers” that only know how to write about writing. Learning to actually pen a subject. This is where the so-called rubber meets the road.
Real writers actually write. Wannabes talk or they write about writing. This is my attempt at humor to guide and help them write better about writing.
Step 1: Stop writing your blog about writing
Turn off that voice in your head that tells you that you’re a writer. We have all done this. It is okay.
Block out that distracting ego in your head. We both know it will write a check you can’t cash. Excuse the pun. Stop lying to yourself when you say, “Someday, I will do this.” You will not. If you won’t now, you never will.
Some say that talk is cheap. In this case, they’re right. I make myself laugh, but seriously shut up. If all you ever do is talk about writing when you write, eventually people see through it. Now that you are possibly willing to actually write something.
Don’t write about your life story or what you are going to write about. Nobody cares about either one. Write something someone can actually read and want to share.
We aren’t that different of creatures. We have a hurdle, we overcame it, and we believe it must be a great story. Perhaps it is but only written by a good author. Become a good author, then write about it. Not the other way around.
Step 2: Start writing about anything and everything.
Start right now, by putting your fingers to the keyboard and just let it go. Eventually, sentences will form. Then a story. Weave that story together with facts, fiction, or highs and lows. Conclude. Repeat.
Whether you want to or feel like it is irrelevant. You don’t get better by wanting it or feeling like it. Use a writing prompt if you need one. Download a template. Type an outline. Ask other authors for tips to improve writing. Not their secrets or how they did. You are your own person. Set a clock in the morning and type for one hour straight without a break. Make a routine of it.
Step 3: Repeat this every day.
Keep doing it. Persevere. Do not give up. Think of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule. You may have hours writing about being a writer but you don’t have many as a writer. As you continue, you’ll find yourself slowly getting better and better. And one day, you won’t need to want or feel like doing it. You’ll just do it.
You may not necessarily like it, but you’ll do it. You’ll get up in the morning, ready to go to the living room and that chair. You won’t talk about it with your girlfriend. Thank god you won’t keep taking up valuable google search engine results with your bullshit.
Who knows, maybe, then, you will write a post about how to become a writer. Only this time it will be very short. You’ll tell people to write.
So to teach someone how to write. Tell them to write.
Let’s. Write.