Writing Is Hard
Writing is hard - From thoughts to text


			
				

	

		
		
Writing is hard. Especially if you start thinking. Never stop to think about what to write (unless you must), it will ruin the flow. Never stop to correct yourself, to judge or run a spellcheck. Don’t do that; that’s what editing is for.



I’ve read the same tips again and again: Write first, edit later. The first draft is for you, the second is for everyone else (or just an editor or a confidante). Don’t interrupt the flow. If you need to look something up, place a marker in the text and look it up later.



That’s why I love to journal using pen and paper. You only have one direction: forward. Get the words down on the page in the order they appear in your head and move on with your day.



Breaking the flow has been one of my biggest issues when it comes to writing, both at school and later in life. I always ended up fiddling with the text before I got all the ideas out of my head. Looking up words, finding reference material (blog posts, news articles), checking facts. Don’t do that either. Checking facts is a part of the editing process.



In school I could spend half an hour playing with WordArt (remember WordArt?) for the title alone. The title can wait, you may want to change it anyway.



Another mistake I’ve made is installing a SEO plugin for WordPress and trying to make it happy. It has tips that make sense for readability: Use active words instead of passive. However, most of the tips are there to transform your style into something it’s not – someone else’s.



Add an image. Add a key phrase. Repeat the phase repeatedly throughout the text. Shorten your paragraphs. Add subheadings. Add more outbound links (but don’t forget internal links!).



Forget about SEO. That’s not part of the game, if it is: you’re not writing for yourself anymore. Don’t let anyone dictate your style; find your own voice. If you need pointers on style: read a book, then read some more.



Once you run out of steam; you’re most likely done. Take a break. If nothing new pops up in your head, you can start the editing process. If you thought writing was hard, wait till you start editing. Editing is hard.
	
	
	

						
		
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