10 common dumb thoughts that genius writers push out of their minds

A single thought is the single difference separating you from:

Sitting in a dark room, sobbing gently.

Versus:

Deciding, with gumption, to hit publish on your next viral post.

. . .

Many writers have thoughts.

Some more than others.

Most thoughts get in the way.

You know this because you've held back on sharing things in the past.

Those writers who go far have mastered the ancient art of ignoring false thoughts.

These are those thoughts to sandblast from your brain:

"I feel I need a better strategy to write."

No, no and no. Forget strategy for now.

That comes after you've written some. Write to find your focus. The more you write, the more you learn about what works best for you. You can't plan this all out in advance.

"I'll write when I have a bit more time."

15 years of writing has shown me there is no tomorrow.

There is never more freaking time. You make writing a non-negotiable right now, or your words will remain stuck in your mind and out of the hands of those who need them.

"This first draft needs to be really really good."

Shut your mouth. You're only limiting yourself here by trying be Hemingway on your first run.

Give yourself permission right this instant to throw out absolute garbage onto the page.

It's not about brilliance. It's about momentum. Edit and refine later.

"I need to wait for inspiration."

You might be lucky enough to find inspiration whispering in your ear just as you're sitting down to type.

Chances are, you're like most people and rarely time it well. Inspiration is a post-starting feeling, not a pre-starting vibe.

Write first; feel the inspiration as you write. No excuses.

"I should write so everyone's impressed, and mommy will give me a sweety."

No, you should write out of a sense of genuine care for one person you hold in your mind.

And you won't sugarcoat it to avoid criticism. You will tell them what they need to hear.

"My writing needs to sound sophisticated so that people I don't even know will respect me."

Do me a favour and give me thirty press-ups.

No wonder you're quivering in your boots at the thought of writing anything. I can tell you with confidence that the writing that resonates the most for me is simple, easy, and written so my dog can understand it.

Write to be understood, not so you get invited to University Challenge.

"I need to be in the right mood to write."

Great writers know that your mood is irrelevant. Words don't care how you feel. Your mood will improve the minute you start writing.

"This has probably been written before, so maybe I should go fiddle my trouser shrimp instead."

Newsflash: your readers NEED to hear it multiple times.

In the incessant noise of the Internet, they barely notice when you repeat stuff. Don't use 'being repetitive' as a good reason not to write and share the good stuff.

"Maybe I'm not ready to be a writer yet. I need more life experiences and stuff."

Trust me, you're ready. Your 9-year-old nephew is ready.

You think he doesn't have interesting things to share about his journey through the school system or his stick battles with friends in the forests of southern Maine? It's all good.

What makes you any different? If you're stuck, write about what makes you furious. There's a start.

People will either love it or hate it. Good.

"I'm worried that people I know won't like me anymore for writing what I want to write about."

Let me ask you this: Who's life are you living?

You maybe have twenty years left.

Are you going to hold back just because Priscilla on Facebook might be offended by a post you shared?

Writing is a beautiful mechanism for organising your connections according to who you should actually be connected to, rather than keeping up appearances so you collect more 'friends'.

Great writers are willing to lose people (many people) on the journey.

When they write from the heart, they find themselves making new, genuine, far superior connections anyway.

You are not living up to your full potential if you aren't occasionally losing people. That's it.

Give everything to your writing, and you might find it gives everything in return.

This becomes much easier when you know how to write words that make people want to follow you for the long haul.

Online Writing Alchemy helps you side-step years of pain so you build an enthusiastic writing habit, your words jump out of the page to grab your ideal readers and buyers of your products.

Learn more about the course here.

And if you’d like access to hundreds of locked articles like this one, you’ll want to become a paying subscriber here on Substack for less than the price of a couple of coffees each month: