Ten tips to make you a writing machine with thousands of raving fans

What do I mean by this?

Let’s take a look…

1. Write loose first.

Most of us quiver in our socks because we’re trying to write like freaking Hemingway off the bat.

Lol. Stop it.

Why are you trying to run up the steepest part of Everest, while I’m over here taking cat steps up this little hill?

Make it easy and write total nonsense for a while. Write like no one’s watching.

Loosen up.

You can always cut and edit.

Now you have a flow going, and this will lead to good, great and masterful.

2. Write as therapy.

Just as you might set aside time to meditate, run, make art or do yoga each day, you can treat writing as a form of catharsis.

If we view writing as a ‘dull chore,’ guess how that will influence your vibe?

How about using it as a form of release and daily self-awareness?

Approach it free of the pressure to write anything ‘good,’ and just write to pull words out of your head.

Do it to feel lighter, and you will float.

3. Be aggressive.

Sit still for a moment and allow your inner dragon to rise from its smokey slumber.

The little bastard is in there — you just need to nudge him awake. Write a little more so he flutters his wings and coughs flames. Turn off Coldplay and put on some filthy UK dubstep or Ice Cube.

Channel that beautiful assertive energy into your words.

Poke your reader in the eye through the page.

4. Write as exploration.

One of the quickest ways to kill your motivation is to know too much before you sit down to type.

Having an outline can be helpful — until it isn’t. I rarely know exactly what I’ll write before I finish.

I may have a header that I follow as a guide, but for the most part, I am clueless. And this is fun.

It’s like reading a book — your own book — as you write.

You’ll enjoy it a lot more when you don’t yet know how it ends.

5. Do a dirty dance.

It’s very difficult to write good words if you just slid your fat ass straight out of bed into the writing chair.

The real writing Gs know that the best words are imprisoned in your hips.

Set them loose by throwing on some music and do the funky chicken for three minutes, even if your hamster just died.

Get moving.

Now you’re free of tension and have a charge running through you to breath life into your writing.

6. Write faster.

Most of us struggle to write because we’re in our heads too much.

If your fingers are doing a jig on the keyboard faster than you can keep up, your mind eases. You will also see words accumulating quickly, and your identity as a ‘non-writer’ will dissipate.

Aim to write a stupid ton of daily words.

How about 4000 a day?

Who cares if it’s 97% crap. It’s like giving a builder a truckload of free bricks each day.

7. Write short.

Though accumulating a lot of words can be freeing, you needn’t worry about your scary ‘3,000 word essay.’

All you need is to be intentional about a 100 word mini-piece today if that’s what you need to start generating momentum.

You can string several word blocks together if that’s what it takes.

8. Write as someone different.

There is no such thing as ‘personality.’ We decide who we want to be. Be whichever larger-than-life version of you you want to be.

Who is it?

What do they look like?

Write from their mischievous soul. Infuse their colour and character into your words.

This will be fun for you and the reader.

9. Be funny.

You’re NOT ‘not funny.’

You just never had the guts to pull that stick out your bum to have some fun with us. People don’t want to read another washing machine manual.

They are here to be entertained, and most of all — to FEEL the energy you put into the writing through a strange kind of osmosis. You don’t always need to be humorous — but the point is to have fun.

When the moment appears, you might just reach into your ribcage and pull out your inner Robin Williams.

We’re here for it.

10. Stop hiding.

Few want to read another generic piece that could have been written by Larry, the super friendly AI bot who has no soul.

Stop writing yourself out of a job and reveal more about what makes you you. What weird stories have you had?

What are your quirks? What is something you think that few agree with you on?

Tell us, damn it.

We don’t care about your tedious vanilla opinion. You need to find some courage and reveal more.

People love this.

When you find a renewed energy,

You’ll wonder why you were ever stuck in the first place.

This is what we need from you.

Having a REASON to write daily is vital, but it isn’t always clear.

Gaining total clarity on this for you is exactly what I cover in more detail in my new book, The Never-Retired Writer.

It’s 62 short, actionable chapters on building a writing life that gives you income, freedom, and a body of work that compounds for the rest of your life.

Grab your copy here.

Enjoy!

Alex

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