It is hot. It’s past 8pm, and I am still sweating as I knock back a Miller Lite on the porch. Even my cat, who usually joins me in sitting outside, has chosen to stay inside. There’s a heat advisory out for tomorrow, with the prediction that the heat index will be around 105 degrees. Oh, how I miss the Santa Barbara weather.
I must admit I’ve spent a considerable amount of time today just thinking of what I wanted to write in this journal….well, and watching episodes of ‘Mad Men’ (trying to catch up before the new season starts this Sunday). Though I did gather some usable ideas, I really wasn’t in the mood to write about ECT or mental health. Just as I was ready to give up on writing something for the day, I came across a page that I thought was an useful reminder for me to look over. It’s copyblogger.com’s “73 Ways to become a better writer.“
Here’s the first several ways:
- Become a blogger.
- Use self-imposed word limits.
- Accept all forms of criticism and learn to grow from it.
- Read what you’ve written over and over, until you can’t find any more problems.
- Show what you write to a trusted friend for feedback.
- Outline. And then write to that outline.
- Edit, and edit again.
- Live with passion.
- Be open, curious, present, and engaged.
- Take a break between writing and editing.
- Learn a new word a day.
And more……..
Maybe some of the rules don’t necessarily apply to casual blogging (and if they did, it would take a very long time to write a single post), but I thought it’s a good list of advice to think about. One of the thoughts that came to me was about the self-censoring that I’ve found myself doing lately. I realized that it’s not that I don’t have anything to write about; it’s that I don’t know if I want to write it out.
The sun’s gone down, the moon’s out, and there’s finally a slight breeze in the air. I should be working on my take-home exam tonight, but instead, I think I will read this list again and try to regain some confidence in my writing. Maybe a little boost of assurance in my writing abilities will come to help in writing my exam later :) (Okay. Really, I’m just procrastinating….)
