The Secret to Getting Your Written Words on the Page – Part 2

This blog post is a continuation of a post published on March 16, 2021, entitled The Secret to Getting Your Written Words on the Page. And since this follow-up post has been a long time in coming, I’m going to get right to the chase. I’m going to address those strategies I’ve observed others utilizing and those I’ve used myself to assist in getting words on the page. 

And here we go:

1. Step away from the writing. Sometimes, you just have to step away from the writing process. If it’s not working for you to sit down and forcibly get some words written down within a specified timeframe, then stop repeating the vicious cycle that’s getting you nowhere. Take a deep breath and a break. And don’t worry. There’s one of those spontaneous phenomenon that happen from time to time with writers, where they get into a flow state of ideas that just hits ’em straight on in the forehead, usually when they least expect the ideas to come. If you’re a writer, then check this out: you’re inevitably going to come across these welcomed moments of spontaneous creative combustion. And when you do, take full advantage of them and get to writing down those ideas and thoughts that are so generously ebbing and flowing. Sometimes, it just takes you letting your foot off the gas pedal (easing up on the pressure you put on yourself) in order to get into a relaxed state of mind where writing can take place.
2. Participate in writing sprints. Let’s say you already have an idea of what it is you’d like to write about and you’re not anticipating that you’ll have any challenges in coming up with written content on said idea. Then, go for the writing sprints. Set a certain timeframe in which you’re going to devote some dedicated hand-to-paper or hand-to-keyboard action. You can pick whatever days and timeframes you feel will get the most productivity out of you. But remember: these sprints are moments where you are to be fully-immersed in your writing. No holds barred. Just let the writing rip and keep in a free-flow writing state the whole time period you’re allotting to your sprints (should probably be less than 30 minutes at a time but can be repeated multiple times throughout the day). And responding to distractions is a big no-no during sprints, unless the distractions are of the emergency variety.
3. Find inspiration for topics for your writing by reading others’ written works. Read the newspaper, read a periodical, research on a topic that interests you, read your Bible, read that suspense thriller you’ve got tucked away for a rainy day. Just read. And you’ll be amazed at how reading will open up the thought processes. Ideas can more easily come to mind because you’re in more of a relaxed readiness to receive when you’re reading. Then, once your reading opens up the flood gate of thoughts and ideas, be ready to get those words written on the page.
4. Find inspiration for topics for your writing by reading your own written works. Look through the old stuff that you’ve written. And by “old”, I mean anything that wasn’t written prior to the written work you’re currently working on. Not only can you find inspiration in others, but you can inspire yourself. In fact, I use this one all the time. With Degrees of Maternity, that’s what I’ve set out to do each time I publish a post — to inspire. So, why not let my own mission propel me forward into creating new written content from my content that already exists? Now, that’s a recurring cycle I can wholeheartedly welcome every time. There’s absolutely no way to exhaust the inspiration that I could stumble across from the 400+ posts I’ve published (as of this blog post). There will always be a new take or a deeper understanding or a broader awareness that can be brought out of the material I’ve already produced. So, I look forward to writing out the next 400 blog posts to come.
5. Use a voice recorder to dictate your written content. As a matter of fact, I’m using this one more and more these days. For this blog post even. I simply used the voice recorder on my phone and dictated the 5 points I wanted to make for this post, took the dictated information, and transcribed it into what you’re reading right now (after doctoring it up a bit). And there you have it, a helpful strategy to eventually get words in verbal format transformed into written words on the page. NOTE: sometimes, people can talk things out better than they can write them out. So, if you already have thoughts formulated in your mind about a particular topic of interest or even just random thoughts that need to be captured, then talk them out (especially if you’re an auditory learner). Just remember that once you transcribe your verbal recording into writing, go through it to make sure your tone is appropriate for the audience you’re serving. Reason being: for many people, their talking voice is quite different than their writing voice. If this is your experience, just make sure to adjust for that when transcribing your dictation. 

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