“I Can’t Start Writing. I Don’t Know What To Write!”
Many, many people think that writing is a magical gift that they simply don’t have. Even more people entertain the idea of writing – either for a hobby or professionally – but sit down to write and nothing springs forth from them.
Then they give up.
This article is about how you can avoid this. Before we start, here’s a key principle, exercise and guiding light from a previous article:
Re-Iterating The Jamie McSloy Patented Writer’s Block Busting Method ™
(Legal Disclaimer: It’s not patented and I don’t own a trademark)
The first, best and only necessary way to overcome writer’s block is to sit and write.
“But I don’t have anything to write!”
It doesn’t matter.
I’ve written an article about this already: How To Overcome Writer’s Block.
I’ll re-iterate here in short though: Sit and type absolute rubbish until your brain gets the hint that you’re not moving until you’ve got a job to do.
When I first started doing this exercise, I literally sat typing, “Um, uh, argh, I can’t think of anything to write. Still can’t think of anything. It’s raining outside. Really want to get up. Not going to.”
This might be you. Keep going. Eventually you’ll win over your base instincts and start writing real sentences.
“What Will My Real Sentences Be? I Still Don’t Have Anything To Write”
If you haven’t done the above exercise at least once, minimise this window and open up Wordpad until you have done. It’s necessary.
Assuming you’re back, there are two things that hold writers who actually start writing back. Lack of subject and lack of belief. I’ll address both of those right now.
“I don’t have anything interesting to start writing about!”
I get it: you’re a fifteen year old guy who doesn’t know anything about the world, has no perspective on life and can only think about getting home from school so you can clear your backlog of homework. (Just kidding, when I was fifteen, I knew everything, had an enlightened perspective and did my homework during loading screens for Red Alert 2.)
In all seriousness, most people spend a lot of time reading other people’s exploits and thinking, “I wish I had something to add.” Or they’ll be engaged in their favourite crime fiction and think, “I wish I could come up with a scenario and write a crime novel about it!”
You can, and it’s an easy fix requiring two separate acknowledgements:
- You are a unique being. Even if you’re just a kid in high school or a nerd who rarely leaves their room, you have a perspective that’s informed by experiences which nobody else will have. In practice, this might mean “How I overcame bullying” or “How to avoid idiots on the internet” or some subjects which you might think are mundane. I can absolutely guarantee you that if you wrote those articles, people would read them. The same is probably true for most things you’ve gone through in your life. Only you have your That’s a starting point.
- Consumption to Production Ratio. If you’re spending all your time reading and not doing, then you’ve found your major problem. People are looking for solutions to their questions. IT’s what drives the internet, reading and life in general. Bearing in mind the point above, you’re going to be the only person who solves a problem in the way that you do – informed by your history and experiences. Spend more time solving problems, and you’ll have an unlimited amount to write about that’ll always be well-received.
These two points are the driving reason behind my output for this site. I’m not the best writer in the world. I’m not the most interesting guy in the world. However, I sit for hours a day figuring out stuff about writing, and then at the end of the day I write about how I’ve solved the questions I’ve asked myself. You can do this yourself, and you can do it on any subject.
“My Writing Is Going To Be Rubbish”
We’ve solved the idea that you can’t write and the idea that you have nothing to start writing about. We’ve also ended the myth that some people are gifted with perspective and mere mortals simply don’t have that gift.
The second major reason people never commit to writing is because of lingering self-doubts about the worth of what they’re writing or the quality of the writing.
I contend that if you’re doing the above points with integrity, then you don’t have to worry about this, but people won’t believe me.
Here are some thoughts on dealing with self-doubt:
- Accept that you’re going to get better.
Note: I could have said “You’re going to be rubbish at the start.” I didn’t. It doesn’t matter where you start, providing you’re willing to improve. You could be a prodigy; you can still get better. You might be the least-natural writer ever to have existed; you can get better.
In reality, you’re going to produce stuff that’s not so great, and you’re going to produce stuff that’s better than you realise. I know this, because I’ve directly experienced this: I go back through my old work every now and then, and sometimes I think, “Jesus Christ, what was I thinking!” Sometimes though, I don’t even recognise my own writing. It’ll be better than I remember; it’ll sound like a completely different voice.
The reason for that is that I had a different perspective and essentially was a different writer back then. That’s what happens.
If you commit to improving, it doesn’t matter where you start.
- Hit Publish
People are petrified of criticism. Most people never face that fear in any aspect of their life. Writing is no different. It’s hard to stand up ready to be criticised. However, writing in the modern age is absolutely one of the best places for you to do this.
Hit the publish button.
You’ll find several things. Firstly is that there aren’t haters and trolls waiting to burn your life down when you start writing. Secondly, if there are haters, you’ll realise how ineffective they are. You get a one-star review on a book or piece of work. “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen and you should DIE” says the hater.
So what?
I remember the first time I got a one-star review on a bit of freelance work I did. I was traumatised and thought the whole thing was going to collapse. The guy didn’t want to pay (but he’d put it on his website already) and was going to get me banned and ruin my life… etc.
Except that never happened. None of those fears came true. I got a one-star review that was promptly overtaken by a hundred positive reviews, and the only regret I have is that I didn’t tell him to stick a really big object in a really small place. (Not really.)
Thirdly, with most writing projects, you can just hit unpublish as easily as you hit publish. If you need to, use a pen name, and if it’s as terrible as you think (Spoiler: It won’t be) then just hit un-publish, have your pen-name take a round-the-world trip to disappear, and never think about it ever again.
Final Thoughts: Remember The Point From Above
You have a unique perspective on the world. It’s incredibly valuable. The actual skill of writing is always secondary to the person who is doing the writing. The skill of writing can be improved upon, and it’ll become more natural to you the more you practice.
With that, I’ve given you the keys to breaking through no words to write, no subjects to talk about and the emotional fear of writing. That about covers everything, so you should be able to get started with writing… write now.