How did you start writing?

Writing is among other things an exercise. As other pointed out, blocking a given time of the day, or committing a specific effort to it really helps. The blocking feeling that you describe is very common, especially when you are just starting. I have just written about my 1-month experiment with learning in public, perhaps it is something that can serve you as inspiration. I don't care how ideas come across, I first make them public, then I re-work them if I think they are worth it.

When sitting down to write, the best is to keep going. You say you have some topics you would like to write about, but the ideas don't come across as you want. A great exercise is to break down the topic into the ideas you have, and write them down independently. Don't worry about style, repeating words, even spelling mistakes or typos, keep writing, don't look back. Don't stop to add links, or to check something online. If a number does not come across your head, just leave the space. As soon as you get few hundreds of words written down you'll gain confidence, and you'll get the push to keep moving forward. It is very tough, but splitting writing from editing is one of the best skills I've developed for writing.

In practice, for longer form articles, something that really helps is to develop a skeleton of what you want to publish. You decide where you want to end up, and what is your starting point. For example, if you would like to write about a specific mental model, you have to decide what is the objective of what you write. Do you want to describe it, tell a story about how it helped someone. The message you want to send across is the most important thing to decide beforehand, so you should spend time on it. Be aware that a message you may want to send across is not about the text itself, but about how smart you are (there are plenty of examples, also here on IH). Provided that you are mindful of what you are doing, and not plain arrogance, then you are on the good track.

After deciding the goal, you define where you are going to start. Do you assume your readers know what a mental model is? Do you assume they know the person you are talking about? Defining the beginning and the scope of the text ensures that you won't stretch it forever. I have written about this topic in the context of a book, how to prevent it from growing backwards.

My suggestion, especially if you are starting, is to keep it focused. Don't write too meta-articles, since it is very easy to lose track. Don't try to write about mental models, try to write about one in particular. Having a very limited scope will help you get started. You mentioned you have topics and ideas, perhaps you can start by narrowing down on the ideas and make them independent blog posts. Publish quickly, share with people you know and ask for feedback. Only very committed people will give you feedback on the writing itself, so you could consider paying someone (a copy editor).

P.S.: Great app!

i have some thoughts on this...: https://john.do/today/

TL;DR: Just start!

Remember, "bad is where you start"... and the faster you can get the first few pieces out... the better.

this clearly applies to not just writing, but... anything for that matter.

glad you're considering it! writing is the most important skill in the world....

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/writing-the-most-important-thing-i-ve-done-for-my-career-a263b054a8

sup Darlene

Recently started on my writing journey! This has worked for me so far:

• Forcing myself to write first thing in the morning since my mind is fresh and clear at that point

• Trying to write the same way I talk. It seems to help with putting ideas into words and not interrupting flow

• I get most ideas when talking to friends. Basically when a new idea pops into the conversation, I fire up the blog backend, write the title then save draft. When the morning rolls around, I take a look at the drafts and pick an idea I feel like I have clarity writing about while I rub my eyes awake!

I like the idea of being active in the community. Sorta why I started engaging more here :)

Good luck!

Write from the heart. I’m a techie and a doc. My friends and patients give me inspiration everyday. My goal is to empower women to find time every day to practice self care. I started writing daily short blogs in my private FB group Who Is Taking Care of You? I built my website during COVID where I publish my longer main topics on Monday. Check it out and let me know what you think. Whoistakingcareofyou.com. You can do this!

Lots of great advice here already! Here are a few tips that I find helpful:

1. I have a notecard taped to my monitor that reads, "The first draft is always sht." Hemingway supposedly said that. Anyways, it makes me smile. Because I know I can ALWAYS write a shtty first draft of something.

2. Morning Pages are a must. Basically, write 2-3 pages by hand as soon as you wake up in the morning. It doesn't even have to make sense. Just stream of consciousness. The main goal is to practice writing despite your "inner critic" in your head telling you to stop. Over time, your ability to write without attachment to outcome grows stronger, just like a muscle. This is from Julie Cameron's book, The Artist's Way, which is an excellent resource for creatives.

