This article is about the practice of writing on a daily basis so you can, eventually, write great content.
This is about the gradual process of getting to the skill level in your writing where you can communicate effectively with your writing. This is how you get your voice – the ability to consistently write great content.
This is the point where your writing actually becomes very valuable to the market place.
At this level, you communicate concisely and you can do it with style and flow, weaving your points seamlessly into the fabric of your audience’s mind. Not only will you be informative, you will be also be engaging.
You can use metaphors, like I did in the last paragraph. It serves to help get a point across by being stylish and interesting. Likewise, a well-structured body of writing will consist of your own flavor of grammar and style. This allows you to get your point across in an entertaining and concise way – and your audience will enjoy the ride.
Before we talk about how to write every day, it’s important to talk about why.
Why Write Great Content?
Helping Others
As writers, this is the whole point of what we do. It is learning the dance steps to the word-dance that you perform with your audience – as they flow from word to word, and idea to idea, following your lead so the idea in your head can transfer over from your mind to theirs. When you are writing, you are writing to people.
Now, to get to this to actually happen, you are required to practice writing on a daily basis.
Only then, will you have the grind to develop this skill set of being able to communicate effectively… and about anything… for a really long time.
Only then, will you be able to pass on messages that need to be passed on, and at a large scale…
You see, this message is etched into substance, which is the platform it is published on and the signals and bytes that transfer that to your screen. This message can be communicated to every one that reads it for as long as it is distributed.
This skill set,otherwise known as the voice, can allow you to be truly prolific, and eventually, a master of your craft. You can then pass on important messages at scale.
You can also help others create and distribute their messages. Whether it is the introduction of a new product within a specific industry, or a story of the happenings in the world, your voice will give value to the world.
Mental Clarity
it’s very simple process once you’ve found your voice. You, simply, just take an idea and go.
You sit and write, and it goes on and on and on. As long as you have something to write about, you can write all day.
Obviously, editing comes later and in intervals – where the body of work gets tidied up to become more coherent and streamline. Otherwise, the the content just keeps coming – Ideas translating to written words in a seamless way..
Companies will pay you for this voice. At least, once it’s developed and sophisticated enough. You have an opportunity to get paid to help other’s pass on messages to their audience.
Because it’s rhythm is unpredictable and hard to replicate, your voice is valuable. It is unique and quirky, so it’s engaging. It is an important skill set because of its ability to not only inform, but to connect.
The skill of being concise in your communication can also transfer to your personal life…
Not only can you give value to others, your voice will also be adding value to your own life.
By learning about what is effective in your communication, you will learn to be effective in other areas of your life too. You will discover that there are things that you are doing in your life that are not effective towards your goals.
If you think like a writer and see your life as a narrative, you will find yourself being incoherent at times. Perhaps you are pointlessly staying up every night, doing useless things, and ruining your mornings. Or your poor diet is affecting your ability to be sharp and focused.
Like a writer, you will edit, and trim away what is useless and ineffective.
Think like a writer, and these glaring weaknesses will clearly show themselves to you, and you will get on the path to fixing them – so you may reach your goals.
How To Write Every Day
Now that we understand the usefulness of writing, we need to get to developing that voice. This means reading and writing every day.
We must do this every day thing for a while.
This is a long grueling road with seemingly nonexistent rewards. You need to write every day for something like years. Nobody will like your work, in the beginning.
As with every worthy endeavor that you wish to seek expertise in, every day is still part of the deal. Whether you like it or not.
With the conclusion that writing great content means that we must read and write every day, a challenge we might face is figuring out what to write about.
Here are 2 topics that we can always write about to keep our daily practice of writing fresh and exciting.
Suffer writer’s block, no longer.
You can always:
- Teach
- Tell
When we are communicating, whether it is at the proverbial water-cooler at work or over the dinner table, we are communicating within these topics.
Teach
What do you do at work?
Why do you do what you do at the gym? What are you cooking for dinner? Did you learn something new about your hobby?
What if you had to share your knowledge with the world? How would you get your ideas across?
I’m learning about psychology and copywriting right now, and it has become an endless topic to write about. As I’m furthering my understanding of these areas, I can write about all the unique personal epiphanies I’m experiencing. In this way, I can practice how to pass on this knowledge to you in my own unique voice.
Furthermore, this helps solidify the knowledge that I’m gaining, and develops an angle to these subjects that is unique to my mind, and how I think of the world.
If you love working out, you can write about the correct sequence of movements in an exercise. Fans of cooking can outline the unique steps they take in a popular recipe.
In this day and age, the information age, it it’s rare to go a day without learning something new and also sharing it with others.
We’ve all heard the platitude:
Docendo discimus.
“by teaching, we learn.”
Tell
Everyone has a story to tell.
It could be the recent office gossip, or the tragic story of how your ex best friend betrayed you. Maybe it is the story of how your childhood paved the way for your addiction to video games?
Why were you late to work? Tell the story of that Red Toyota SUV that cut you off this morning.
When we learn to tell stories, we learn to include pieces of information that move people… and keep them engaged. Through practice, we eliminate elements of our story-telling that do not garner good reactions and positive emotions. Once again, this is painstakingly done through the daily practice of learning the craft.
It may seem like we all have a narrative to our lives, but only few of us have a clear articulate way of communicating it. While you may understand the situation, and feel the emotional impact of an idea, other people do not see it as you do. Therefore, it is important to be able to tell them effectively..
A daily blogging practice is another way you can have something to write about everyday. This form of writing is mostly about telling.
Structure Your Practice
Great works of writing are out there already. There are countless guideposts for our goals.
As an aspiring writer, or aspiring artist for that matter, the one thing we can easily take away from the careers of our more successful peers is their productivity.
By writing every day, this becomes the most simple aspect to implement into our own career, bringing us a step closer to mastery.
Of course, there are many nuances to learning style, grammar, and researching your audience, but all these things are built upon the foundation of a work ethic. The next step is to structure a practice by picking a topic, like those I’ve listed in this article, and dedicating a daily allotment of time towards writing in it.
I’m writing 2 articles a week for, hopefully, the rest of my life… I’m excited to get better at this.
Hopefully, you can join me!