I am taking up a writing challenge!
So here is the Problem -
The problem is that I want to be a writer but I find it difficult to write every day.
Some examples of how I know this is a problem are:
- I have been procrastinating on building a writing portfolio for a year now
- I have tones of half-baked ideas sitting in random places like my notion, obsidian, diaries, and journals
- Every time I think that the idea is great, I somehow never get down to writing about it
- I have no formal system of writing, it feels like beginning from scratch every day
- I haven't found my niche, voice, or style
- I am not confident about my writing, research, structure, or grammar
This is an ongoing list, so If I find anything later on that adds to the problem, will add it here later.
Why do we have this problem?
Well, I did some research and the common themes that I could connect with were
Having writer's anxiety
Which leads to procrastination
There may be an egg and chicken situation with building a writing system
Egg - Nobody's ( writers) system would work for me unless I use the system enough
Chicken - Since I am not writing enough, I never know what kind of writing system I need
There is kind of no external answerability around becoming better at writing. I am answerable to none but myself, so I feel it’s okay to slack off. (I mean who is even watching?)
High Levels of Self-Critique
Fear of Success (yeah it’s a thing!)
What I've tried to solve the problem?
I have tried reading a lot of books, which I'll list below:
- On Writing
- Bird By Bird
- Elements of Style
- Harbrace College Handbook
- Thinking on Paper
- Thinking on Page
I have also watched a lot of videos (the list would be very long)
And tried taking a lot of random advice from people and blogs
Since I never had a bigger goal, to where I could tie all of this back, hence every time I get down to implementing something, I get overwhelmed by the vast sea of information.
Where are we now?
After so much trial and error, the only practical way I could think of to solve the problem was to tie all my endeavors with a common goal.
What is that goal?
To publish a blog for the next 100 days on my substack. Of course, keeping in mind a few guidelines.
What will I be writing about?
- About writing and my journey
- About marketing
- About communication
- About business
- About philosophy
- About life
- About anything I recently saw or read
- About interesting concepts and ideas
The goal here is simple - To ship one blog every day.
Why?
- To get into the habit of writing
- To build a system around writing
- To find my voice, style, and niche
- To build a platform and audience where we can together explore what works for us and what doesn't
- To be able to implement frameworks, suggestions, advice, and ideas about writing that I gather
Here is what my current no non-sense writing framework will look like
- Write anywhere between 500-1000 words every day and publish
- To not worry about grammar, style, structure, clarity all at once
- To organize my thinking around a particular theme, topic, idea, or concept with each blog - Ideally to think clearly
- Will not follow any style or structure initially, until one emerges organically
What's next?
Today is Day 1 of the journey, and what you read above is a byproduct of the same effort. I haven't planned what I will be writing about for Day 2 and onwards, but the goal is to choose something you feel the least friction about and get going from there.
None of this content is proofread or optimized owing to the dearth of time. But I want to eventually get down to slowing down, and be more intentional and mindful of what I write, along the way.
To point out any gaps in my thinking, please feel obliged to leave a comment or mail me at makingitsimplefortheworld@gmail.com
Best,
A Writer
Wanna Join?
If you'd like to join me on this journey, you can use the above template headings, and write about your Day 1.
Send it to me on this email - makingitsimplefortheworld@gmail.com, and I'll add you to a Discord Server specifically for our community of writers.