Writing Advice
Have You Tried The CPC Method of Writing?
Tips to navigate from writing in journals to publishing on the Internet
When I was a kid, our English teacher always insisted on writing and maintaining daily journal entries. She believed it was the best way to articulate our thoughts and create a virtual best friend with whom we could share our darkest secrets and deepest sorrows.
In all these years of filling in countless journals and publishing articles on my blog on Blogspot and now on Medium, I have realised that writing on the internet is quite different from writing in my journal, and here’s how -
1. My journal is my entire life story in bits and pieces and looking back at the journey will always inspire me. However, readers on the internet may find it too elaborate and unrelatable.
2. My journal is my closest confidant that conceals my secrets, consumes my rants and preserves all my scribbled thoughts and ideas. All of this in an unstructured fashion, which might be easy for me to skim through and understand, but may not make sense to the other readers.
Writing online requires one to be crisp and to the point while respecting the time and energy of the readers.
For that to happen, I have developed my approach- the CPCs of Writing, which encourages me to become a deep thinker and a thoughtful writer, and I am willing to share this with everyone who aspires to become a successful Writer.
1. Consume
As the renowned writer and novelist Annie Proulx puts it -
“Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.”
I am sure you know how reading helps in acquiring knowledge, discovering various writing genres, and the art of handling descriptions and dialogues.
But most importantly, reading broadens our perspectives and cultivates the ability to see the world through different viewpoints. It helps us delve into the creative mind of the writer and gain insight into the depth of human emotions and behaviours, which is essential for creating relatable characters.
2. Process
Reading and acquiring knowledge not only serves as a means of learning new things but also helps generate fresh and more innovative ideas.
Often readers get trapped in the reading loop and continue with their desire to consume knowledge without reflecting on the takeaways. This often clogs their minds and overwhelms them with excessive information that does not make sense in the end.
This reminds me of how in our English lessons, we were given an essay to read and then write a precis of the same. This not only encouraged children to read with close attention to details but also brought out many interesting interpretations.
Reading is important, but taking the time to process its takeaways is key to becoming a thoughtful Writer.
3. Create
Sometime back, I read a Medium article in which the author highlighted how writers are excellent critics when it comes to their own crafts. I relate to this because, for the longest time, I have been over-critical of my work, and given in to extreme overthinking, thereby preventing myself from sharing my creative art with the world.
As a writer, your biggest achievement is to earn a loyal reader who listens to you, believes in you and is there for you (and your works).
This is achievable only when you muster the courage to put your thoughts out without the obsession with Perfection or the fear of judgment.
Don’t restrict your work to the rough pages of your journal.
Instead, bring it out, let it get discovered, contribute to the world, make mistakes and allow yourself to learn from them.
Give your readers the chance to Consume and Process your beautifully crafted work.
Through this continuous process of writing and sharing, you will eventually discover your voice, which will guide you to become a better writer each day.
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