Promoting my writing! I can navigate the natural ebbs and flows of writing but once it's published I experience incredible anxiety when it's time to market the fruits of my labor. 😩
This is so real. If you're not already, you could try finding a literary community on Twitter. I've found it helpful both for discussions on craft/other perspectives and the fact that as long as you're genuine, people your work resonates with will often share it/retweet when you share it.
This is a very useful suggestion, Anni. I would imagine that it is significantly easier to promote one’s writing among a group of people one doesn’t know at all.
That's excellent advice, Anni. I recently rejoined Twitter after a three-year break and am finding it helpful for the reasons that you mentioned. Thank you for sharing.
I recently joined substack as well. I found something to write about but just need to work on getting subscribers. would you suggest anything I can do?
this is where I'm at. I find it extremely difficult to get other people even half as excited about my work as I am. Then it leads to a sort of depression in thinking that the "crew" you grew up with isn't as enthusiastic about new ventures in self expression like they once were. I am always the type that wants to buy my friends bands new album and it can be disheartening when the mutual support isn't there like maybe it once was.
Yes, this is a tough one. I think the fact we are also on overload with information and things to read, and watch, it can be hard. I always, always try to encourage my friends, and yes, when no one sends back any reply or they just give me the thumbs up, I want to SCREAM and say....Give me a comment, two words, something, not just an easy thumbs-up. But knowing how many of us are in the same situation does make it easier...And NEVER GIVE UP!!!
I can totally relate to this Brad. There's something I once heard that though tough to swallow, made a lot of sense. It was that your friends and family may not necessarily be your audience. If they are, that's a huge blessing, but if they're not (like most times), then what maybe you can write like you were just speaking to a younger you?
Same here. I find the writing is easy. It's the everything else 🤣 I definitely feel that others aren't as enthusiastic about my writing as I am. Definitely this is what I find most difficult
I agree wholeheartedly. I've accepted that anxiety is one of the constraints involved with trying to spread ideas, which sort of helps when I hit the "publish" button - meaning I'll always cringe a little and that's ok. After that I'm left with trying to figure out how to market writing, which is currently overwhelming. But that's ok! It's part of why we are here.
Balancing my creative writing with a full time, writing-intensive desk job. It's a lot of time spent sitting in my chair and typing sentences! I actually wrote about the struggle in my most recent newsletter: https://sorelatable.substack.com/p/the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-is-by
Balancing personal wellbeing and productivity. All the writing books seem to say, "write everyday", "overcome resistance", but it's a hard world, especially when you're writing on top of a full time job. The best advice I've found has been on substack: try The Reading (yanyi.substack.com), which is all about having radical empathy for yourself as a writer.
The Reading rules! I love that newsletter. I appreciate how it gently leads you to write what you really need to write, way beyond "productivity", rules and such. It reminds me your best writing is not a chore but, you know, something beautiful. Yay Yanyi.
Editing. I come from a punk music background. The aesthetic was loud, fast and unpolished. There wasn't a lot of tweaking after the song was written. My writing tends to have the same style, and I have to force myself to go back and polish/edit/rewrite/tweak. And honestly, often I don't. I just kick it out of the nest/off the stage.
i really relate to this one. i just wrapped up editing a manuscript and it feels like torture. i know it's part of the natural workflow of writing long fiction but it is SO anxiety-inducing and depressing for me, so i get you!
That's why I made my first published book a collection of 100 Word stories. They're like Ramones songs of fiction. I was done editing before the anxiety started choking me.
aw i fully feel that. i love writing short stories for a similar reason--the editing process is so much easier. and it's over so much faster. this whole book-length thing is a beast i wasn't prepared for!!
Talking about, sharing, promoting my writing. It's WHY I started a newsletter -- to share what I know and love about children's book and creating a culture of reading in people's homes -- and yet I struggle with imposter syndrome + Midwestern nice (which is also Midwestern modesty).
Well, I am simply trying to do it more -- push through my discomfort and just do it. I am also asking for help from my subscribers, people who already read and like what I'm writing -- asking them to share. That's also hard for me! but I am thinking of it as practicing a skill -- the only way I can improve is, again, to do it.
Thank you! I’m going to try doing more of the same.
Incidentally, Anni Glissman in this thread suggests following literary communities on Twitter. Perhaps it is easier to promote one’s writing among people one doesn’t know at all.
You know, that's probably true! I saw Anni's comment -- I quit Twitter years ago but I do think there's incredibly value in literary communities, online or IRL. It's the one thing I really miss about college writing courses -- the critiques, the feedback, the support.
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. A writing group is the one thing I’ve been trying to find for years, but with very limited success. Twitter might be a good place to look. Maybe we could keep each other posted on what we find online? Or maybe we could look to start a small writers’ group with others who feel similarly?
Sarah, nothing helpful to add but "Midwestern modesty" made me smile--it's so true. I've struggled with that at non-writing jobs too. The idea that your contribution is the bare minimum and that good work will naturally be recognized/rise to the top runs deep.
Whereabout is your Midwesterness. I grew up in the epicenter of nice where they even named it Minnesota Nice, then moved to SW Ohio where they pile on even more nice known as Southern Hospitality... 😀
I also write novels, which is why I like writing a newsletter too! Regular publishing schedule, positive feedback, and opportunities to connect when I'm deep in a years-long project.
Yes! Glad there's somebody else out there like me. I think you're spot on with those benefits of the newsletter. I'd just add one more: I can experiment a lot with the newsletter, too! See what readers like and don't like, before investing a ton of time into something.
i found that the only way i was able to write something novel-length was bc i had a friend who was willing to accept like weekly "chapters" from me! it kept me excited and engaged and motivated, so i really feel you!
I don't write often. And every time I sit down to write, I am constantly faced with the thoughts that there are better writers out there and the stuff those people are writing are going to be equal if not better than what I am about to write.
The result of this thinking inevitably is that lots of days, even though I sit down to write. I don't let my thoughts flow as I am constantly picking holes in them.
I still haven't gotten around to solving this problem completely. Now, I try and make sure that for a period of like 20 minutes, I won't hit backspace/edit no matter what.
The way I got out of it is like this. I read in an article that although there are writers better than you and articles better written than yours, but they didn't got the view point that you have got. The point that you only have, the stuff that you can only write. This differentiates your article from the rest articles and other writers. This helped me a lot. And now I write whenever I want to without the fear.
@Nirmal -- Your first sentence says it all, "I don't write often". Why not? Write more before you aim to write well. A lot of writing is bad (definitely not excluding myself), but that's not the point.
Check out "On Writing" by Stephen King. And I quote:
Pg. 101 - "I'm doing what I know how to do, and as well as I know how to do it......It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support-system for art. It's the other way around".
It's more of an existential thing... I find it hard to sum up the energy to write literally anything because it just seems/feels (etc) like no one cares anymore. And writing, while a joy, is still something that forces me to expend significant emotional energy. I don't think anyone owes me anything, and I don't think readers owe writers anything more than their attention when they're asked for it, but, like, it's hard to bleed on the page when everything has been reduced to #content. Maybe this makes sense, maybe it doesn't...
Self-promotion and crafting an audience. I've already leapt the hurdle of creativity and I've never suffered from a lack from ideas. I have spreadsheets and documents and notebooks full of plot threads, essay arguments, and schedules of posts in the can ready to go. But quietly, almost silently, in the back of my head, there's a little whisper that says: "Does anyone really give a shit?" Ignoring that voice and connecting with readers is the hard part. My goal for 2021 is to give my impostor syndrome a firm middle finger and promote myself more. Right now, I write about alternative music and I treat my newsletter like the punk zines and DIY magazines I used to collect and devour. If that sounds like something for you, then please check out https://thepitchofdiscontent.substack.com/ and let me know what you think.
Yh I agree, promoting your writing is equally as difficult. Some people use Instagram. I think your newsletter is quite unique. Do check out my one at https://startupsintech.substack.com/
While writing a newsletter about my community, I struggle with the need to maintain a positive and civic minded tone, with the desire to be sarcastic and snarky.
Grammatical clutter and unproductive digressions. My only solution is repeated re-writes, usually three, to clear out the "that's and whiches," the semicolons and conditional prepositions to always point back toward simple declarative sentences. I often ask myself, "how would Hemingway say this?" Not that I want to be derivative of Hemingway; but I digress...:-)
To tell the truth I spent so much time in my life not writing that I feel like the floodgates have opened and the process presents few difficulties. The biggest problem I have to deal with is how to work around my terrible day job.
I try to include something personal in everything I write. That's a double edged sword. While it makes my writing more authentic, it can often be personally painful. I talk through the difficulty with close friends and my therapist. That will provide me the necessary support to carry on and finish my work.
I don't struggle with this myself but just want to offer this thought: every time I am (you are) brave by sharing something personal, it inspires others to do the same. I love when people are real, telling the truth about themselves, their lives, their experiences. Of course it's not the ONLY way to write, but it can be really lovely. And you never know who needs to hear your story and your words.
How to keep going when the initial shine of an idea wears off and I start to question/hate it. It's hard to weigh putting down that piece for awhile vs pushing through.
connecting ideas - I like to collect a bunch of inter-connected ideas and form a point of view before I write - and usually my notes will reach a critical mass and then the essay will come to me - but I struggle with a way to organize / collate links and actually evolve the thread from idea to post - my current solution is just draft articles that keep getting longer
Roam Research is the best tool I've found for aggregating sources like articles, book notes, tweets, and anything else I find into once place. It works like a personal Wikipedia because you can essentially hyperlink together whatever ideas or pages you want by bracketing a word (Ex. [[Writing]]). This is great for tagging material with concepts or ideas. Then, when you're ready to write, all you have to do is click a few concepts or keywords you've made pages for and display them in the sidebar. Weeks, months, and years worth of collections all in one place. Great tool for the writing process, can't say enough good things.
The anxiety. I often wonder if anyone thinks the same way I do. Will anyone want to read what I think about anything? I most times overcome it and just write anyway. I'm new to Substack and it does feel good to know that I am not alone.
