Do you ever feel like you are going round in circles? You set yourself all these goals and good intentions only to wake up the next day and then do the same as yesterday. If you are anything like me then you will have a myriad of excuses to talk you out of what you want to do and justify your actions. One of my goals for this year is to write and so far it hasn’t been so successful.
I have a new little trick - tell myself I will just do 20 minutes and that’s enough. Because 20 minutes a day actually adds up. What I have found though, is that once I have been doing something for 20 minutes I often carry on for a bit longer. My block is usually getting started. This has certainly been true with my attempts at writing blogs over the last few months. I am going to give it once last try, one blog per week and see what I can put together in 20 minutes – it doesn’t need to be perfect it just needs something to be written. The first draft of anything is shit!
“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.
That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”
― Octavia E. Butler
I have been given some tips to help me along my writing attempt number 3:
1. Practice makes perfect – writing is a muscle and it needs flexing.
2. Don’t put yourself under too much pressure (I was probably doing that a fair bit).
3. Read, read, read and read some more.
4. Start with what you know.
5. Publish your work on your own channels first (it helps to retain control).
6. Let everyone know you have published content.
7. Find partners to help you.
8. Find guest blogs/ Friends who have blogs.
9. And Repeat!!!
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”
― Jodi Picoult