A while ago I asked,
what do you want to read about in the by gitte newsletter?
The suggestions you came up with where about personal growth, productivity, product development and writing.
I like to write about writing and since it is National Writing Day (UK) today, that is with what I start!
Actually for me writing is also about personal growth/productivity, because it got me a better morning routine 🙂
The other subjects stay on the shelf and will follow in different posts.
I’m writing for some time now, on my blog, all the other writings you see on my website, on social media and in a diary for myself. I believe I have become a better writer since I made it a daily habit. I just had to make it a daily thing. Wether you write for yourself or send it into the world, make it a habit and you will be great at it, I’m sure.
The next 5 tweaks may help you create a writing habit or improve your writing:
1. ONE TOPIC
Recently I just became aware it is more readable to write about one topic.
I used to write about all sorts of things in one post, I can get a bit over enthusiastic about a lot of things. I know now it isn’t necessary to drag everything to the plate to make a point. I’m sorry for all the stuffed emails you got from me up to now.
Even in my diary I now write about one thing a day, what bothers me, or makes me happy. Insights will rice quicker and my inner critic finally keeps her mouth shut. Works like a charm!
2. IT IS THE PROCESS THAT COUNTS, NOT THE RESULT
I like writing and love to do it, but sometimes it doesn’t flow.
And it is in the flow of writing, when ideas come up or insights arise.
To really keep it going, keeping the ink flowing, I have to keep on writing. When nothing comes up I use a sentence to keep going. Literally I write, I am on a writing journey. Sometimes several lines, sometimes just one line. Eventually something comes up with which I can go on.
3. TIME
Nice, but I don’t have the time for that!
Well you can say that to everything you don’t do right now, but actually want to do.
I want to write everyday, that takes time, so I make time.
This is where my morning routine gets important.
For my it works best to write longer pieces in the morning that on other moments of the day. Maybe you have heard of morning pages, I picked a small part of that for my morning routine. As my alarm goes, I start writing, okay, first a visit to the bathroom and than I step back into bed. I keep my earplugs plugged in and write for half an hour, or two pages in my notebook. I did not start out this routine with a half an hour, I started with 5 minutes. Setting an alarm to track the time, using the Pomodoro technique, it will all work, but start small!
The book ‘Tiny Habits’ by B.J. Fogg helped me a lot. Also other habits you want to learn, will stick with this method. You learn it with the use of an anchor: if I do this now, then I will do that afterwards. You link your new habit to something you already used to doing.
4. WHEN
As you could read above, in the morning I like to write longer pieces in my diary. At night I write a gratitude journal (however, it is written all in the same journal), I write about three things I’m grateful for that day. Also I write about what went well. Even on a shitty day there is something to be found that went well. To start a day well, I end the day before on a positive note.
5. “WRITING BY HAND IS THINKING ON PAPER.” -LEUCHTTURM1917
I write with a fountain pen on paper in my diary, also often with pencil (Blackwing 602, look it up, the are great!) The draft of this blog post, I wrote with pencil in my Leuchtturm. I ‘carry’ 2 or 3 notebooks with me. The first one is my diary for my morning pages and gratitude at night, it is on my nightstand. The second one is for my planning, that one I do carry with me all the time. In my planning notebook I work the Bullet Journal Method of some sort. The last one is to take notes in from the books I read, it lives on the pile with books I read, I don’t carry it around. It isn’t too heavy, all that carrying 😉
Now that I wrote this down, it seams quite much in time and effort. In reality it is not so bad. Probably because it has become a habit. Brushing your teeth, making coffee/tea also take time…
Motivation you can’t train, all the other stuff you can, David Hieatt said wisely in the course I followed a while ago.
When you want to become a better writer, write!
“No black woman writer in this culture can write “too much.”
Indeed, no woman writer can write ‘too much’
…No woman has ever written enough.”– Bell Hooks
