Category: Writing

Is your writing boring?

Neera

Is your writing boring?

It is not making the impact it should make?

Do you have trouble converting readers into customers?

You need to learn to copywrite.

I used to dread copywriting.

I thought it was too hard.

I thought copywriting was not really writing but selling.

I thought, if I kept writing the way I did, I will be true to myself and will start making an impact one day.

But my writing wasn’t getting anywhere.

Until I learned the art of copywriting.

I found it wasn’t hard.

It boiled down to 21 Rules.

Download my FREE mini-guide now and improve your writing dramatically.

Building in blocks

Neera

Since building my “second brain,” my whole approach to writing has changed.

I no longer do the “heavy lifting,” where I would pick a task and stay on it until it’s finished.

I used to write articles on a single stretch, spending hours on it, not starting another one till it was done and published.

I used the same method for writing books. Working on one book at a time.

Now I am working on several.

This approach is called “slow-burn.”

I am working on several projects in parallel, where I am slowly gathering ideas in the background.

Over time, I will have a rich collection of interesting anecdotes, insights, examples, facts, and illustrations to compile my books.

Besides, all those building blocks can be reused in articles, blog posts, LinkedIn posts and even building courses.

Each day I spend one to two hours inside my “second brain,” my Personal Knowledge Management System, and create or refine “notes.”

These “notes” are self-sufficient, reusable, knowledge articles. I like to think of them as atomic essays.

It has been a transformative shift in how I think about my work.

This new way of working is more adaptable, more innovative, more effective, and stress-free.

There have been 5 benefits of this way of working.

1. I am interruption-proof since I am working in one small building block at a time.

2. There are natural breakpoints where I can get feedback rather than waiting till the end of the project.

3. I can create value in any span of time I am working.

4. Big projects and goals have become much less intimidating.

5. Over time, I’ll eventually create so many building blocks that I’d be able to complete entire projects just by assembling previously created blocks.

This is a magical moment.

Once you experience it, you’d never want to start anything from scratch ever again.

This was the place I wanted to be with my writing.

Use your voice

Neera

When I was at the beginning of my writing journey, I was desperate to find my writing voice.

I thought when I will find my voice, I will be fluent, unique, and eloquent. Readers will love my work, and my writing will shine like a north star.

Years passed, and despite my constant efforts, none of this happened.

One day I was reading my old journals when I realized I already had a voice.

It was there all along. It was in the questions I pondered, the insights I gained, and the way I explained things.

You don’t have to find your voice, you already have got it. Learn to use it instead.

When everything else fails…

Neera

“When everything else fails, just tell your story. That’s what makes you unique. Isn’t that why you fell in love with writing in the first place? To tell your story.”

I stare at the above lines I had scribbled in my notebook years ago. I don’t know whether I wrote them, or I copied them from somewhere. But today they are speaking to me directly.

What story can I tell today?

I pulled out a pile of notebooks from various drawers and boxes at the start of the year with the intention to get rid of them. I pick one, go through a few pages, wondering if there is anything I can salvage in there, and stop in track. How can I go past such profound insight?

“There is an unbelievable amount of noise in the world,” I had written underneath that quote, “It’s everywhere. Social media, television, streaming, apps, ads, music devices, and screens. It’s hard to focus on anything in a meaningful way. So hard to find direction, especially in writing. Rather than contributing to that noise, why not tell stories? Your stories?”

I am doing a storytelling course, with Dan Manning. He has mastered the art of personal storytelling. Last week he asked us to make a list of ten stories from our lives. I listed fifty. Some were just ordinary everyday stories such as When I didn’t buy Rayban sunglasses or When I skydived but then there were really painful ones, How a slap on the face stripped me of self-confidence for life and the Humiliation I felt after a pathetic presentation at work. These stories were like scars on my soul, painful and ugly. But writing about them lessened the pain and helped me move on.