3. Steven Pressfield's book, The War of Art, is another great resource. Pressfield does an excellent job analyzing the resistance that creatives feel when trying to make something (my favorite: "Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.") I keep a copy on my desk, and it always lifts my spirits when I'm not feeling particularly excited to do my work.

4. Finally, I generally try to make outlines in the evening (when I'm most thoughtful), and then turn those outlines into drafts the next morning, after Morning Pages (when I'm most focused).

Regarding outlines, here's great advice from Pressfield: Everything can be summed up in 3 sentences. One for the beginning, one for middle, and one for the end. Most times, my "outlines" are just 3 sentences, like:

///
Coronavirus has everyone feeling super anxious right now.

There are lots of studies that show yoga is an effective means of reducing anxiety (list/summarize 3).

So if you want some stress relief, try these yoga poses (list/summarize 5).
///

^ This kind of outline takes about 1-5 minutes. It's so pathetically minimal, you CANNOT HELP but do it. Plus, it gives you the perfect starting point when you return to write your draft-- just the essence of what you want to say, and the arc of how you want to say it.

Typically, I can write about 4 outlines after dinner, sleep on it, and write 4 really good articles the next day. Sometimes all before lunch.

I was one of those types of people that would post to their blog every few months talking about how it had been a while since I had written a post and how I wanted to write more.

Then one day I said "Josh, shit or get off the pot" and I set out to write weekly on my personal blog. Somewhere in there I decided that it would be great to start a PHP blog and ended up writing 3-5 times per week on there (eventually folding all of the content back into my personal brand).

Eventually I picked up a contract gig writing for a software development blog and ended up writing a new post every week for them (in addition to my own blog) for over a year (until the site was acquired).

On my personal blog, I currently have 738 posts that I've written over the last 13 years and guess what... so many of them are trash and my writing style in the earlier posts is down right embarrassing. Also, less than 100 of those posts were written over the first 5 years, and the rest over the last 7, averaging ~71 posts a year.

None of this is to #humblebrag, it's to set things up for what I've learned along the way. Writing is one of those things that is some what of a "chicken and egg" scenario. Here's some "truths" I've realized (as cliche as they may be):

1. To be a better writer, you have to write.
2. To build confidence as a writer, you have to write.
3. To come up with great topics, you have to write.

I write for me, and I've been fortunate to find some monetary success along the way. You really have to "just do it".

I started writing 2 months ago. The biggest challenge for me was to sit and start writing.
here are some mind tricks that really helped me:

1. on top of every new draft I write, FAST BAD & WRONG
   to remind me this is just though-dumping and I shouldn't waste time on spelling, grammar, or format.

2. when I don't feel motivated to write, I use the 2-minutes role. Tell myself that I will only try to write for 2 minutes. (most of the time 30 mins passes and Im still writing)

3. I write first thing in the morning, before checking emails or social media.

4. have a goal to motivate you to write. I'm writing a book, and I want to send at least 50 consecutive weekly-issues for my newsletter

I've been blogging on masilotti.com for almost 6 years now, but I only have ~30 articles. This is because I only write when I feel (very) passionate about a topic and absolutely need to tell the world.

The more I care the easier it is to write. Simple as that. I could never write on a specific topic because someone told me to. It would take me ages.

When I pick something I really care about I can knock out a first draft in under an hour. Throw in another 2 or 3 for editing, formatting, and finding images and the post is published.

I have about 10 article drafts that I will honestly never finish. I hit the wall at some point while writing them and realized I just didn't care enough. So I try to avoid even starting these types of posts as much as possible.

tl;dr - only write about topics you are passionate about

Hi Darlene! I started writing online a few months ago and in the beginning, it was definitely difficult to get started. Here's a few things I found that worked:

• First drafts are essentially mind dumps. I get everything I'm thinking about onto the page and don't care about the quality. This helps me get into the flow and begin the process of having my ideas down in some form of words.
• Second and third drafts are where I take what was written in first draft and make it flow nicely. Having it already written down in the first draft makes the process much smoother.
• Practice! You mentioned this and are completely right.
• Be ok with writing for the sake of writing and not publishing (it's not a waste of time). This can help the quality of the ones you will eventually publish.
• On the other hand, don't wait until your writing is absolutely perfect before publishing. This is almost impossible to attain. Publishing helps you get feedback.
• Read more. You'll get inspired and find good examples that you can build upon.

