7 things I wish I’d known about writing
I wish I’d known that you can’t build a serious amount of writing into your business without redesigning your working life.
And by ‘serious’ I mean anything from a couple of blogs and newsletters a month up to creating a course or writing a book. If you want to up the quantity and quality of your content you’re going to have to design your working week so that you can make it happen.
Writing isn’t something that you can squash in around the edges of everything else you have to do. It’s focused, deep thinking work. It needs your best head, your sharpest brain, and your highest energy. (I wish businesses recognised this too, when they ask people to contribute blogs. It’s not something you can ask an already very busy person to do unless you make time for them to do it.)
Build time
Essentially you need to build time for it. You need to make space in your calendar. And you need to organise yourself to make sure you’re in the right frame of mind to make the most of your writing hours.
For me that means exercise and relaxation. I get my best ideas when I’m running or walking outside. Self-care isn’t just a nice to have if you’re serious about upping the quantity and quality of the content you create. It’s essential. I wish I’d known not to feel guilty about needing to step away from the screen and move around outside. Walking and thinking is part of the writing process. It’s not slacking, it’s part of the way I make sure I can do a good job.
2. Make your own waves
I wish I’d known that being organised and systematic is really helpful for creativity. I railed against it. I used to think that you had to wait to be in the mood to write. I equated creativity with freedom. No rules. I stopped believing in the muse many years ago, but I still thought creativity was a wave you had to catch. I didn’t realise you could design your own micro-climate and make your own waves. And to do that you need rules and boundaries.
The biggest of those rules is writing time. Big chunks of it so you can really get your teeth stuck into it. 6 hours spread over a week, crammed between Zoom calls and client work is far less valuable than an uninterrupted afternoon. A block of 4 hours is much more useful than 6 hours where you stop and start and switch between tasks.
3. Pace yourself
I wish I’d known that the way you spend that 4 hour block matters. Writing in 25 min blocks with 5 minute breaks means you’ll achieve more. Stopping when the going is good, means you can keep going longer and get more done. Just launch in all guns blazing and and write until you run out of steam and you’ll tire yourself out. Pace yourself and you’ll have energy for longer and you’ll get more done. If you’ve got a whole writing afternoon, you might be able to fit a short run into it too, or a walk around the block. You’ll come back with ideas more sharply in focus, and the energy for another round of Pomodoro sessions.
4. Eliminate distractions
I wish I’d known the value of unplugging from your inbox or social media during writing times. The temptation to dive into Twitter during breaks, or to check your messages, is powerful. It gives you the illusion of keeping on top of stuff, but the loss of focus is a heavy price to pay. There will be moments in your writing when you don’t know what to write, and you feel stuck and frustrated. It’s better to stick with whatever you’re writing - maybe focus your attention on a different part of the piece, go back and edit the bit you wrote first, have a think about headlines - anything that keeps your attention on the job in hand, and which doesn’t take you away completely.
5. Work with your energy
I wish I’d known that there was real value in working with your energy, and not against it. I am brightest in the morning, so it makes perfect sense for me to mark out some early day creative sessions. Not all writing tasks need the same level of energy though. Editing for example, is better when I’m feeling a bit quieter. I’m less apt to rush, and I can notice the things that my over-excited fizzing with ideas brain can overlook. So build proper time into your calendar for both creative first draft writing, and for work like editing and proofreading that needs more attention to detail. For me it makes sense to make the creative block a morning session, and an editing block in the afternoon. But do whatever works for you.
I wish I’d known that batching jobs that need a similar mindset makes life easier. So, editing goes well with all the admin around getting a newsletter out. Write your newsletter during a creative session, but leave the sending of it for a time when you’ve got all your ‘attention to detail’ head on.
And don’t just write one newsletter, draft several in one go. Think in terms of the long conversation you’re having with your list, and know where you’re going next. It takes more energy in the long run if you’re living hand-to-mouth than if you’ve got a plan that you’re following.
6. Planning helps at every stage
That’s another thing that I wish I’d known. Planning really helps. This is another one of my ‘but I’m a free spirit and I want to just write and see what happens’ beliefs that hasn’t stood the test of reality.
It does make sense to have a content strategy and a plan, even if you’re a one-woman band. Know what you’re going to be writing over the next three months or so, and why you’re writing it. Get clear on the big picture before you start. Be clear on your goals.
And planning really helps on the micro level too. It does make sense to use a simple structure to plan out blogs and other content before you start writing. Get your ideal reader in mind, know what you’re writing and why, be clear on the main message, know what you want them to think or feel differently after reading it, know what you’re going to do with it once it’s written. All very basic stuff, but it never stops being useful.
7. Finishing isn’t the end
And I wish I knew that finishing a blog or even a book isn’t the end of the job, it’s just the start of the next bit. If it’s a blog, there’s the publishing and the promotion around it - sending it to the people you most want to read it, writing a post on LinkedIn and/or Twitter, sharing it on social media. If it’s a book or a course there’s a whole PR campaign to consider. So building in time for posting and promotion must go into the calendar too. That means more rules (which you might want to kick against) but they’re essential for getting your ideas out into the world, starting conversations, and making connections with the people you want to do business with.
Your writing only comes alive when somebody reads it, so to make the most of all your hard work you have to keep on pressing ‘publish’.
N.B. This blog evolved from a writing exercise at Content Writing Club. If you want to make time for your content, and fancy writing along with a friendly group, do join us.
