My Best Advice When You Want to Write Like a MOFO
When you sit down to a blank page to write, how do you feel?
You know that you need regular, content on your blog and yet you can’t seem to will your way to do it.
Sales are slow, and you know you need to send at least one more sales email to your list — but you’ll just wander around your inbox instead.
You have a brilliant idea for a new offer, but that sales page writing? You’re actively avoiding it.
Most of the time, writing sucks, and you just wish it would do itself.
Maybe other times, you’ve found yourself in the flow, and a blog post, email challenge, or even new offer copy for your signature offer came falling out of your fingertips.
I’m a writer, and I write every day for others, and yet, sometimes I don’t write at all for myself.
Yes, it’s ironic how I create the container for the Unfussy Writing Community members to get their writing done, they do it, and have fun, and I still need to trick myself into writing stuff for me.
Isn’t there some saying around a cobbler whose kids are walking around in worn-out shoes?
Raises hand. That’s me!
Sometimes I have to trick myself into getting it done. Here’s a roundup of my top tips to help you Write Like a MOFO:
Put it on the calendar.
It’s a date! Block the time (2-3 hours) and when the time happens, do it.Write in the cracks.
Got 10 minutes while you’re waiting for the water to boil — see how much you can write.Show up at your best.
Play with writing at different times of the day. When you discover your best time of day for writing, protect your calendar like a motha at that same time a few days a week.Create a writing routine.
This will trick your brain into knowing what comes next — writing! Here’s what I do: Sit in my office chair, light a candle, start writing.Set the clock.
Use a timer and write for 10 or 15 minutes. Barf it all on the page, resisting the urge to edit, then walk away and come back to edit it tomorrow.Write something… ANYTHING!
Write an email, write your grocery list, write an appreciation list — writing something EASY to give you momentum.Look at pictures.
Google some images for the topic you’re writing about and scroll for a few minutes. This always sparks new ideas for my clients (and me)!Embrace the SFD (shitty first draft)
Know that your first draft will suck -- no pressure that way! Writing and editing are two very different activities. Write and edit on different days.Start with the truth, then edit.
Blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Then, edit the words (not the truth).Change your scenery.
If you try to write in the same place every day and words aren’t happening, move somewhere else. It may be enough to tell your brain, “Hey, we’re doing something new today.”Talk it out.
Especially helpful if you’re an external processor. Use the talk to text feature on your phone and then you’ll have some words to edit. I’m writing a book using this technique right now!Journal it first.
At the beginning of every Unfussy Writing Community session, we warm up our writing muscles with some stream of consciousness writing. Also called freewriting, morning pages, getting the gunk out, or brain dumping.Try the 5-second rule.
If you hate writing, you’re never going to feel like writing. Make it suck less by counting down from 5 4 3 2 1 and then START. Mel Robbins coined this term in her TED-talk.Tell someone what you’re writing.
If disappointing someone else is a big motivator, ask someone to hold you accountable.Try batching.
Write a bunch of similar things all at one time. Write blogs on blogging day, draft emails on email day, write sales copy on website copy day.Research later.
If you keep pausing to fact-check and grab links, try writing your content all at once and setting aside a separate time for research.Set a teeny goal.
One sentence, 100 words, 5 minutes. Set a goal so tiny that not doing becomes impossible.Write stuff that feels good to write.
If you’re writing a bunch of crap, well, that’s going to feel pretty crappy. Write about stuff that gets you bubbling and your audience will feel it.Follow your inspiration.
Have 10 things to write and don’t know where to start? Write the thing you’re most excited to write.Join a writing challenge.
Such as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), even if you’re not writing a book to get a whole lot of momentum.
You might have noticed a theme here. The LESS thinking you do and the more STARTING you do, the more writing you’ll get done.
Need some support in getting words on the page and making them awesome? The doors are now always open for the Unfussy Writing Community.
It’s gonna be lit. Hehe ;)