I wouldn't recommend becoming an alcoholic but if you aren't a teetotaler I've found a beer (one) helps (this helped me overcome performance anxiety as a musician as well). It's about breaking down inhibitions, so there are presumably less crude ways to do this as well but for me dancing with the devil worked out ok.
When I start to conceive of myself as a subject distinct from the "wave in the mind" (as Virginia Woolf would say), when I start to analyze the fact that I'm analyzing my experience.
Leaving space in the days for stillness/meditation so that I can ride the wave, whenever it comes.
I am not sure if struggle is the right word, but I find I must walk through the entire story in my head before putting the words in writing or else it wont happen
Distraction!!!! I promote my writing almost solely on Instagram, and fighting the urge to doom scroll tests my willpower daily. Setting app limits helps! I also remind myself, "There is nothing more interesting on here than in real life," and I'm quickly deterred.
I struggle with collecting ideas from books which I have been reading these days. I know all different approaches for note-taking, including Zettlekasten method and others. However, since I get to read multiple books (of different genres) in parallel (for example, on my way to work or when I find some free time, however it's not possible mostly to sit down and take formal notes). Since, we happen to continue from bookmarked page, I get to finish the book, however at last I am not able to make a summary of full big pictures, ideas presented, gaps in the material which I read in the book. I thought of copying material from table of contents or chapter headings or highlighted paragraphs, however that doesn't seem a reasonable approach. Could anyone please share their insightful suggestion on this part?
If I'm reading a physical book that I own, I'll use a highlighter to take highlights and then go back in with the Readwise app on my phone to get the highlights into my Roam Research database. I like Readwise because you can add notes right after a highlight, and then when you upload them to Roam (or Evernote, Notion, whatever you use), it nests my note from Readwise under the highlight. Readwise is great, if you don't mind pulling your phone out a few times while reading to take pictures of the page, because you can record your insights and thoughts instantly, as well the highlight. I'll be switching to a Kindle very soon though for the ease of highlighting and taking notes. Kindle also connects to Readwise. Hope that helps!
Ain’t THAT the truth! At least your writing is affecting people. Can’t get angry at what you don’t care about... unless you’re a troll who rips people apart for sport. Those folks are horrible.
I get side-tracked and fall to writer's block and frustration fairly easily, so I sometimes treat a writing effort like darning a virtual hole. I try to get the big anchoring stitches in place in the form of a sort of outline, then fill in the spaces with the more detailed finishing stitches in the form of rough thoughts where they seem to fit best. By the end of it, I generally have a pretty good rough draft that only needs a few tweaks and fine-tuning.
I do find that it's a good tool to help in overcoming that feeling of being at a stand-still, and visualizing the 'stitches' coming together into a complete tapestry of sorts seems helpful to me as well.
Transcribing interviews. It's such a chore, I stopped doing it and instead developed by own shorthand, and honed my memory so I could recall all details from my written prompts.
That I sound like a completely uniformed idiot despite studying and researching. The internet is so vast that you’d think the stuff I fling out would get lost like a tear in rain.... yet someone who knows more about what I wrote always finds me....
That's awesome. Don't you think that means a) you're writing about the right stuff and b) you've found (or they've found) a way to connect with people who care. Being wrong is inevitable.
Quieting the voice in my head that says whatever I'm writing is just a hot, sloppy plate of garbage and I should hide it under the rug forever so no one else finds it accidentally.
My biggest hurdle is making time for writing while managing at-home learning for two high school age teenagers! I usually end up writing in the wee hours of the morning when everything’s quiet. Also, although I have over 10k followers on Twitter but I never seem to get the engagement I’d like.
Beginnings. You have one paragraph to get their attention and keep it. It has to be the tightest, most well-written part of the entire piece. Without this, the rest doesn't matter.
So far I've found motivation and patience to be my toughest obstacles in writing.
Sitting down to write is hard. You can feel like you need to be in the correct mood or groove in order to write anything good. Blocking off time in my schedule to write no matter what was really helpful. Start small and build a routine gradually. Like going from a couple times a week for a while and scaling up from there. You don't have to use everything you write. So if you're not in the groove to find the right words during your writing time, just open a new doc or flip to a fresh page and write something else that day.
I also found that I wanted to share everything I wrote and impress people and get feedback. It is important to feel seen and validated in your efforts, but I was conflicted because my early attempts were not as strong and polished as I would have liked. Falling back on my process a little bit, I was able to write for myself (with an audience in mind) and content myself with the occasional review of a trusted literary friend instead of always rushing to get my writing in front of an audience. Eventually, if you care about your writing and work hard to refine it, you'll reach a point where you simply know you're proud of something you've done and be excited to show it off.
I don't think writing is a hard process. if you write about something you're genuinely passionate about then ideas will come naturally. Do checkout my newsletter at https://startupsintech.substack.com/
Write as much as you want/can on your first draft. When you're editing, pick a target length and start cutting. The target will force you to be draconian about it and the result should be a richer piece. Lot of times I'll write 8 or 9,000 words and boil it down to 2500.
I used to be that way but I found beyond a certain point I'd start writing and I'd realize I didn't really know what I wanted to say. So now I use the first draft to figure that out.
