I wrote every week for 5 months, here's what I learned
I started a new role back in January 2020, and since then I’ve written a blog post every week (find them here: https://harness.io/author/tiff/ ).
Here’s what I’ve learned throughout this year.
Writing is a muscle.
Like how we pick up any other hobby or habit, we need to invest energy, focus and thought into any written piece. Eventually, we’ll become stronger, sharper, and faster. Momentum is everything; keep working.
You are your own worse critic.
Forget what anyone else has to say, your opinions before you hit publish can be the worse. The thought of unreviewed, unsupervised technical writing used to give me anxiety. As someone who grew up with the belief that I was not a "good writer," it can be hard to grow out of the grade system mentality, where your work is graded (A, B, C, etc.). These grades don't matter unless they're constructive; they're often opinions. The truth is, you have more than one chance to get a written piece of work right, and your brain eventually makes connections through the thoughts you share and the words you speak. If you keep at writing, you'll subsequently see areas of improvement, clarity, and growth.
Write it in pieces.
You don't have to have a catchy intro or section of a piece at the get-go. Focus on the portions of the writing process that are easiest for you. When I have a lot of words on a subject, I'll focus on getting those down on the paper. Once I've exhausted on that process, I'll switch over to proofreading my work. Once my work is free of typos, I'll move sentences around for clarity. When I feel I'm ready to publish a piece, I'll look at the structure.
Use the last bits of your writing process to peer-review your work. If you have some cheeky statements throughout your piece, but they don't go along with your paragraphs, can you make them headers? I find being nit-picky at the end of my process every helpful to getting the polish I need.
How to sort through writer’s block.
Similarly, if you have writer's block, try to think of the most important points you want to convey. Get those down on paper no matter how they sound and then structure your words around those points. During the writing process, we're often sorting through our words, thoughts, and ideas, acknowledge this, and go with the flow.
Consistency is key when you don’t have it.
Some days I couldn’t put in the same amount of time, energy, effort, or thought into my pieces. Despite this, my work was still desirable, helpful, or relatable to someone else. Always look to be applicable, helpful, and purposeful in your content; this type of consistency is critical when we find ourselves low on resources.
I hope this post helps you resonate with others through writing. Let me know, what are some of your top writing tips?
