Write in Your Own Voice and See What Happens

Permit yourself to write authentically.

For years, I tried to write, only to stop at the first sign of difficulty. I have notebooks full of ideas that started strong and went nowhere — not because they were terrible ideas, but because I gave up on them too soon. Too long, too short, too wordy, too terse.

Anything to get out of actually, you know, writing. I wasn’t just afraid of failure; I was scared of success.

Finally, last spring, I’d had enough. I printed Scott Adam’s famous “The Day You Became a Better Writer” post, and I committed to writing every day.

Some days, I’d write 700 words, other days just a sentence or two. Maybe just a Tweet, but always something. I knew that consistency was the key to realizing this dream of mine. So I built a streak the same way Jerry Seinfeld did.

It felt great to see those X’s add up (still does, actually), but that wasn’t the end of my problems. I still had more hurdles to clear.

I was writing daily, but something was still missing. It still felt just a little off, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It was frustrating, and I thought about giving up. Again.

I realized that I wasn’t writing in my own voice. I had the “write every day” part down, but finding my style was a work in progress. I had to permit myself to write authentically.

“Write the way you talk. Naturally.”

— David Ogilvy

So I practiced. I used things like Authorcise to build my writing muscles. I played around with writing styles I never would’ve given a second thought to before (acrostic poems, humor, etc.). I pushed up against the boundaries of English and played in the spaces I created.

Some of these pieces will never see the light of day — that’s for the best — but some will. Some already have.

I also learned that writing every day does not mean you have to publish every day. It freed me from the idea of perfection. I didn’t have to scrutinize every letter in every sentence. I just had to write.

The more I wrote in my style, the more my confidence grew. I started seeing ideas everywhere and noticed my mood change for the better. It turns out writing about things I like in my voice is actually kind of fun. Who knew?

So get out there and write! Call yourself a writer. Start that habit and build your streak. Write for yourself in private so you can better write for others in public. Find joy in the world around you and be amazed when ideas start appearing at every turn. Run with them.