Finding my voice was hard. Discovering what I wanted to write about and why. Once I got to that place, finding the time, motivation and inspiration became much easier
+1 on finding my voice. In my case, what I write reflects an institution (the Zen temple I run and where I'm a priest) as well as maybe Buddhism at large! So I've had to tone down my personal voice, which can be snarky or flippant, in exchange for more gravitas. The process has helped me settle on what differentiates me from the long list of self help and spirituality writers out there, as well!
That makes sense. As a scientist, I have to do the same. Step away from using personal voice and disconnect. For me it is not a spiritual exercise though. Or maybe it is!
When I read through what I have written, I always try to determine at what point will I lose the reader's undivided attention. At that point I find myself constantly revising in hopes that the whole post captivates them.
If you don't mind a suggestion, read it out loud. If you're brave enough, read it to someone else. If you get bored -- or they start to look bored -- that's your answer.
Okay, yes, this perfectly articulated one of my concerns too. I want to add enough detail to provide meaningful context, but I don't want to make things too long or add so much of the nitty-gritty that readers get bored. It's hard to balance!
Starting from your Dashboard, looking at an individual post: underneath the title of the post, to the far left of the date and time, there is a heart, a conversation bubble, and three little dots. Click on the dots and choose "edit post." Voilá!
editing (i really often feel way too close to my own work--it's hard for me to tell what needs "fixing" even after i set it aside for a while) and promoting. twitter does not feel or come naturally to me; i prefer building community on things like discord, so i'm trying to leverage that for sharing my work. and i'm also going to try using instagram once i get a repository of my work set up online!
Promoting my writing! I can navigate the natural ebbs and flows of writing but once it's published I experience incredible anxiety when it's time to market the fruits of my labor. 😩
This is so real. If you're not already, you could try finding a literary community on Twitter. I've found it helpful both for discussions on craft/other perspectives and the fact that as long as you're genuine, people your work resonates with will often share it/retweet when you share it.
This is a very useful suggestion, Anni. I would imagine that it is significantly easier to promote one’s writing among a group of people one doesn’t know at all.
That's excellent advice, Anni. I recently rejoined Twitter after a three-year break and am finding it helpful for the reasons that you mentioned. Thank you for sharing.
I recently joined substack as well. I found something to write about but just need to work on getting subscribers. would you suggest anything I can do?
If you feel comfortable sharing your handle, I'd love to follow you. Always great to find like-minded writers.
Of course! I'm @bymichaeljones. 😊
this is where I'm at. I find it extremely difficult to get other people even half as excited about my work as I am. Then it leads to a sort of depression in thinking that the "crew" you grew up with isn't as enthusiastic about new ventures in self expression like they once were. I am always the type that wants to buy my friends bands new album and it can be disheartening when the mutual support isn't there like maybe it once was.
Yes, this is a tough one. I think the fact we are also on overload with information and things to read, and watch, it can be hard. I always, always try to encourage my friends, and yes, when no one sends back any reply or they just give me the thumbs up, I want to SCREAM and say....Give me a comment, two words, something, not just an easy thumbs-up. But knowing how many of us are in the same situation does make it easier...And NEVER GIVE UP!!!
I can totally relate to this Brad. There's something I once heard that though tough to swallow, made a lot of sense. It was that your friends and family may not necessarily be your audience. If they are, that's a huge blessing, but if they're not (like most times), then what maybe you can write like you were just speaking to a younger you?
Same here. I find the writing is easy. It's the everything else 🤣 I definitely feel that others aren't as enthusiastic about my writing as I am. Definitely this is what I find most difficult
ah! time to share!
I agree wholeheartedly. I've accepted that anxiety is one of the constraints involved with trying to spread ideas, which sort of helps when I hit the "publish" button - meaning I'll always cringe a little and that's ok. After that I'm left with trying to figure out how to market writing, which is currently overwhelming. But that's ok! It's part of why we are here.
Balancing my creative writing with a full time, writing-intensive desk job. It's a lot of time spent sitting in my chair and typing sentences! I actually wrote about the struggle in my most recent newsletter: https://sorelatable.substack.com/p/the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-is-by
That's a tough one! Writing is my true love but a writing day job is making it complicated. It's like a marriage of convenience vs tender romance.
That's a GREAT way to phrase it!
Anyway, Chrissy, I've really appreciated reading your newsletter! Thanks for your honest, level-headed & compassionate advice.
Thanks, Ani! That is so kind of you. :)
Just subscribed
me too!
Thanks Jimmy! :)
Balancing personal wellbeing and productivity. All the writing books seem to say, "write everyday", "overcome resistance", but it's a hard world, especially when you're writing on top of a full time job. The best advice I've found has been on substack: try The Reading (yanyi.substack.com), which is all about having radical empathy for yourself as a writer.
The Reading rules! I love that newsletter. I appreciate how it gently leads you to write what you really need to write, way beyond "productivity", rules and such. It reminds me your best writing is not a chore but, you know, something beautiful. Yay Yanyi.
Absolutely. It's both a better way of writing, and a better way of living. Yanyi's a treasure.
I completely agree, Tom! Thanks for the recommendation.