Find your scars and write about them. Reflection is a great tool for writing. That’s why writing is considered a form of therapy. It can help you view the trauma of an incident from another perspective.

Reflect on your life and see the scars, then write about how you got them. Easier said than done, I know. But once you start putting one word in front of another serotonin starts peaking and you’re reminded why you wanted to write in the first place.

At the end of the day, we all want to tell stories. Our stories are our connection with the world. They tell us that we are not alone.

Write about your struggles and about your achievements. Where are you in your life and how you got there? What price you had to pay? Who helped you? Talk about your mentors. Writing about the people you look up to is a great way to solidify the lessons they taught you. We are not here just to entertain others but to extend ourselves.

Writing is meditative and constructive and there is no comparison to the feeling of finishing a writing project. Sure writing and resistance go hand in hand. Resistance only wins if it succeeds in “not letting you sit.” Once you put your butt in the chair and write the first sentence, you win. I started this letter with a single sentence I found in my diary. The whole story developed from there.

One of many things Lynda Barry has taught me: “If you don’t know what to write in your diary, you write the date at the top of the page, as neatly and slowly as you can, and things will come to you.”

“Going through the motions” is the writers’ great secret for getting started. Austin Kleon wrote in his book Steal Like an Artist, “If we just start going through the motions, if we strum a guitar, or shuffle sticky notes around a conference table, or start kneading clay, the motion kickstarts our brain into thinking.”

Get your pen moving, and something will come out. It might be trash, but it will be something.

A Single Habit That Helped Me Write Four Books, 500+ Articles And Over A Million Words

Neera

500+ Articles And Over A Million Words

It’s my simple habit of writing a journal every day.

I wake up at six am, brush my teeth, and then crawl back into bed with my favorite pen and journal in hand. For twenty to thirty minutes, I write uninterrupted.

When I was working full-time, I didn’t have the luxury of journaling every day. Instead, I would try to write for 15 minutes on weekend mornings. I cherished that time with my journal so much that I started looking for spare moments during the day to jot down my thoughts.

Those moments became precious to me. They helped me process my thoughts, connect with my emotions, and gain insights from my experiences.

There comes a stage when journaling becomes an obsession.

Since becoming a full-time writer in January 2019, I haven’t missed a single day of journaling. It has become somewhat of an obsession, but it allows me to capture fleeting thoughts before they vanish like a bubble in thin air.

Whether the thoughts are good or bad doesn’t matter. The practice of capturing thoughts makes me aware of them. Now, I keep a notebook handy at all times, no matter where I go in my home. You never know when a good thought will appear, and I don’t want to miss it.

Some might see it as an obsession, but I think of it as a game.

Did I catch it? Yeah! I did.

Oh! What was that I thought of this morning while reading the newspaper? It was something related to…

I can’t even remember what was it related to. Bugger. All I could remember was that it was very exciting. I should have noted it on my phone. Now it is gone. Forever.

The true benefit of journaling lies in the expression of thoughts.

As you fill notebook after notebook, you’ll find that you’re better able to articulate your ideas. This is a moment to be proud of, as few people ever achieve this level of skill in their lifetime. For many, writing is a daunting task, and the mere thought of composing an article, story, or even a letter can be overwhelming.

In my early days of journaling, I wrote with a pencil so I could easily erase and refine my sentences. It took me three years to graduate from pencil to pen, so if you’re writing with a pen, you’re ahead of where I was.

Fluency is the ultimate reward.

Once you’re confident in expressing your thoughts on paper, fluency will come naturally. Soon, you’ll be typing so fast that your fingers hurt because your thoughts are flowing too rapidly to keep up with.

When I reached this stage, I cried. There was a time when I would sit with a pen and paper, unsure of what to write. Now, I have so many ideas and stories to share that I can’t keep up.

As a writer, everything becomes worth writing about. Simple anecdotes hold captivating stories, and mundane details reveal unexpected insights. When you’ve reached this point in your writing, you’re not far from achieving your goals. It might take you years (like it did for me), or it could happen in just a few months, but when it does, you’ll have discovered the joy and satisfaction that comes from writing.

