3 Things I Did to Start Writing Online
…after 6 Years of ‘Just’ Wishing to Write
For six years of wishing and trying to write, I haven’t published even a single blog post. But in the last eight months, I’ve published 33 pieces— and some of them I published here on Medium.
If you’ve been wishing to write essays or blog posts, but you still haven’t written one, this post is for you.
Here, I’ll share three things that I did to learn how to write.
#1 I practiced stream-of-consciousness writing.
In March 2020, I watched a video of Tim Ferriss where he talked about a writing practice he uses to sharpen his thinking.
“Write anything,” he said. “Stream-of-consciousness, essay, or whatever.” This practice is popularized by Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist’s Way, where she calls it Morning Pages. “Morning pages,” Tim continues, “is an easy way to ease into the practice of just moving a pen without stopping.”
Tim said he writes two crappy pages a day.
“Without writing, it’s very hard to freeze your thinking on paper so that you can sharpen it, so that you can see where you’re using words that aren’t well-defined, where you’re saying things that don’t need to be said.”
- Tim Ferriss
Inspired by Tim, I decided to write two crappy pages every day. I would set an alarm for ten minutes and write a brain vomit of my thoughts on the page. I didn’t fix errors — spelling, grammar, and more. And if I didn’t know what to say, I just repeated a word or a phrase or a sentence.
I have done this nearly every day for almost 2 years now.
And I can say that it helped me get comfortable pouring my thoughts and feelings on the page without censoring myself, without judging my thoughts. Because of this practice, I learned one key skill of every professional writer: writing crappy first drafts.
Professional writers allow themselves to write badly at first, because they know and trust that they can always improve those crappy pages later on.
As Tim Ferriss said in the video, “Writing is rewriting.”
#2 I learned how to rewrite.
Rewriting or revising is how we transform the stream-of-consciousness writing into a clear, concise, and coherent piece.
It’s how we refine our words so they say what we really want to say.
When I decided to start sharing my thoughts in public, I didn’t know how to refine my thoughts on paper yet. I read several books, articles, and watched YouTube videos on how to do it.
I looked for “the one” guide that will teach me all the things I need to know about revising.
But there was none.
And there will never be one. There will only be one that works for you.
What worked for me was choosing one guide and following it over and over again until I added my own twist to the process. And that guide was Jordan Peterson’s 10 Step Guide to Clearer Thinking Through Essay Writing, where he laid out concrete steps on refining our thinking on paper.
I followed it step by step at first.
But now, after writing 33 blog posts, my revising process has evolved. I made it my own by stealing every technique I liked from other writers I admire.
Learning how to revise helped me clarify my thoughts. It helped me notice which parts of my thinking are dull and weak — then I can cut or sharpen them.
Learning how to revise gave me the courage and confidence to share my thinking in public. My thinking is not always right, and it’s not always as clear as I want it to be.
But perfection should not be our goal. Progress is.
#3 I hit publish at my own pace.
Some writers say “Publish every day.”
But I didn’t follow it and I still don’t. It only focuses on the outcome and ignores the idea that writing is a series of small steps. Each small step takes time. And the amount of time varies depending on the quality of thinking needed and how familiar you are with your topic.
If you haven’t written before and you want to learn how to write, chances are that you don’t have much free time available.
When I started writing, I only gave myself 20 minutes every morning — after waking up and before doing anything else — to sit down and do nothing except live in the document.
If I forced myself to publish everyday, I would have hated myself for not being able to do it, and so I would probably have stopped writing. Twenty minutes is not enough for me to explore, clarify, and refine what I want to say.
I wanted to build a habit first. I wanted a sustainable system.
If I can’t sustain it, why would I do it?
Publishing at my own pace reduced the pressure on me. It helped me focus on the process instead of the outcome. Instead of saying “I will publish on this day.” I say, “I will sit down today and make at least 1% progress with my draft.”
By doing these three things, I was able to publish my thoughts nearly every week.
I learned that in order to learn how to write essays or blog posts, we must first stop seeing it as a one-sitting act, but a series of small steps.
If you want to learn how to write, you can copy what I did:
1. Practice stream-of-consciousness writing.
So you get comfortable writing badly without judging your thoughts.
2. Learn how to rewrite.
Choose a process that you can follow. You can download Peterson’s guide if you like it.
3. Lastly, publish at your own pace.
Think of writing as investing in a stock market.
Don’t think about gaining more followers at first. Think of writing as investing in a stock market. Just as you don’t concern yourself too much on the daily or monthly or even yearly fluctuations of stocks, you also don’t concern yourself on the daily or monthly views at first.
Because you’re in this long-term.
And you know that if you just keep showing up, your writing wealth — views, followers, subscribers — will grow over time.
Instead of focusing on getting followers, focus on becoming the right one to be followed.
Thanks for reading!