I hope you enjoy it. It's been such a great discovery for me.
I just published this piece on maximizing focused productivity to create more time to wander, tips may be helpful! https://curiousexpeditions.substack.com/p/work-like-a-lion-not-a-cow
Radical empathy! Sounds like a serious issue!
Editing. I come from a punk music background. The aesthetic was loud, fast and unpolished. There wasn't a lot of tweaking after the song was written. My writing tends to have the same style, and I have to force myself to go back and polish/edit/rewrite/tweak. And honestly, often I don't. I just kick it out of the nest/off the stage.
i really relate to this one. i just wrapped up editing a manuscript and it feels like torture. i know it's part of the natural workflow of writing long fiction but it is SO anxiety-inducing and depressing for me, so i get you!
That's why I made my first published book a collection of 100 Word stories. They're like Ramones songs of fiction. I was done editing before the anxiety started choking me.
aw i fully feel that. i love writing short stories for a similar reason--the editing process is so much easier. and it's over so much faster. this whole book-length thing is a beast i wasn't prepared for!!
Like my paintings, billboards
And I adore the Ramones. Joey singing I Don't Care
Interesting I also try this. Deliberate rule breaking.
Talking about, sharing, promoting my writing. It's WHY I started a newsletter -- to share what I know and love about children's book and creating a culture of reading in people's homes -- and yet I struggle with imposter syndrome + Midwestern nice (which is also Midwestern modesty).
Ah, I have the same problem. I find it so difficult to promote what I write. I’d love to know how you’re dealing with this.
Well, I am simply trying to do it more -- push through my discomfort and just do it. I am also asking for help from my subscribers, people who already read and like what I'm writing -- asking them to share. That's also hard for me! but I am thinking of it as practicing a skill -- the only way I can improve is, again, to do it.
Thank you! I’m going to try doing more of the same.
Incidentally, Anni Glissman in this thread suggests following literary communities on Twitter. Perhaps it is easier to promote one’s writing among people one doesn’t know at all.
You know, that's probably true! I saw Anni's comment -- I quit Twitter years ago but I do think there's incredibly value in literary communities, online or IRL. It's the one thing I really miss about college writing courses -- the critiques, the feedback, the support.
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. A writing group is the one thing I’ve been trying to find for years, but with very limited success. Twitter might be a good place to look. Maybe we could keep each other posted on what we find online? Or maybe we could look to start a small writers’ group with others who feel similarly?
Yes to both. I am definitely interested.
Sarah, nothing helpful to add but "Midwestern modesty" made me smile--it's so true. I've struggled with that at non-writing jobs too. The idea that your contribution is the bare minimum and that good work will naturally be recognized/rise to the top runs deep.
Same here! Even when I think someone might actually enjoy what I write, it feels so... promotional to ask them to subscribe.
But as someone who also writes about books, yours sounds right up my alley! Subscribed :)
Thank you!
Whereabout is your Midwesterness. I grew up in the epicenter of nice where they even named it Minnesota Nice, then moved to SW Ohio where they pile on even more nice known as Southern Hospitality... 😀
Madison, Wisconsin. Which is, at pretty much all times, equal parts outraged AND nice 😂
HA! That I understand well!! 😀
Hard: dealing with doubt with longer writing projects.
Solution: get incremental positive feedback along the way with smaller writing projects and wins.
Example: Working on a novel. Lots of doubt, long process, no positive feed-back loops.
Solution: Write short content pieces for my audience that deal with adjacent topics. Get great feedback. Use that energy to keep going on the novel.
I also write novels, which is why I like writing a newsletter too! Regular publishing schedule, positive feedback, and opportunities to connect when I'm deep in a years-long project.
Yes! Glad there's somebody else out there like me. I think you're spot on with those benefits of the newsletter. I'd just add one more: I can experiment a lot with the newsletter, too! See what readers like and don't like, before investing a ton of time into something.
Yes, so true. Those open rates don't lie! :)
i found that the only way i was able to write something novel-length was bc i had a friend who was willing to accept like weekly "chapters" from me! it kept me excited and engaged and motivated, so i really feel you!
Absolutely, that's another thing I do too. I have 2 feedback partners that I can run chapters by. It's all about trust and comfort there.
I recently viewed the movie Nora. At one point JJ's manuscript was thrown on tbe fire!
wow that's intense!
I don't write often. And every time I sit down to write, I am constantly faced with the thoughts that there are better writers out there and the stuff those people are writing are going to be equal if not better than what I am about to write.
The result of this thinking inevitably is that lots of days, even though I sit down to write. I don't let my thoughts flow as I am constantly picking holes in them.
I still haven't gotten around to solving this problem completely. Now, I try and make sure that for a period of like 20 minutes, I won't hit backspace/edit no matter what.
The way I got out of it is like this. I read in an article that although there are writers better than you and articles better written than yours, but they didn't got the view point that you have got. The point that you only have, the stuff that you can only write. This differentiates your article from the rest articles and other writers. This helped me a lot. And now I write whenever I want to without the fear.
I understand this rationally speaking. Just hard to apply.
