Writing Tips

Are you a writer? If you clicked on that headline, chances are you are. Or, at least, you want to become one. In any case, you already know that writing is so freaking hard.

Don’t worry, friend. You’re not alone. We all go through that.

Fortunately, I found a method that helps me keep focused and makes a better, more efficient writer. In this article, I’ll share it with you. Hope you find it useful!

One quick thing before we start. Please, consider signing up for a Medium membership. You’ll have unlimited access to the most incredible stories on the internet and support me and all your favorite writers. It only costs $5 per month and you can sign up through this link:

Setting the ground rules

I don’t know about you, but I find it amazing how we can envision our next article so clearly in our minds, but when the time comes to put it to paper… nothing. Not a single word.

We go completely blank trying to find the perfect way to express our thoughts, and instead we end up staring at the screen for hours.

So, what you need to do is define the rules you’re going to write under. Your own, personal system that guides you through your work. Here’s what mine looks like:

• Brainstorming
• Idea development
• Outlining
• First draft
• Edition
• Proofreading

Let’s dig deeper into each one of these and what they consist of.

Brainstorming: Coming up with great writing ideas

You can’t write good content without good ideas, that’s for sure. Yet, writers often struggle to find intresting topics to write about.

In that regard, I came up with a method to solve this problem. It isn’t anything revolutionary, but it is effective, at least for me. Here’s exactly what I do to come up with writing ideas.

First, I keep a notebook with me at all times. You never know when inspiration may hit you, so you have to be prepared to take notes when it does.

Ideally, you’ll have a physical pen and paper. Writing things down manually is best for memory and ramification. However, if you don’t just taking notes on your phone will do.

Personally, I have a WhatsApp pinned chat with myself where I send my writing ideas as a message when they strike me.

Once you’ve got your note-taking device, take an hour every day to brainstorm. Try to think about interesting topics you’d like to read about but haven’t seen on the Internet and write everything down. Emphasis on “everything.”

Moving around also works. Go for a walk, stand on your balcony, look out the window, read the news, an article, or a book. We can feed our creativity by sending it different stimuli, especially of visual nature.

Finally, do the brainstorming thing again before you go to sleep. When you’re ready to go to bed, your brain finally disconnects from your daily tasks and duties. And that’s when it can roam free through different topics and come up with the best stuff.

Let’s go over it one more time. This is what I do to think of new writing ideas:

• Have a note-taking device ready at all times.
• Take an hour every day to brainstorm and write down everything you think would be interesting to read about.
• Feed your creativity with multiple, diverse stimuli.
• Repeat the brainstorming session before going to sleep.

Filtering: Separating what works from what doesn’t

After one or two days, take a look at your notes. If you did your homework, you should have plenty to read.

Now, it’s possible that, as you read, you realize that most of what you’ve written down is absolute trash. It’s important that you understand that this is absolutely normal. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer or that your ideas aren’t good. It just means you’re doing your job.

Yet, you will have to apply a quality filter to see which ideas are worth keeping, and which belong in Oblivion.

The way I do this is simple, and you can steal it if it works for you too. It consists of taking all the ideas you’ve written down one by one and asking yourself the following questions:

• Is it simple enough to explain it simple terms?
• Is it complex enough to elaborate on the topic?
• Do I know enough to write at least 1,000 words about this topic?
• Is it original, fresh, or new? Does it provide a unique perspective?
• Do people need to read about this?
• Do people want to read about this?
• Will writing about this help, entertain, or move others?

There are more questions you can ask, but you get the idea. If the answer to most of these is positive, then that idea it’s a keeper. If not, you may want to consider exploring it a little more.

Outlining: Elaborating and developing your ideas

Now that you have your list of original, wonderful, captivating, and killer ideas, it’s time to dive deeper into each one and start developing an outline that guides you through them.

You should know that this step is very personal, meaning that what works for one writer may not be so effective for others.

Yet, if you don’t know where to being, you can try what I do:

• First, write your idea at the top of a blank page like a headline.
• Then, try to think of five or six talking points about that topic, as if there were sections of an article.
• Similarly, ask five or six questions about the topic that you think are important to answer.
• Think of a personal story about the topic, or a situation in which you or someone you know experienced it in some way. In other words, add references.
• If you can, try to add metaphors or analogies to explain the topic in a more familiar way.

First draft: Shaping the first version of your work

Now that you’ve got the outline ready, it’s time to connect the dots! Start your first draft with a strong introduction of the topic and go over all the different talking points you’ve chosen. Finally, end it with a compelling, thought-provoking conclusion that leaves your readers craving for more.

Here’s what’s most important in a first draft: finishing it. It doesn’t matter if it comes out wrong, it matters that it comes out at all.

So, if you’re not liking how your draft is going, try to power through it. Not a single one of my first drafts has been good, and that’s fine. That’s why they are first drafts.

“To become a proper writer, you have to forgive yourself the catastrophe of the first draft.”

— Alain de Botton

I’d dare to say that the worse your first draft is, the better the final work will end up. That’s because they allow us to make risk-free mistakes and catch them before it’s too late.

In that regard, here are some tips to take into account when writing your first draft:

• Take risks, try out new things, be bold. If it doesn’t work, you can simply cut it out.
• Define the tone and voice of your draft and try to maintain it from start to finish.
• Balance the weight of the different sections and make the transitions from one to the next smooth. Every sentence has to express a point or lead to the next one. If it doesn’t, you don’t need it.
• Keep the readers engaged. Make them think, ask them questions, use cliffhangers.

Edition: Polishing and beautifying your work

When the first draft is finished, read it. Once you’ve read it, do it again. This time, out loud. If you feel embarrased doing this, go somewhere you can be alone.

Reading your draft out loud will better help you better understand how your readers will see it.

Next, highlight the sentences that you find hard to read. Those that may be too long or that use too many complicated words. Look into how you can reword or reframe them to make them more digestible and clear.

You can also look at the overall outline and structure. See if the way you organized the different sections makes sense to you, or if it could work better in another order.

In short, editing is about scanning your draft for improvement opportunities, plain and simple.

Once you find them, apply them! Write a second, third, and even fourth draft. Do as many iterations as you need until you’re happy with the final result.

Proofreading: Final check for errors and mistakes

Once you finish your writing, all that’s left to do is one final check to make sure grammar, spelling, and punctuation are in order.

Don’t worry, this shouldn’t take too much effort. In fact, it’s almost automatic. Most text processing tools have integrated grammar and spelling checking systems. They can tell you when the grammar is off or if you’ve made any spelling mistakes.

Still, you should do at least one run through it yourself, just in case the software misses something.

Closing thoughts about the writing process

There are as many writing processes as there are writers. Throughout the article, I shared mine with you. However, this doesn’t mean it must be your writing process as well.

You can try it out and, if you find it useful, steal it from me. That’s fine, I won’t sue.

If, on the other hand, this process doesn’t work for you, I hope it at least helps you come up with one of your own that does.

In any case, it’s important that you have your personal writing process. It will help you build a writing habit that allows you to be more productive and get some work done every single day.

In the end, that’s what will make you a better writer.

Did you like this story?

I’m glad you did! My name is Santi. I help writers hone their skills and improve their craft. If you’d like to read more content like this, follow me on Medium and Twitter. I’d really appreciate it!

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