Write like no one is reading, ESPECIALLY when no one is. Zero expectations = more of a gift than it appears. I think the reason writers are frequently advised to pretend they are writing a letter to a single friend, even an imaginary one, is that it’s a little too scary to say “Write down your secrets in your locked diary and then put …
Write like no one is reading, ESPECIALLY when no one is. Zero expectations = more of a gift than it appears. I think the reason writers are frequently advised to pretend they are writing a letter to a single friend, even an imaginary one, is that it’s a little too scary to say “Write down your secrets in your locked diary and then put it on the internet.” Scary, in this case, is good. Which would *you* rather read?
I sometimes fear disappointing my audience, but I try to push through that and instead actively give people a way out, so that I can filter for those I can serve well, and those I can be authentic before. Last winter I wrote two posts that blew up, the first time that had happened to me, and I felt scared. So I decided that my next post would be something entirely unlike what people liked - so I wrote a very long and detailed story about the last hours of my grandmother's life. This churned ten percent of my audience and I felt relief. I felt more connected to those who stayed, and that made me feel free. Allow yourself to evolve in public."
I've been undergoing a similar transition as Henrik. I started this year with travel writing but recently switched to fiction that explores culture and history. I saw some people unsubscribe over the past couple of months, but I also saw more people subscribe than before. Similar to Henrik, I've learned to feel content rather than anxious about unsubscribes. Your newsletter isn't meant to speak to everyone, and that's perfectly fine.
the most important thing is that our newsletter speaks to us 😌
for me, it helps to have unsubscribe notifications turned off – I want folks to feel free in unsubscribing if they feel called to stop reading my work!
Great advice. In my acting days I did a one woman show that I wrote. I remember having 4 people in the audience one night. I performed as though there were 2000. Same goes for writing.
This is especially true for those of us who don't have a narrow service to offer, but have come to this platform to share a more eclectic writing practice. I enjoy some support from paying subscribers, but I have also wasted a lot of energy on experiments designed to drive more upgrades. Truth is, I don't want to turn my newsletter into a one-note content stream. And most of those who have paid for my content aren't after one thing. In this regard, I think that the readers who stick with you are like many of my former students, who would learn willingly from a passionate teacher even it the subject didn't fall within their major.
I like this very much. Back before Substack, I wrote for far fewer readers, and I didn’t have good info about who was reading. But I was still writing — hopefully good stuff.
I have a different fear I plan to conquer in 2024! This fear of trying to write “right”! I think I started falling down that hole and it’s made writing not that fun anymore.
I didn’t wanna write more personal stories (with lots of “I”s) because I feared it’d be too “dear diary”-esque.
Sometimes I feel like I just don’t have anything to share!
So I’m gonna work on a balance and to just write how I desire to again. See what comes of it :)
I can relate to this Cierra. As I've grown in my writing I've slid around on this slippery slope and had to circle back to the specific reason I want to write in the first place. Holding firmly to that reason, and working to have fun with it, helps me to release the need to get it right, at least sometimes🤣
Yes! The "sometimes" is what's killing us! Haha I'm determined next year to focus so freakin' hard on my own lane when it comes to comparison! Maybe I need to write it somewhere I can see it every day. I may try that haha!
I'm with you, Cierra! I fall into this mindset a lot and I know it holds me back from sharing what could potentially be very helpful (or, at the very least, entertaining). Glad you're focusing on that balance! <3
It's like Charlie Rose said when he did an interview he talked to the interviewee like he was sitting next to them on a plane. Just write, write, write. Go forth unafraid! sabrinalabow.substack.com
I love this advice! What do you recommend for someone who wants to write like no one is watching, but also keep it professional? I keep finding myself slipping into diary mode when I want to keep it relevant to current workplace issues, relatable, based on personal experience, and based in the academic research I am conducting?
The struggle is real. My first draft sounds like a wild, mad rant, but when I edit it down, and research so I can provide factual links, it gets toned down, and it feels like my tone of righteous anger has disappeared. I go back and try to re-inject some angry, snarky adjectives. I have two drafts - one is the original, and a 2nd document that I rewrite from scratch, referring to the angry draft along the way, so the result is something in between.
Thank you for your advice. I kind of do that for my homework assignments and I can see the value in writing two drafts. Do you ever use an outline, or just write? I don't use an outline and I'm wondering if that would help.
I have tried an outline. It seems to work better if I make the outline after the first draft, as then it helps delete and shorten. Sometimes, after writing, I give each paragraph a category, then group them together. I also write it in Google Docs, and colorize parts that have the same thought, and regroup it that way. Still takes me a long time, but helps with the organization.
Wow! That’s a cool process. Unfortunately i don’t always have the time for that much editing (full time school, part time work, full time wife and bun mom!)
I've only been writing for 6 months. I need to find a way to decide when to say enough, write smarter the first time around, and publish. I'm paranoid about documenting facts, so that takes time. Also dealing with kids and stuff, so I'm under the gun to finish off more writing before making the Target run! I write one post every 3 weeks, but want to get to twice a month.