For this, I always try to remind myself that if Fifty Shades of Grey got published, there's hope for us all ;)
@Nirmal -- Your first sentence says it all, "I don't write often". Why not? Write more before you aim to write well. A lot of writing is bad (definitely not excluding myself), but that's not the point.
Check out "On Writing" by Stephen King. And I quote:
Pg. 101 - "I'm doing what I know how to do, and as well as I know how to do it......It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support-system for art. It's the other way around".
I find myself in similar patterns often. Sending the best of vibes to you, hope we both figure it out eventually!
I definitely relate to this! I'm trying to push past it and write anyway. Hope it works out for us all :)
Too many ideas all at once.
shoot me your all ideas:)
I would be open to letting someone foster/raise/nurture one of my ideas
It's more of an existential thing... I find it hard to sum up the energy to write literally anything because it just seems/feels (etc) like no one cares anymore. And writing, while a joy, is still something that forces me to expend significant emotional energy. I don't think anyone owes me anything, and I don't think readers owe writers anything more than their attention when they're asked for it, but, like, it's hard to bleed on the page when everything has been reduced to #content. Maybe this makes sense, maybe it doesn't...
Yes its all the media platforms owning all the content. But you should care. They can't be allowed to win!
Self-promotion and crafting an audience. I've already leapt the hurdle of creativity and I've never suffered from a lack from ideas. I have spreadsheets and documents and notebooks full of plot threads, essay arguments, and schedules of posts in the can ready to go. But quietly, almost silently, in the back of my head, there's a little whisper that says: "Does anyone really give a shit?" Ignoring that voice and connecting with readers is the hard part. My goal for 2021 is to give my impostor syndrome a firm middle finger and promote myself more. Right now, I write about alternative music and I treat my newsletter like the punk zines and DIY magazines I used to collect and devour. If that sounds like something for you, then please check out https://thepitchofdiscontent.substack.com/ and let me know what you think.
Yh I agree, promoting your writing is equally as difficult. Some people use Instagram. I think your newsletter is quite unique. Do check out my one at https://startupsintech.substack.com/
Discipline of writing every day. I started a weekly fiction newsletter on substack to fix that 🤓
While writing a newsletter about my community, I struggle with the need to maintain a positive and civic minded tone, with the desire to be sarcastic and snarky.
Be all of them at once
Hard to type with paws
Good idea a book written by a dog or cat. They are smarter than we are.
We kitties are not smarter than you, just more refined.
The lack of keyboards designed for paw ergonomics is a problem.
Structural speciesism
Getting paid for accepted and published work. I've tried everything shy of becoming Tony Soprano! :D
Grammatical clutter and unproductive digressions. My only solution is repeated re-writes, usually three, to clear out the "that's and whiches," the semicolons and conditional prepositions to always point back toward simple declarative sentences. I often ask myself, "how would Hemingway say this?" Not that I want to be derivative of Hemingway; but I digress...:-)
To tell the truth I spent so much time in my life not writing that I feel like the floodgates have opened and the process presents few difficulties. The biggest problem I have to deal with is how to work around my terrible day job.
Anyway, I'm glad the floodgates have opened and the writing's flowing for you. That's awesome. Good luck with the day job.
This.
I try to include something personal in everything I write. That's a double edged sword. While it makes my writing more authentic, it can often be personally painful. I talk through the difficulty with close friends and my therapist. That will provide me the necessary support to carry on and finish my work.
I don't struggle with this myself but just want to offer this thought: every time I am (you are) brave by sharing something personal, it inspires others to do the same. I love when people are real, telling the truth about themselves, their lives, their experiences. Of course it's not the ONLY way to write, but it can be really lovely. And you never know who needs to hear your story and your words.
The first 80% is delightful. The last 20% is agony.
lol. all of it can be agony!
Yes same here, the last 20 feel like 120!
How to keep going when the initial shine of an idea wears off and I start to question/hate it. It's hard to weigh putting down that piece for awhile vs pushing through.
So true! I write with an unbridled enthusiasm and then find it trashy the next day.
Sitting down and getting it done. Once I do it’s a pleasure. What’s needed now is discipline!
Not having a directory of writers on substack, which means less subscribers for me and my colleagues.
connecting ideas - I like to collect a bunch of inter-connected ideas and form a point of view before I write - and usually my notes will reach a critical mass and then the essay will come to me - but I struggle with a way to organize / collate links and actually evolve the thread from idea to post - my current solution is just draft articles that keep getting longer
Roam Research is the best tool I've found for aggregating sources like articles, book notes, tweets, and anything else I find into once place. It works like a personal Wikipedia because you can essentially hyperlink together whatever ideas or pages you want by bracketing a word (Ex. [[Writing]]). This is great for tagging material with concepts or ideas. Then, when you're ready to write, all you have to do is click a few concepts or keywords you've made pages for and display them in the sidebar. Weeks, months, and years worth of collections all in one place. Great tool for the writing process, can't say enough good things.
Roam has been on my list to try - thanks for the tip!
The anxiety. I often wonder if anyone thinks the same way I do. Will anyone want to read what I think about anything? I most times overcome it and just write anyway. I'm new to Substack and it does feel good to know that I am not alone.
