THE WRITING LIFE

You will NEVER run out of things to write about

Just stay Curious and Keep Your Basket Full

You’ve decided to give this blogging thing a try. You’re all-in, you’re committed. You’ve even started telling friends that you respect about your Medium endeavor.

Or maybe you’re still on the sidelines, suffering from analysis-paralysis.

Either way, every so often, that pesky little thought sneaks back in —

What if I run out of interesting things to write about?

Sound familiar?

Never fear, dear brave wanderer. All you need are a few tools (mental and analog), a voice strong enough to eschew those nay-sayer thoughts and most importantly, a way of now going through life with Curiosity.

Yes, my friend, let’s rediscover that Sense of Wonder.

We live in a world consumed by labels.

Categories.

Always being on-brand. Staying in your lane. Finding your niche.

I hereby grant you permission to release all of that nonsense as you step onto Medium.

You are now a writer who pays attention, a person who sees the world (hopefully with some empathy) and therefore not simply black and white — for you have permission to question — in fact, to question your own assumptions and ways you’ve always looked at the world.

Nothing can keep a reader more hooked than that, for you defy expectations. Most readers are used to writers just slathering them in opinions — blah, blah, this happened to me, blah blah, I’m speaking in an echo-chamber of like-minded people.

But here’s a great Bonus Tip — it doesn’t have to be deep.

You could question your upbringing or religion… but also hmm, why you’re still eating Chick-fil-A, why you’ve outgrown your favorite movie, and whoa, maybe you were always wrong about that one author, about Paris, about life’s purpose, about who was really the bully.

Never fear running out of things to reflect on — the world will slap you in the face with something daily, for it’s always changing, YOU are always changing and evolving… and therefore so are your opinions and what draws your attention.

So, Quickly — The Tools!

A Mind That Explores All Publications

Medium is a cornucopia of thought, girl! Why limit yourself to one downer publication that’s only focused on death and dying? You can write about favorite books, mental health, video games, aging, that annoying coworker, roadside attractions, cats!, overcoming illness, sexual fantasies, travel escapades, your love of pie, that bird or butterfly in the backyard, philosophy, porn, gun culture, feeling invisible or the nagging angst about lost opportunities.

Or My Little Pony.

You could even (gasp!) drop your Mr. Serious Pants vibe and try to write a only-for-deadbeats poem! Challenge yourself to write something in under 150 words. (which is obviously really hard for me)…

Readers all across Medium need your perspective, your new twist on things. Be it with humor, anger, or just self-reflection, there are multiple places looking for, just anxiously waiting for your amazing contribution to their publication.

A Dogeared Paper Notebook & Favorite Pen

Yes, I said it, paper!, baby, paper! Give your eyes a break, look away from that device, away from that screen, and get those thoughts down on paper. List those next steps. Hear that awesome aural sound as you flip back and forth, scratch things off that list, compile your dream collection of topics and publications to target. It’s sometimes so much faster to just jot that shit down rather than jumping to this tab, opening the right list, etc. You’re using your hands and accessing a different part of your soul that’s lost during just typing.

A Healthy and Overflowing Notes App or Dictation App

You’ve moved beyond paper, you say? Couldn’t be bothered? Got it, then of course have your Notes app on your phone open and just waiting for you to scribble down that little nugget of an idea, that possible thing to ponder — do it NOW… before it drifts out of your brain. Or use Siri or whatever AI lady-voice-of-choice to get that shit out of your brain and down somewhere, to be accessed on those days when you’re apt to wail, “But what can I possibly write about?!?”

An Arsenal of Inspiration

You’re human, you’re probably an artist or over-thinker, so you need nearby and ever-so-close your Arsenal of Inspiration, a collection of easy books on writing, quotes on procrastination, links to YouTube vids that keep you motivated, that call you on your shit, that remind you of your WHY, or even a carefully-curated music playlist to get you out of that Hellscape of Wallowing Woe-Is-Me and back to claiming your avocation as the Writer You Were Born to Be.

Remain Curious and Full of Wonder

This is so important that it bears repeating.

Certainty is boring.

Who wants to read something by someone who’s got it all figured out and is talking down to you as an authority? Some of the greatest TV shows like Breaking Bad or Succession crackled on the screen because the anti-heroes are hot messes who don’t have it all figured out, who make mistakes, who epically fail and kept going, recalibrating. YOU can be a hot mess in your writing — you, yes, you! By keeping your mind and soul open to wonder and curiosity, you’ll always have topics to ponder and to revisit — so many that you won’t be able to get them down into your paper, yes, paper! notebook and/or your trusty Notes app.

Wait a minute, why was Uncle Bob always sleeping over in mom’s bedroom?

Hmm, have I outgrown sushi?

Whoa is my dog the asshole of the neighborhood?

Aren’t those bright digital billboards a driving hazard?

Who IS the lead actor on Friends?

Why didn’t I learn personal finance and how to fix a car in school?

How did I get through that mental health crisis?

Is my dick more comfortable in boxers or briefs?

Do I really need to keep wearing a bra?

The list is endless!

Now before we leave, I can hear you Perfectionists beating your heads against the screen, wailing, “But I can’t be a hot mess, I can’t come off as indecisive or questioning! Everything has to be perfect before I hit Publish!!”

As a still-recovering people-pleaser and perfectionist myself, allow me to gently — ever so gently — remind you that the big publishing house gatekeepers are gone. There’s no secretary jonesing to send off that next rejection letter here on Medium. Some publications aren’t a right fit for you and will pass, but there are dozens of others waiting with bated breath for your style of writing, however messy, however controversial, however simple, however much YOU.

I wasted a good 40 years just watching from the sidelines… waiting for things to be just right, just perfect, to start. It’s a losing game, full of pain and regret. Keep your eyes open, ponder something, hop to it, and most importantly, then on to the next.

Go fight the good fight.

I’ll leave ya with this lovely piece by James Saint Simon here on Medium — read it — it gives you the permission to write and publish a not-so-great piece, and go on with your day, still a successful and working WRITER.

Stay Curious. Be You.

and when all else fails…

Throw In A Listical — Why Not?

© Joe Guay, 2023

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