Writing Tips and Ideas
Writing More Starts With The First Word
Beginning a new project or a new mindset is always the hardest at the beginning. Get off to the right start by starting instead of planning.
Medium is full of writing challenges. Many people are trying to write or even publish daily, sometimes multiple times a day. It sounds good, and it is even something I try to do (I usually fail), but I think many people fail at it. But why? What makes it so hard to stick to a writing schedule or create and accomplish this type of goal?
It is important to remember that it is okay to fail. Failure is part of life. However, the best part of not succeeding is figuring out what went wrong and fixing those issues for your next try. As my title suggests, part of the problem is far more planning than actual writing is happening. I get it. I write in my sleep. When I am falling asleep, I often think about what I want to get done the next day or week. I think about writing all the time because creating is a part of who I am.
Clearly, while I am settling down for the evening or busy with work or other tasks, these are not ideal times to write. Unfortunately, there are other times that I find myself thinking about writing instead of doing it. I am confident that I am not alone in this. If you want to set a writing schedule and stick to it, but you are having difficulty:
- Keep reading.
- Find out if you are also experiencing the following problems.
- Learn to identify the issue and then fix the problem moving forward.
You Plan More Than Do
There is absolutely nothing wrong with planning. In fact, I think making plans and goal-setting, in general, is a great idea. However, some people spend way too much time planning than actually doing it. Here are some examples of planning I can get behind:
A Story Idea Notebook: If you write on many different topics or subtopics, it is good to have somewhere to jot all your ideas for future stories. This will keep you organized when you are ready to write.
A Writing Schedule: If you are not a full-time writer (which is fine, many of us are not), you may want to establish some sort of writing schedule. This could be a specific time you want to devote to writing daily, or this may be an amount of time daily, weekly, or monthly that you plan to write. For instance, if you want to average writing 90 minutes a day, that is 10 ½ hours a week. So if you write 7 hours on the weekend, you only have another 3 ½ hours to fit in on weekdays. This is a beneficial way to look at writing when you have a full schedule.
A Content Calendar: If you write about many different subjects, you may even want to create a content calendar. For instance, you write about sports on Sundays, Mondays are goal setting, Tuesday is true crime, etc. Notice I say write, not publish. Sometimes writing daily or a certain amount of time is a better goal than how many articles a week you publish.
A Content Percentage Breakdown: If you write a lot of one specific category, you might instead have a breakdown based on percentages. For example, you will write and publish (or submit to publications) 3 articles on cryptocurrency. You can write 1 article on another topic and repeat.
The four ways that I listed above are great for planning. They are quick and to the point. You have a list of topics; you know when or how often to write. You also know what days or percentage of the time you will focus on specific subjects.
Once you get that down, move on.
One of the problems people have with meeting their writing goals is that they over plan every step, and they never get to any of the actual writing. If you have a problem completing your goals with writing, make sure that you are not spending too much time planning.
Also, “planning” can include thinking about all the money you are about to make, how your article will go viral, and all the new followers you will gain. Focus on the writing first.
You Fall Short and Give Up Altogether
Many others just do not meet their goals for the people who do get beyond the planning (or fantasizing) stage. When this happens, they just stop. If it is the 17th of the month and you have only written 12 articles, there is no reason to scrap the month altogether. Sure, maybe you will not make it to 30. Guess what that is fine! However, it is better to make it to 20 or 26 than to just do nothing for the next 2 weeks.
We do not always make our goals. Sometimes we fail because we can not get out of our own way. When that is the case, figure out what happened and fix it going forward. However, there are certainly times when life just got in the way. Things happen, stuff comes up. We all know that life can be unpredictable at times. When this happens, accept it for what it is, but push forward in the best way that you can.
You Get Discouraged (or Distracted) By Your Stats
Some people (not me) never ever look at their stats. What they make from Medium is a surprise every month when deposited in their account, or they just check on the first of the month. However, other people obsessively look at their stats continually. I get it; you want to know how you are doing and what your audience is reading.
There are excellent reasons for keeping an eye on your stats. For instance, you want to engage with your followers and use the information in the stats to cater your future articles to your audience. However, if you are looking multiple times a day (or an hour), maybe it is time to step back.
The stats are great, but writing new content is better. If you notice that you are spending a good amount of time on your stat page and not meeting your writing goals, perhaps it is time to cut back to once or twice a day maximum.
You Think In Terms of Tomorrow instead of Today
When I was a child, my mother would often tell me, Tomorrow will never come. Since she was a big fan of Elvis Presley, that may have been taken from a famous quote of his. He said:
“Never wait for tomorrow. What if tomorrow never comes?” — Elvis Presley.
It is a simple quote but to the point. People always push things to tomorrow instead of today. However, life is short (and pretty fast-paced as well). If you can not fit something in today, who is to say tomorrow will be any different?
Perhaps, you really mean tomorrow. But many people turn tomorrow into the following day, which turns into the weekend, next week, and so forth. If you are having any problems making your content calendar work — pushing things to the following day will not help you meet your goals.
Takeaway
Planning your writing is an essential step for an organized person, but it is only the first step of many. It is even more important to sit down and write that first word. That word will become a sentence, and that sentence will be in a paragraph. Before you know it, you will be well on your way to meeting your content goals.
Remember, it all starts with the first word.
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