I wouldn't recommend becoming an alcoholic but if you aren't a teetotaler I've found a beer (one) helps (this helped me overcome performance anxiety as a musician as well). It's about breaking down inhibitions, so there are presumably less crude ways to do this as well but for me dancing with the devil worked out ok.
When I start to conceive of myself as a subject distinct from the "wave in the mind" (as Virginia Woolf would say), when I start to analyze the fact that I'm analyzing my experience.
Leaving space in the days for stillness/meditation so that I can ride the wave, whenever it comes.
I am not sure if struggle is the right word, but I find I must walk through the entire story in my head before putting the words in writing or else it wont happen
I talk the synopsis/idea into a voice recorder, but they are rarely 100% fleshed out.
Distraction!!!! I promote my writing almost solely on Instagram, and fighting the urge to doom scroll tests my willpower daily. Setting app limits helps! I also remind myself, "There is nothing more interesting on here than in real life," and I'm quickly deterred.
I need to utilize IG more. I'm @doominyouafavor
Love it! I am @brokebutmoisturized lol
I struggle with collecting ideas from books which I have been reading these days. I know all different approaches for note-taking, including Zettlekasten method and others. However, since I get to read multiple books (of different genres) in parallel (for example, on my way to work or when I find some free time, however it's not possible mostly to sit down and take formal notes). Since, we happen to continue from bookmarked page, I get to finish the book, however at last I am not able to make a summary of full big pictures, ideas presented, gaps in the material which I read in the book. I thought of copying material from table of contents or chapter headings or highlighted paragraphs, however that doesn't seem a reasonable approach. Could anyone please share their insightful suggestion on this part?
My reading has an immense influence every day. Just let it soak in and it will show up in the strangest (unrelated) places.
If I'm reading a physical book that I own, I'll use a highlighter to take highlights and then go back in with the Readwise app on my phone to get the highlights into my Roam Research database. I like Readwise because you can add notes right after a highlight, and then when you upload them to Roam (or Evernote, Notion, whatever you use), it nests my note from Readwise under the highlight. Readwise is great, if you don't mind pulling your phone out a few times while reading to take pictures of the page, because you can record your insights and thoughts instantly, as well the highlight. I'll be switching to a Kindle very soon though for the ease of highlighting and taking notes. Kindle also connects to Readwise. Hope that helps!
Thanks for suggesting Readwise. I'll definitely check out that
As a writer, I find the process of writing to be the most challenging thing I do.
For one, there’s the trap of perfectionism, which effectively disguises itself as writer’s block.
Secondly, I am apprehensive about writing personal essays as my readership grows, although that’s the very basis of my writing.
I haven’t yet found a way to make it easier. Suggestions are welcome!
Writing IS personal. Perfectionism is the artist's hair shirt. Try to survive it and don't look back.
Just write - the ideas flow. Don't look back at the first draft. It's just that...a draft!
it's not the writing process that kills me...
... it's the the break-neck speed at which people react to my writing and eviscerate me online.
( ˇ෴ˇ )
Shame on them. I eviscerated someone in an art review once and I'll never do it again.
a valuable lesson-learned!
"What others think of you (in this case, your writing) is none of your business."
You do you and move forward. Haters always, ALWAYS, gonna hate.
that's right. fuck them haters.
Double fuck them haters. The online world is generally not your friend.
i literally lol'd.
Community? Where the fuck have you been? There is no community it has to be rebuilt from dirt to sky. Serious.
so, how do we do this?
Keep yelling at each other all the time.
Ain’t THAT the truth! At least your writing is affecting people. Can’t get angry at what you don’t care about... unless you’re a troll who rips people apart for sport. Those folks are horrible.
https://twitter.com/quarter_castle/status/1328857706900369408?s=20
Glad you enjoyed my comments, John. I could be too dumb for your fire starter, but I read it.
lol. honestly, the post is so... normal from anyone outside the "community" echo chamber... culture is so weird.
Nah it's the community thang.
this was the "firestarter" today: https://yenfm.substack.com/p/-ultimate-list-of-free-community
Writing daily, publishing consistently, and promoting my writing constantly.
I get side-tracked and fall to writer's block and frustration fairly easily, so I sometimes treat a writing effort like darning a virtual hole. I try to get the big anchoring stitches in place in the form of a sort of outline, then fill in the spaces with the more detailed finishing stitches in the form of rough thoughts where they seem to fit best. By the end of it, I generally have a pretty good rough draft that only needs a few tweaks and fine-tuning.
Oh, I love this framework. Such a smart approach
I do find that it's a good tool to help in overcoming that feeling of being at a stand-still, and visualizing the 'stitches' coming together into a complete tapestry of sorts seems helpful to me as well.
Transcribing interviews. It's such a chore, I stopped doing it and instead developed by own shorthand, and honed my memory so I could recall all details from my written prompts.
Starting.
Ok this one is too real. See also: writing conclusions
That I sound like a completely uniformed idiot despite studying and researching. The internet is so vast that you’d think the stuff I fling out would get lost like a tear in rain.... yet someone who knows more about what I wrote always finds me....