Perhaps it's in the process? The initial, difficult work where we just get it all out there followed by fine tuning our work. It's kind of like life, constantly fine tuning to stay true to ourselves, at the same time continuing to be forward facing. I don't think it's an either/or thing. We can lean into hard things, remain centered and be professional at the same time.
One of my fav Instagram posts is a conversation between two people. The first person asks about the writing process.
The second replies: "Well, you type & you delete. You rethink. You do 187 minutes of research & correct it. You reread & wonder if you have a grasp of the English language. Then you revise."
The first person says: "Then you are done with the book?"
The second person replies, "Oh, no. Then you move on to the next sentence."
Love this advice. One of my NY’s resolutions for 2020 was “No more submissions” - I gave myself a year to just write and draw whatever I wanted, with no audience in mind. It was my most productive year to date. Nothing to do with the pandemic, either - I still worked 40 hours a week. My creativity SOARED once I gave myself space to just focus on art & writing.
I love this! I have a small but mighty audience right now, but I try not to focus on numbers. Maybe it's because my newsletter is about maintaining a creative writing practice hahaha, but the ritual of writing the newsletter and being consistent has been amazing for me. I have weeks of content planned ahead it's so much fun! I sort of pretend like I have a robust audience and write as if people will engage, which I hope will manifest that in the future :)
I appreciate your words. It reminds me of my career days, when there wasn’t the separation as in writing to an audience, but only face to face. My head would often be busy with thoughts, should I respond or say this or that, will it be accepted, appreciated, good enough, or insulting. Then I would take a deep breath, appreciate my inner dialogue, let go of it, and speak from my intuitive inner voice. That would work most of the time, and got better with time. I always got immediate feedback, or silence, and would wait hopefully to hear from them again. I guess my writing process is similar.
🧠
Write like no one is reading, ESPECIALLY when no one is. Zero expectations = more of a gift than it appears. I think the reason writers are frequently advised to pretend they are writing a letter to a single friend, even an imaginary one, is that it’s a little too scary to say “Write down your secrets in your locked diary and then put it on the internet.” Scary, in this case, is good. Which would *you* rather read?
FOLLOW THE FEAR.
LOVE this advice. In the fear, we find the rawest insight that deserves to be shared with the world
Henrik Karlsson shared a beautiful insight this week in his Notes: https://substack.com/@henrikkarlsson/note/c-45509170
"Don't fear your readers.
I sometimes fear disappointing my audience, but I try to push through that and instead actively give people a way out, so that I can filter for those I can serve well, and those I can be authentic before. Last winter I wrote two posts that blew up, the first time that had happened to me, and I felt scared. So I decided that my next post would be something entirely unlike what people liked - so I wrote a very long and detailed story about the last hours of my grandmother's life. This churned ten percent of my audience and I felt relief. I felt more connected to those who stayed, and that made me feel free. Allow yourself to evolve in public."
I've been undergoing a similar transition as Henrik. I started this year with travel writing but recently switched to fiction that explores culture and history. I saw some people unsubscribe over the past couple of months, but I also saw more people subscribe than before. Similar to Henrik, I've learned to feel content rather than anxious about unsubscribes. Your newsletter isn't meant to speak to everyone, and that's perfectly fine.
the most important thing is that our newsletter speaks to us 😌
for me, it helps to have unsubscribe notifications turned off – I want folks to feel free in unsubscribing if they feel called to stop reading my work!
Great advice. In my acting days I did a one woman show that I wrote. I remember having 4 people in the audience one night. I performed as though there were 2000. Same goes for writing.
Same. One-woman musical on the Fear of Singing (My lowest attendance was 2 human hearts. They cried.) BTW I'm excited to meet you IRL this New Year!
Brilliant! They say an actor should never perform to an audience they could beat up. Hehe. Would love to meet up!
100%. Write like no one is reading has been my profile tagline on Medium for 5 years 😁 And sometimes it might even be true!
I try to write content that I'm proud to put my name on--whether anyone else reads it or not!
Hi Kristi. 👋
Hi!! 😁😁
This is especially true for those of us who don't have a narrow service to offer, but have come to this platform to share a more eclectic writing practice. I enjoy some support from paying subscribers, but I have also wasted a lot of energy on experiments designed to drive more upgrades. Truth is, I don't want to turn my newsletter into a one-note content stream. And most of those who have paid for my content aren't after one thing. In this regard, I think that the readers who stick with you are like many of my former students, who would learn willingly from a passionate teacher even it the subject didn't fall within their major.
Great advice, thank you.
Such great advice, Alex. One of my favorite writing teachers, Tamara Dean, says to write fearward!
Good one!
I like this very much. Back before Substack, I wrote for far fewer readers, and I didn’t have good info about who was reading. But I was still writing — hopefully good stuff.
I have a different fear I plan to conquer in 2024! This fear of trying to write “right”! I think I started falling down that hole and it’s made writing not that fun anymore.
