4 Valuable Lessons Learned From a 30-Day Writing Challenge
Writing is an expression of thoughts presented in a way to sway the reader off his feet.
I hate school! That was the common theme of my thoughts growing up. At an early age, I realised that I was not made for the school system. One day I attended a marketing class. Little did I know that the class would spark my interest in learning to write.
The assignment was to write an essay based on AIDA. (AIDA is an acronym that stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.)
For me, it sounded like a sexy name for my future girlfriend. Laughing at my inside joke, I started to write the essay.
Words came naturally to me. Before I knew it, I had written 2500 words on paper. Misspelt, No paragraphs and way too many words to make my point. But I loved it.
I’ve found a cool new skill that I wanted to develop. Years later, I embarked on a 30-day writing challenge, and this is what I learned.
Your north star
The first thing that will come to mind is, what on earth do you need to write about? Before you know it, you’re stuck and overwhelmed. But here’s a simple solution for writer’s block.
Write about yourself!
Something always happens, even when you’re the most boring person in the world. It can be in your mind or real life. There’s a story in everything.
Write about your adventures, your problems and how you solved them. Present it from your perspective.
You have to realise that you’re a unique being. Write from the heart. Tap into yourself and put your feelings into words. People will follow you because of you!
Most of the time, you don’t know the answer. That’s the beauty of writing. Every day you’ll learn something new. Be curious, research. Learn about subjects you’re passionate about. Tap into your thoughts and experiences to find topics. Go out and do fun stuff. You must live to create.
Avatar?
It’s important to know who you write for. After all, you like to attract a small group of loyal readers who will buy your products and services.
Let’s make this very simple. You‘ll always write to yourself. Not in a weird ego-centric way, but a simple system that will appeal to many.
- Write to your past self. Share the things that went wrong and how you solved them.
- Document all your adventures and lessons from today. At this stage, you’ll don’t have all the answers yourself. You’ll research and learn new skills. Share those in your writing.
- Advice to your future self. What are the lessons from the past and the present? What would you share to make sure you reach your big goals?
Share the answers to those questions, and you’ll never run out of content.
There will be readers facing similar problems and dying to learn how to overcome obstacles. Some will read your content, and some don’t. The point is that you don’t write for everybody.
Now all you need to do is stick to it and trust the process.
Consistency, Yep that word again
In my days as a personal trainer. I had a mentor called Dan John. One of the best strength specialists in the world. At a seminar in London, I had the rare opportunity to pick Dan’s brain during dinner.
My question was how to improve my deadlift. In my mind, I had countless solutions. With my heart filled with anticipation, I received the following answer:
“Do more deadlifts!”
That’s it? It makes so much sense. That was one of the most valuable lessons about consistency in 3 simple words.
So back to writing. When you like to get better at writing, there are 2 simple words for you. Write more!
Get a tattoo if needed. Write it on your wall. When you like to become better at something, do that something more.
Here is my simple formula.
Do X 4 hours a day + Review and improve x 30 days + Repeat monthly = Mastery
This is my million-dollar tip for staying consistent:
Find somebody who will go on a 30-day writing journey with you. Set weekly goals and help each other achieve them. Have daily meetings. To stay on track. Ask for help when needed.
Accountability partners are the best life hack to scale up your learning. Add more consistency by doing the same boring task over and over again. At some point, it will stick. And that’s where the magic happens.
The next step is to find a platform to write on.
There are many ways you can publish your writing. You can write a blog on Medium or jump on your favourite social media platform. What’s most important is that you feel comfortable. Never follow the crowd. In the end, you’re the one that has to do the work.
Ready to get to discover mine?
Twitter is back.
I’m a huge fan of Elon Musk, and when he bought Twitter, I knew I had to be part of it. So while learning to write, I decided to test my newfound skills on this platform.
There is no need for images. I can post 70 times a day without being annoying, and the best thing you can do is practice your writing skills.
But there is another great advantage of writing on Twitter. You’ll meet great people. The more you write in, the more connections you make. Yes, you have to put in the effort. But it will improve so many areas of your life.
Twitter makes it super easy to connect with others. You can comment on people’s tweets or send them a DM. (direct message). The best feature on Twitter is the RT button (A ReTweet enables you to share other people’s content.)
Try to Make a conscious effort to connect with people every day. Just write from the heart, and you’ll resonate with people. Some will love you, some don’t, and that’s ok. Form meaningful relationships while you improve your writing. I love a good win-win.
Final words.
Now it’s your turn. Start writing. Jump on Twitter and create a habit of connecting with people., Write 3 tweets a day. Tap into your true source of the self. It’s buried deep inside. But with continued focus and effort, it will become easy.
Here’s a little breakdown of all the steps:
- Start a 30-day writing challenge.
- Write about yourself.
- Stay consistent
- Choose a platform to share your work.
- Give Twitter a try.
- Connect with other writers on social media
- Rinse and repeat.
May the writing gods be with you. It’s a matter of time before you write daily with a smile. Reclaim your life, build your business and respect your spirit. The rest will come naturally to you.
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