That's awesome. Don't you think that means a) you're writing about the right stuff and b) you've found (or they've found) a way to connect with people who care. Being wrong is inevitable.
Quieting the voice in my head that says whatever I'm writing is just a hot, sloppy plate of garbage and I should hide it under the rug forever so no one else finds it accidentally.
My biggest hurdle is making time for writing while managing at-home learning for two high school age teenagers! I usually end up writing in the wee hours of the morning when everything’s quiet. Also, although I have over 10k followers on Twitter but I never seem to get the engagement I’d like.
Me too! Engagement is probably one of my biggest hurdles to and making time for writing.
Beginnings. You have one paragraph to get their attention and keep it. It has to be the tightest, most well-written part of the entire piece. Without this, the rest doesn't matter.
I tend to approach telling a story the same way. I had an idea and just followed it where it wanted to go, and this is how it ended up. https://blackiowanews.substack.com/p/karen-jolted-awake?r=5wrla&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy
So far I've found motivation and patience to be my toughest obstacles in writing.
Sitting down to write is hard. You can feel like you need to be in the correct mood or groove in order to write anything good. Blocking off time in my schedule to write no matter what was really helpful. Start small and build a routine gradually. Like going from a couple times a week for a while and scaling up from there. You don't have to use everything you write. So if you're not in the groove to find the right words during your writing time, just open a new doc or flip to a fresh page and write something else that day.
I also found that I wanted to share everything I wrote and impress people and get feedback. It is important to feel seen and validated in your efforts, but I was conflicted because my early attempts were not as strong and polished as I would have liked. Falling back on my process a little bit, I was able to write for myself (with an audience in mind) and content myself with the occasional review of a trusted literary friend instead of always rushing to get my writing in front of an audience. Eventually, if you care about your writing and work hard to refine it, you'll reach a point where you simply know you're proud of something you've done and be excited to show it off.
I don't think writing is a hard process. if you write about something you're genuinely passionate about then ideas will come naturally. Do checkout my newsletter at https://startupsintech.substack.com/
Getting started. I feel like getting started is overwhelming but once I start writing I get in the flow quickly.
Same, when I am in the flow I like to finish the piece rather than leave it for another day!
Consistency! Which may well be linked to my tendency to expect too much from a first draft? Hmmm...
I struggle with style and verbosity. To make it easier I use writing software that helps me reduce unnecessary words.
Write as much as you want/can on your first draft. When you're editing, pick a target length and start cutting. The target will force you to be draconian about it and the result should be a richer piece. Lot of times I'll write 8 or 9,000 words and boil it down to 2500.
I'm the opposite. My first draft is terse. Subsequent drafts flesh it out.
I used to be that way but I found beyond a certain point I'd start writing and I'd realize I didn't really know what I wanted to say. So now I use the first draft to figure that out.
thanks, that's a good tip
Maybe you've heard that old bit attributed to Mark Twain, Ben Franklin, various others: "This letter would have been shorter but I didn't have time."
ha!
Do you use Hemingway editor
I did and that's what led me to find IA Writer
Brevity is a struggle for me as well. Would you mind sharing what software you use?
I use IA Writer for Mac. I turn on every setting and it helps me pare back to the essential.
Finding my voice was hard. Discovering what I wanted to write about and why. Once I got to that place, finding the time, motivation and inspiration became much easier
+1 on finding my voice. In my case, what I write reflects an institution (the Zen temple I run and where I'm a priest) as well as maybe Buddhism at large! So I've had to tone down my personal voice, which can be snarky or flippant, in exchange for more gravitas. The process has helped me settle on what differentiates me from the long list of self help and spirituality writers out there, as well!
That makes sense. As a scientist, I have to do the same. Step away from using personal voice and disconnect. For me it is not a spiritual exercise though. Or maybe it is!
proofreading!
Blank page.
When I read through what I have written, I always try to determine at what point will I lose the reader's undivided attention. At that point I find myself constantly revising in hopes that the whole post captivates them.
If you don't mind a suggestion, read it out loud. If you're brave enough, read it to someone else. If you get bored -- or they start to look bored -- that's your answer.
This helps in determining also whether what you've written is clunky, and it's a good way to spot word repetition.
Yes, I know exactly what you’re describing. It’s challenging to play the reader to one’s own writing, but it’s also the most important thing to do.
Okay, yes, this perfectly articulated one of my concerns too. I want to add enough detail to provide meaningful context, but I don't want to make things too long or add so much of the nitty-gritty that readers get bored. It's hard to balance!
I am uncertain how to edit posted articles.
Starting from your Dashboard, looking at an individual post: underneath the title of the post, to the far left of the date and time, there is a heart, a conversation bubble, and three little dots. Click on the dots and choose "edit post." Voilá!
*the far RIGHT of the date and time
We all need editors the good ones are gifts.
editing (i really often feel way too close to my own work--it's hard for me to tell what needs "fixing" even after i set it aside for a while) and promoting. twitter does not feel or come naturally to me; i prefer building community on things like discord, so i'm trying to leverage that for sharing my work. and i'm also going to try using instagram once i get a repository of my work set up online!