1. Make Yourself Comfortable
This is something that should be unique for every individual. Some might prefer to write outside in the sunlight, others get better results in a small, quiet room. Whatever it is that makes you comfortable, start with doing that. Close the doors of the room, switch off your phone, maybe get a cup of coffee or something else you prefer, change into comfy clothing, whatever. Just get it done.
2. Eliminate Distraction
Unless you can really focus on whatever you are writing super well, eliminate all the distraction around you. If that means you have to work from home, discuss that with your employer. Ideas, and usually those that turn out to be the best ones, because life just works that way, get lost in the ocean of thoughts pretty easily. You might think of something outstanding for a moment, and totally forget about that if you get distracted. Make sure you don’t miss anything.
3. Get into the Correct Position
I have come to understand that for writing purposes, you need to be in a certain position to get the process going well. This is in the case of using a laptop, and if you aren’t using one, I recommend you do. Sit up straight in front of the screen with your hands positioned on the keyboard. Getting the feel of the buttons lets you overcome some possible thoughts or issues that are driving you back from starting to write.
4. Become an Expert on the Topic
Before writing anything, you need to become an expert on the topic first. Take your time to research and understand the industry or business or whatever, before starting your work. Some people prefer to do this simultaneously with their writing, that is research a small piece, get that written down and proceed to the next one.
Another reason is distraction. When doing writing and research simultaneously, who get distracted each time: opening your browser and minimizing your word doc, temped to go on Facebook just for a second, check your mail, etc. You will have time for all of this, read on to find out.
5. Research Constantly
Constant research will help keep up to date with relevant topics, news and ensure you don’t create something outdated. Even if you are sure that you are up to date, just invest 5-10 minutes into googling whatever you want to write about: just to make sure.
6. Outline Your Content
Think about the topic that you are going to write and try to structure your content in your mind. What sections is it going to have? What should the introduction include? How many points you plan to cover? Is there anything particularly valuable you want to share? Etc.
Write down all of those things to make sure you don’t skip anything and then structure them on paper accordingly. With enough practice, you should be able to do all of this in your head, but it’s always a good idea to have it written down. It will help to keep the thread of thought and not get lost in your own ideas later.
7. The Hardest Part
Ok, the hardest part about writing is probably the simplest. Don’t think too much: just start writing. This is an issue that seemed very complicated for me when I was writing my first articles. The problem was I tried to imagine the post in my head as clearly as possible and then start writing.
As a result, words wouldn’t come in the correct order and thoughts got either too spread out or weaved into each other to create a mess. You don’t need all of that, just start writing. Ideas and words will come as you move along. It’s much like eating: you might not be hungry at first when you sit around the table, but as you start eating your appetite increases in the process.
8. You Need to Type Fast
This is a supporting point of pinning your ideas somewhere not to forget them.
Sometimes ideas start flowing superfast and you might struggle to keep up with them. Not every idea that you get is going to be good or useful, but you have to remember all of them. You never know how good they can be. Sometimes your writing won’t go as you planned: you might wander off the topic a bit, rendering some ideas useless, while making others shiny.
To tackle this issue, you need to be able to type fast. If you are a beginner or have very little experience with typing: practice. There are days that an article might take a lot of time to produce and on some days you might spur out 3000 words in around 40 minutes. It depends on a number of factors, but writing speed and idea pinning are probably the most important ones.
9. Write First, Edit Later
This is a very common mistake that lots of people encounter when writing. Well, it’s not technically a mistake. It’s not “wrong” to edit every sentence and paragraph as you progress, but it’s extremely inefficient, time consuming and tiring as hell. Write all of the content you want to cover first, edit, proofread, format, etc later. If you don’t have a proofreader or an editor to help you out, then put some amount of time between writing and editing your post. A few hours are enough. The idea is that you will be much more effective when editing your post after some time, than if you do that immediately.
10. Small Breaks are Great
Take short breaks. This is very important for a number of reasons: first, you need to flex your muscles from time to time and get blood flowing due to various possible health issues.
Second, you are not a machine: your brain needs to rest a bit, especially if the writing process was intensive. Here is when you can check your mail, jump on your social media account, make a phone call or have a smoke.
