[TWL Contest] Five Tips to Help New Writers Stay on Track
Five strategies I’ve used to stay on track and grow from zero to 1.4K followers on Medium.
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One thing new writers must do to get better is to write consistently.
But, one of the biggest challenges new writers face is figuring out how to write consistently.
After journaling my whole life, I became more serious about my writing journey in 2019. I jumped from writing group to writing group, listened to audiobooks and podcasts, bought some courses (that I never completed), and read many books.
None of this fostered my writing.
None of it made sense until I sat in the chair and did the physical act of writing. My writing didn’t improve until I started consistently writing every day, eventually progressing to sharing my writing for critique and feedback.
Here are some tips that have helped me stay on track and begin to monetize my writing.
Establish a writing routine with a commitment.
I cannot schedule the same time every day to write. I work full-time and have six grown and/or teenage children, some of whom are athletes. I have a very busy life.
At the beginning of this year, I made a commitment to myself that I would write for fifteen minutes every day.
When I wake up, I don’t know when or where, but I know I owe myself at least fifteen minutes of uninterrupted writing time sometime in the next twelve hours.
Whether it’s a list of ten story ideas or titles, a rant about my life, or an outline of a post I’d like to write, I made the commitment, and I’ve kept it, and I believe it’s why my writing is improving.
I have a dedicated “Fifteen Minutes” notebook I always keep with me. I carry it in my bag and write when the opportunity presents itself.
I’ve written in my car, on my lunch break, in the doctor’s office waiting room, in the ER, in the pharmacy line, standing at a bus stop, and at a car dealership yesterday. I sneak it in during work or stay up fifteen minutes later to get it done.