The result of fluency in writing is a wealth of material.

At this point, you will have accumulated a substantial amount of material that can be turned into articles, stories, and even books. You can either pull content from your journals or start anew.

However, it’s important to note that your thoughts and perspectives may have evolved over time, so re-writing a piece can be more beneficial than digging up something from years ago. With your newfound expression of thought and writing fluency, you have a better chance of producing a high-quality piece.

But, don’t dispose of your journals just yet. They contain a part of you and serve as a reminder of the challenges you faced in the past and how you overcame them. I personally find inspiration in my old journals and use them to generate stories and ideas for my work.

So, how can you take your journal writing habit to the next level?

For me, reflective prompts have been instrumental in unlocking my creativity and critical thinking skills.

They help me explore my thoughts and emotions, and provide me with fresh insights and perspectives for my writing.

Here are some reflective prompts to try:

  1. What were the most significant events or moments of my day, and how did they impact me emotionally, physically, or mentally?
  2. What did I learn today, and how can I apply that knowledge to improve my life or help others?
  3. What are the most pressing challenges I am currently facing, and how can I overcome them?
  4. What are my goals for the day, week, or month, and how can I make progress towards achieving them?
  5. What are my strengths, and how can I leverage them to achieve my goals and help others?
  6. What are my weaknesses, and how can I work on improving them to become a better version of myself?
  7. What are my values, and how can I align my actions with those values to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life?
  8. What are the most significant lessons I have learned in life, and how have they impacted me or helped me grow as a person?
  9. What are the things that bring me joy and fulfillment, and how can I incorporate more of them into my daily life?
  10. What are my biggest fears or insecurities, and how can I work on overcoming them to live a more confident and fulfilling life?
  11. How have I grown and changed as a person in the past year, and what experiences or challenges contributed to that growth?
  12. What are some habits or routines that have had a positive impact on my life, and how can I continue to cultivate those habits?
  13. What are some patterns or behaviors that have held me back, and how can I work on breaking those patterns to move forward?
  14. What are some things I am grateful for in my life, what are the various ways I can pay forward.
  15. What are some obstacles I have overcome in the past, and how can I use those experiences to build resilience and strength for future challenges?
  16. What are my relationsip with others are like and how can I improve them?
  17. What are some things I am passionate about, and how can I use that passion to make a positive impact in the world?
  18. What self-care needs I am ignoring at the moment and how can I prioritize my well-being to live a more balanced life?
  19. How can better handle the current situation? What coping mechanisms can I use to manage these challenges in a healthy way?
  20. What are some goals or dreams that I have been putting off, and what steps can I take to make progress toward them, today?

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A Little Journal That Changed My Life

Neera

Years ago, I came across the idea of keeping a gratitude journal.

Dutifully, I bought a small spiral notebook and started writing three things I was grateful for

They were not big things, but little things like the yellow rose in my garden, the air-conditioning in my car, and a new pair of shoes that were sleek and comfortable.

That practice didn’t last for long.

I stopped and started several times.

Years later, when I was going through a bad patch in life, I stumbled upon the spiral notebook while going through my closet.

Rather than chucking the partially filled notebook into the bin, I opened it and started reading the entries.

Half an hour later, I was sitting on the floor, leaned against the closet, tears rolling down my eyes.

There were so many good things that happened in my life, and here I was agonizing over the little stuff.

Rather than feeling like a victim of fate, I saw how many blessings it had bestowed on me.

A gratitude journal may not seem a big thing while you are writing it, but over time, it becomes a powerful reminder of all the good things that happen to you.

I still don’t write in the journal every day. But it has got a permanent place on my bedside table and now and then, I pick it up, and jot down the three things I am grateful for.

Image by the author

If you haven’t got a gratitude journal, I strongly urge you to start one.

It will change your life.

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