Here is something different for this blog, it's a how to. More specifically a "How to write". Now, the process of writing in itself is not that hard, in fact it's something we learn quite early on in our lives. We were all really proud of the fact that we could write our names down as little kids and if you could do it faster than the other kids it made you smart. Now most of us type but, that's not rocket science either. It's not writing as an action that is hard but, the question usually is what to write. Whether it's a novel, an autobiography or even a blog knowing what to write can be confusing. A lot of the times it gets to the point where it gets frustrating, when you're staring at the page (or your screen) and have no idea how to turn your thoughts into words that would make sense or if need be, entertaining. So, by the power vested in me by nobody, I would like to pretend for the rest of this article that I know something about writing and I will try and turn my thoughts into words that will make sense to you.
Writing anything requires a basic planning. First, you need to know what you are about to write, without this information you can't really do much. I assume you already know what you want to write but, just in case you're confused lemme just break down the basics. Are you trying to be the next J.K Rowling or Stephen King? If yes, then you're writing a fiction. Do you think you're life is interesting enough for people to know? If yes, you are writing an autobiography. Do you think someone else's life is interesting enough for people to know about? If yes, my dear friend, you are writing a biography. Finally, if you haven't checked of any of the top three, then you're either writing a history book, a cookbook or another book on a specialized area. In that case feel free to read ahead and take whatever may suit your personal writing needs.
After this you need to decide what your tools are going to be. There are many options to suit anyone's needs and preferences. You could write on a paper, a typewriter, a computer or you could even carve it on stone (although novel, it won't be quite time efficient). Once, you know what you're writing and have your chosen tool, you can begin your journey beyond your wildest dreams (the last part only makes sense if you don't pay too much attention to it).
Close your eyes and imagine your story and how you are going to tell it. Every piece of writing tells a story. Whether it's yours or someone else's, real or fiction or even about how to bake cake, there is always a story. So, what is the story you want the reader to know? There are different approaches you can take to this. The first is to take out a blank page and draft it out. From the very beginning, when you introduce the major political complication in your article, to the conflicts, when you tell the story about how you got bullied in school in your biography, to the major climax, when you tell your readers about the epic space battle in your sci-fi novel, to the ending, where you would tell the reader about how successful Steve Jobs was.
You can do this however you like, it can be one page for each section, or just a sentence, it could also be a drawing. This helps to make sure you stay on track and don't end up going on and on about how tasty the porridge at the bear's house was and never get to the point where they show up and scare the s**t out of goldilocks. However, making a plan for some people can be limiting to your overall writing. Having an outline could limit your creativity or discourage you from following a better plotline or different character traits for fear of messing up your draft. First, thoughts aren't always good and therefore, it's best to remember that if you do make a draft, keep it open to adjustments and always be willing to throw it in the trash (or the trash icon on your screen) and start over. Planning doesn't always work for many other reasons as well. The primary reason being, that a lot of writers find it much easier to just start writing and then figure the story as you go along. The main goal here is to find your voice in your writing and go forward however, you would feel comfortable.
Next you need to track your progress. Once your start writing, you will experience all the phases, at points you will need to take a 5 minute or even a week long break. However, it's important that you maintain consistency. Tracking how much progress you are making is imperative to this. Set goals with word counts or pages that you must meet before getting that break. You must make sure that these are realistic, not even professionals can aim to direct a movie or complete a scientific research in just a few days so, don't think YOU, in your bunny pjs and inexperience, can write your 500 page novel. Setting goals is useless if you don't follow through so, reward yourself when you meet it (go out for an ice cream) and penalize yourself when you don't (no Netflix for a week....gasp).
No matter the inspiration and countless ideas you started out with, there will be a point when you will experience the writer's block. Or how I like to call the "I've hit a dead end and everything I've written so far is trash", also known as DESFIT for short. So, when you encounter DESFIT, as you most likely will, you should follow through the simple guide-
3 step plan on how to overcome DESFIT
1) Accept it-
Denial makes the situation much worse
2) Take a break-
Go out and walk/swim/run/jog/cycle/camp/do whatever outdoorsy stuff u like. Alternatively, if you think the outdoors are only suited for bears and other wild animals (like your co-worker Ted, eyeroll) you could read/knit/pet-your-cat/do whatever else you like to do. This will allow you to get some space and
cool of, it can also help you gain inspiration.
3) Get your ass back to work-
Arguably, the most important step in this three step plan you must face reality and get back to work.
Sit down in front of your paper/laptop and don't move until you start writing again. Just force yourself
to write something, no matter how shi*ty it is. You have got to break the cycle in order to get back on
track. Ok, so that didn't really make sense but, if you break the cycle then you can get a car on the
track which is clearly superior.
Now, that you know the basics it's time to start writing. Whatever it is that you want to write most importantly you need to start and be committed to finish. Write because you want to and not because you have to. Write about something you're passionate about and don't lose confidence in yourself. YOU CAN DO IT!