Write even when nobody is looking. #500wordsaday
This will be a much more relaxed post than the last few. No research, no teaching. Just writing for the sake of it. That is the whole point of writing #500wordsaday in my opinion. Getting into that habit of putting words on paper and putting thoughts out into the world.
Since I am on a weeks holiday at the moment I'm hoping to get some relaxation in for the next few days. Unfortunately life is busy as per usual and that isn't always easy to achieve and to keep posting as well as everything else that has to be done in a day. The good news is that I'm going to be dedicated and keep posting regardless.
I was once told that we make time for the things that are important to us. If you are constantly making excuses or avoiding doing something then it just isn't that important to you. We make time for what's important in our lives. Whether that is sport, friends, family, writing or any other hobby we make time for the parts of life that we want to do. I love writing and want to get better at it and more consistent at it which makes writing every day important to me.
To form good habits we need to practice them. Nobody has ever gotten to the top of their game by just turning up once. It's about turning up every day and doing the right things. I've always been a huge advocate of putting in consistent effort over time if you want to be successful at anything.
I follow a lot of sport and one thing that you always hear about the best players is how they are the first person at training and the last person to leave. They are the ones who stay for an extra hour to practice free kicks or penalties. Free throws or batting. They don't expect to just turn up once and be successful. They know it is about turning up every day and giving it your best. Then when the big days come, they make it look effortless.
I look here and see @tarazkp or @taskmaster4450 earning big votes every day which some people complain about. I have also seen them posting every single day for years to get to this point.
Posting day in, day out even when nobody was looking. That is what it takes. You might think that nobody is looking at you now but that is your training. If you keep doing it every day you will eventually get to the game day. These are the hours put into practicing that build you up for when people re watching and you need to be able to perform to a high level.
Now is the time to practice writing every day.
Getting confident in your writing ability.
Looking for comments and constructive feedback.
Fixing your grammar and spelling.
Building your following and setting your style. Every popular writer here has a certain style or genre that the mostly focus on. We can all dabble in multiple areas but in general it's good to have your own interests and write to them.
Write about what you know instead of trying to write what other people want. It will be easier to keep posting in the long run if you have a strong knowledge or interest in the subject.
Write #500wordsaday now.
Click here for the 500 words community.
Bi quote block I know - but it is how I get my 500 words ;) - Really, though, this is super important for people to consider and when we look at the people we admire (not matter their sport or discipline) this is what they are like, first in, last out. They are the ones who turn on the lights of the office at the start of the day, the ones who switch them off at the end.
I was talking to my sister this morning about writing for health, as I think it is something we should all do in order to process our thoughts. This is amplified when putting it public, as we then have to consider our thoughts in context to other people, look at it from different perspectives and then, it is up to us what we choose to publish with intention. Most of our thoughts are unintentional - writing through their process adds control.
The more we write, the more we can - because the thoughts we have bring more, the skill we develop speeds the thought process and then, we have a increasingly rapid stream of thought to choose from each moment. I might write about this ;P
Exactly. We get back from it what we are willing to put in. That applies across the board from work to sport or even relationships.
You are one of the great examples around here of the power of consistency. Turning up every day and putting in those hard yards. I've been in and out between all the different apps so have never built up that nice rhythm of posting daily.
I'll look forward to reading your post later and agree with your thoughts about success. You are one of the authors that people should look to when the start writing in terms of the process and then try to find their own niche over time and build up a following.
I think the relationship aspect is a big one these days, where people expect a return, even though they invested nothing.