I write a lot. I have published books and have for years regularly written articles in blogs, newspapers and magazines. Recently, I have been successful at doing this daily. However, I am still a beginner and amateur who follows a few rules when writing. Here are my current 10 best tips for writing.
- Write as often as possible.In the best case, write every day, even if it is just for a few minutes. I have never had a structured week where I could do what many writing professionals do: write at the same time every day. I am constantly writing wherever I am, so my tools must be easy to use. Thanks to the Apple environment, this functions quite well. Right now, I am using an iPad, at home I would continue writing on a MacBook, and I would probably review the text on an iPhone while waiting for a bus. Since I work collaboratively, and in many cases someone is correcting or reworking my texts, I need a platform that supports many people editing without getting in each other’s way. For all the drafts, Dropbox Paper is the best tool for me. Everything else is too slow.
- Freewriting – just write.I think while I’m writing. I think with the pen or with the keyboard. I don’t know what I will write before I start typing. When I think about something too long, I always get writer’s block. So, don’t think about it too much – just write! Everything can be reworked later, it is just important to get in the flow.
- Learn the ten-finger typing system.These days, together with word completion and auto-correct, it is easier to write quickly if you have mastered the ten-finger system.
- Write quickly.The faster, the better. I try to write at least 2000 words in an hour. If possible, I write even faster. The more text I write, the more I can edit (or have edited) and the more I can toss aside.
- Write about everything.Especially about anything that emotionally moves you. Do not censure yourself. Through writing, you can find out what motivates you.
- Find a platform.Publish your own blog or use some other medium to publish as much as you can as quickly as possible. After several years, I finally started a personal blog again since my original blog became a company blog and I was no longer able to write about everything that interests me.
- Don’t tell anybody what you are writing about.There are too many critics. The internet is a better indicator whether what you are offering is successful. If people are reading what you are writing, you are obviously doing something right.
- Write in unusual places. In the 1900s, Austrian authors did their writing in Viennese coffee houses. Do the same. Get out and learn how to concentrate in a loud, fully-occupied and busy location.
- Only write about what you know, or write to understand.I do not need to research what I write about because it either is my personal thoughts or I still know where I read about it. People are interested in what you know. So, you don’t need to act like you know more than you actually do. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn as much as you possibly can!
- If you want to write, you need to read.Every author who writes a lot also reads extensively or makes extreme experiences for themselves: in war, through travel, in their own life story. In the end, though, it’s clear: Reading is the prerequisite for writing.
Get writing. It’s possible we will soon discover a new star in the writer’s sky. Have fun!
Foto: CC0 Creative Commons – pixabay, picjumbo_com