I didn’t wanna write more personal stories (with lots of “I”s) because I feared it’d be too “dear diary”-esque.
Sometimes I feel like I just don’t have anything to share!
So I’m gonna work on a balance and to just write how I desire to again. See what comes of it :)
I can relate to this Cierra. As I've grown in my writing I've slid around on this slippery slope and had to circle back to the specific reason I want to write in the first place. Holding firmly to that reason, and working to have fun with it, helps me to release the need to get it right, at least sometimes🤣
Yes! The "sometimes" is what's killing us! Haha I'm determined next year to focus so freakin' hard on my own lane when it comes to comparison! Maybe I need to write it somewhere I can see it every day. I may try that haha!
I'm with you, Cierra! I fall into this mindset a lot and I know it holds me back from sharing what could potentially be very helpful (or, at the very least, entertaining). Glad you're focusing on that balance! <3
Thank you so much, Brina! Maybe that'll be a big goal for me next year--stay focused on the end goal (just getting the work written and out there!).
Follow the fear... follow the fear... holy shit, is this my new mantra?!
It's like Charlie Rose said when he did an interview he talked to the interviewee like he was sitting next to them on a plane. Just write, write, write. Go forth unafraid! sabrinalabow.substack.com
I love this advice! What do you recommend for someone who wants to write like no one is watching, but also keep it professional? I keep finding myself slipping into diary mode when I want to keep it relevant to current workplace issues, relatable, based on personal experience, and based in the academic research I am conducting?
The struggle is real. My first draft sounds like a wild, mad rant, but when I edit it down, and research so I can provide factual links, it gets toned down, and it feels like my tone of righteous anger has disappeared. I go back and try to re-inject some angry, snarky adjectives. I have two drafts - one is the original, and a 2nd document that I rewrite from scratch, referring to the angry draft along the way, so the result is something in between.
Thank you for your advice. I kind of do that for my homework assignments and I can see the value in writing two drafts. Do you ever use an outline, or just write? I don't use an outline and I'm wondering if that would help.
I have tried an outline. It seems to work better if I make the outline after the first draft, as then it helps delete and shorten. Sometimes, after writing, I give each paragraph a category, then group them together. I also write it in Google Docs, and colorize parts that have the same thought, and regroup it that way. Still takes me a long time, but helps with the organization.
Wow! That’s a cool process. Unfortunately i don’t always have the time for that much editing (full time school, part time work, full time wife and bun mom!)
Is this a process that has evolved over time?
I've only been writing for 6 months. I need to find a way to decide when to say enough, write smarter the first time around, and publish. I'm paranoid about documenting facts, so that takes time. Also dealing with kids and stuff, so I'm under the gun to finish off more writing before making the Target run! I write one post every 3 weeks, but want to get to twice a month.
I hear you! Life can get far too busy too quickly.
I agree that documenting is so important. And I feel as if people don't care that much about it anymore.
Perhaps it's in the process? The initial, difficult work where we just get it all out there followed by fine tuning our work. It's kind of like life, constantly fine tuning to stay true to ourselves, at the same time continuing to be forward facing. I don't think it's an either/or thing. We can lean into hard things, remain centered and be professional at the same time.
Continual fine tuning is a good way to look at this. It makes me feel better about my obsessive editing, second guessing myself, and following my gut.
Haha, it's as if you just wrote out my exact process right there. I guess we are on the same wavelength!
One of my fav Instagram posts is a conversation between two people. The first person asks about the writing process.
The second replies: "Well, you type & you delete. You rethink. You do 187 minutes of research & correct it. You reread & wonder if you have a grasp of the English language. Then you revise."
The first person says: "Then you are done with the book?"
The second person replies, "Oh, no. Then you move on to the next sentence."
I think of this often, lol.
More like writing to your older self 😁
I love this. For me, leaning into what brings me joy is so motivating.
Love this advice. One of my NY’s resolutions for 2020 was “No more submissions” - I gave myself a year to just write and draw whatever I wanted, with no audience in mind. It was my most productive year to date. Nothing to do with the pandemic, either - I still worked 40 hours a week. My creativity SOARED once I gave myself space to just focus on art & writing.
I love this! I have a small but mighty audience right now, but I try not to focus on numbers. Maybe it's because my newsletter is about maintaining a creative writing practice hahaha, but the ritual of writing the newsletter and being consistent has been amazing for me. I have weeks of content planned ahead it's so much fun! I sort of pretend like I have a robust audience and write as if people will engage, which I hope will manifest that in the future :)
Absolutely! Move in the direction of fear. I’ve had the best results that way.
I appreciate your words. It reminds me of my career days, when there wasn’t the separation as in writing to an audience, but only face to face. My head would often be busy with thoughts, should I respond or say this or that, will it be accepted, appreciated, good enough, or insulting. Then I would take a deep breath, appreciate my inner dialogue, let go of it, and speak from my intuitive inner voice. That would work most of the time, and got better with time. I always got immediate feedback, or silence, and would wait hopefully to hear from them again. I guess my writing process is similar.