I finally figured out my true love was to write. But I hadn’t done it for so long. It had been almost 20 years since I last wrote something, and everything seemed like a haze. If you love writing as much as I do but have neglected it and need help to get on your feet, you are in the right place. You see I was in the same place a few years ago trying to find my home back in the world of writing. I had not made time for it for decades and wondered if it was too late to start. So let me tell you the four simple steps you can take today to start writing if you haven’t written for a while.
The first thought that went through my mind was, should I even start? Have I missed the bus? I was already 40, so I had lost so much time! That thought may go through yours as well and let me dispel that thought for you right at the beginning. You know what my answer to that question is! Nothing short of a resounding ‘Yes’! You must write if you love it for old loves never die. They may be rusty, worn-out, forgotten, but never dead.! So how do you go about reigniting that flame and getting those creative juices to flow?
The 4 steps to start writing today
Mindset Changes
Now, what is the first step you can take to start a writing habit when you have neglected it for a while? We do what I call a mindset overhaul which in simple terms means changing your mindset. Let see how we can help with that.
Add it to your to-do lists
The first step is the willingness to start and commit to it. It means making time for it and not making excuses. Just like you make a commitment to your essential chores, and give its due importance, treat this in the same way and add it to your to-do list. If you treat it as not necessary, it will remain neglected as it was.
Acceptance
The second thing to do is to accept whatever comes off it. You may start writing, and you get something you consider ‘ugh! ‘or ‘disgruntled’ or ‘anger ‘or’ plain blah’. Before you pass any judgement on yourself or your writing skills, you need to remember that this love hasn’t been tended to and cherished for a long time. How do you think it will show up? How would you expect loved one to behave when they have been neglected and ignored for a while. You get the drift. It isn’t going to be pretty!
Get rid of perfection
Love does not work like a math formula. You will get good and bad days in writing, and that is part of the ride. So get those imperfections out and only through those cracks, the light will come out as rightly said by L Cohen. So throughs imperfections, will the writing genius come through.
Love is never forced or controlled
So do not even try to force it or have a rigid schedule with too many rules, like I have to write 1 hour every day or else I will never write. There’s no need for ultimatums or threats or force. The only thing required is commitment and to show up. You decide what’s right for you. I started slow and kept it arbitrary. I kept writing as and when I could. Some days it was a multiple pages a day, then there was a lull phase, and another week there was a page. The important thing is to start.
Set a reasonable schedule
You have not been writing for many years and you cant start writing every hour of the day. And if you have a busy schedule, it can’t be all the time. So it is essential to set a reasonable plan for yourself. You get to decide what is right for yourself. Once a day, a month, a week. Follow up on it. The goal is to have an achievable plan and not an unattainable one. My recommendation is to start in small doses and increase as you go along.
Give yourself grace when you cant.
It is not a punishment or a chore. So if you do not meet a target, do not be hard on yourself. Move on and remember the times you tried. Give yourself credit for the journey you have come through. However, do not use it as an excuse to procrastinate for we have lost enough time.
Helpful Nags
The second thing you can do to start writing is to find what I call ‘helpful nags’ at the beginning of the journey. You know those annoying people who nag you and do not leave you till they get your attention! We need some of them at the beginning of our journey to remind and motivate us to write. I too was starting from scratch, so I wanted to be reminded and encouraged to do so. So I found some helpful nags who would gently nag/ remind me about my goal.
- I did that by getting in touch with all writer and blogger friends and kept talking about my interest and getting their view on it.
- Subscribe to facebooks groups that focus on writing. Facebook has this annoying algorithm which keeps promoting more such groups once you have shown an interest in a topic. Use that to your advantage.
- To get my creative juices flowing, I also subscribed to Face book groups on topics that interested me.
Writing Tools for beginners to start writing today
The third step of starting to write is to find out where do you want to write. While the most obvious is to grab a book and start writing, but this can be a problem for people on a busy schedule. I find it annoying to carry a book along with me everywhere, and I wouldn’t say I liked the added stress of it getting into the wrong hands. So I figured it is important to find something that is practical and works for you. I prefer using online tools. Some of the ones which I found and are free to start with are the following:
Penzu: It is a free online journal wherein you can write as much as you want to. The beauty of Penzu is that it also has a Penzu app. You can download it on a Samsung Phone, (maybe others as well) and this comes in handy for me. So when I have a few minutes to spare like if I am waiting in the parking lot to pick up my kids, I open the app and get started. With that, I cannot use lack of time as an excuse anymore.
Goodnight journal: is also a free online tool. Now that I write more, I have segregated my writing into different journals. It is another right place to get your words out. It has some other features, but I use the part to write.
Daybook and Journey are the other two apps you can use to jot down ideas or just write. I use it to jot down writing-related ideas that come to me when I go for a walk.
Your biggest ally to start writing-Your creative juice
The last step to get you to start writing is to find tools to get your creative juices flowing. There are numerous ways you can begin. It all depends on the kind of person you are and what excites you. Let’s have a look at some of the options.
Quora: If you are like me and love dishing out solutions to people whether they want it or not, this may be perfect for you to start. It is an online Q and A platform or various topics, and you can answer questions based on your interest levels. You can create your profile and get started. I started my writing first on Quora. You see the need for solving other people’s problems is what makes me who I am. 😉
Writer HQ: If you want daily inspiration, whip-cracking, writing exercises and challenges, this is the place. You may find a lot of swearing, but they have lots of tremendous free resources to get you started. Just subscribe to their list, and you will find yourself in writing heaven with lots of support to get cracking.
Quietly Wild Woman by Dawn Wyatt offers plenty of free resources on writing and journalling practices which can get your creative juices flowing. I found the free seven steps guide to powerful and consistent journalling incredibly helpful.
Feelings and life experiences: If everything else fails, there is one thing I can always count on, and that is my feelings. When I have an awful day and want to vent out, Penzu app doesn’t only serve as my online therapist but also gets me writing on issues I had no clue that was going on. It can become your writing mine. Its benefits are it is cathartic, and it also gets your creative juices flowing.
To conclude
So you see the steps to start writing for beginners are pretty simple. First, you need to start with a mindset shift. It includes being accepting of yourself, getting rid of perfection, control and setting a reasonable schedule. If you slip and fall, give yourself grace and start again. Keeping your helpful nags close to you will save you focussed and motivated. Make use of the numerous tools that are available to help you on your journey. I want to see you get cracking. You owe it yourself.
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