If the goal is to build your online presence I would (naturally) recommend https://contentkoala.com - if it's for a passion and a love of writing... Can't go wrong with coming up with a list of titles that you'd like to write. Focus on what you want the core message to be (the flow of the piece) and pre-write your sub headings too. It's not how I write but I've seen people have good success that way.

I saw someone mention you can become a better writer by writing. This is true. You can also become a better writer by reading. Look at the top blogs in your industry and analyse what makes them successful.

https://kopywritingkourse.com/content-creation-process/
This helps me every time.

Hope it helps you too.

Good luck.

Hi Darlene, I started about 2 months ago. Why?

1. I like to read about companies, in general. Then, why not create a newsletter about pre-internet companies?

2. After a few editions, I decided to share a personal story. Got amazing response. Decided to pivot the newsletter.

3. Since then, I've been writing in my newsletter, here on IH and also on my Twitter which I'm in love at the moment. Twitter and IH are a great place to show your thoughts, summarise ideas and articles. Nice and supportive environment if you follow the right people...

That was also a huge hurdle for me until a couple of years back I started journaling every day just a few paragraphs, it was hard at first but slowly it became easier because I was consistent at it.

Now I tell my wife all the time how much easier writing has become. Since then I've written a few long-form blog posts that would be hard to imagine it before.

That's what worked for me, baby steps, a couple of paragraphs a day, and consistency, the rest will follow.

Keep punching.

I remember that I loved "A Book where you are the hero". It's like a role playing game you can do alone, only using a book. It was great, and I began to write my owns.

From there, I wrote my first novel, the incredible adventure of Lulu Le Champignon (mushroom in French), who had to save the princess Lala.

It was totally mind blowing, best seller in the New York Time in 1992 and 1993, almost forbidden because too metaphysics. I made more money the second year than Jurassik Park. Stephen King still ask me some advice, from time to time. AMA.

... writing is fun. Like everything, you need to practice to get better at it. Don't worry about what people think. Only compare your present self to your past self. That's all you need.

Hi Darlene,

I wrote a blog posts on both these topics that can help:

• How to Manage Your Fear of Writing and Publishing New Content
• 4 sources of endless content ideas

Happy to answer questions if you have them!

Hey Darlene, the hardest of thing for a writer is actually to start writing :) how cliche that wouldn't sound. The problem most people have is that they focus too much on "subjective quality" and "perfectionism". Most people think they need some sort of level of writing quality before publishing something. But if you don't stress about that, and just publish 300 words a day or write at least 1-3 stories a week without stressing about if it would work or not — it will be easier for you. Quality is subjective. Just start writing about anything, how random or bad that wouldn't be.

Also, a great tip, which works for me — there's no such thing as waiting for inspiration, you can only consume inspiration. How you get inspired? Read books, listen to podcasts, go to museums, talk to random people, go for a walk without music, etc.

You can't be inspired to write if you don't consume inspiration. But sometimes you just have to sit in front of that white screen and bleed

I think it's all about getting in the swing of things. The more you write, the more you are likely to write. A little like going to the gym and exercising. When we stop, it takes a while to get used to writing again. Writing is a topic we often discuss on https://midnight.pub - it's a sort of virtual pub. Don't hesitate to check it out if you want to start getting into the mood of writing.

Best of luck!

I have started writing back almost 10 years. but it was just side along with my day job..

My First Post was the tutorial , which gives me confidence when someone type positive comment.

I started writing as a teenager when I published my first pieces on my hobby, astronomy. Around the same time I got a traditional book deal.

As for online writing, I have been doing it since I first used the Internet in the early 1990s. I was an avid reader of Usenet newsgroups and mailing lists and soon began posting and contributing. I never stopped writing online. For example, in the mid 2000s I published my first blog.

Yes, being active in a community like this is a great way of practicing.