3 Guidelines That Helped Me Start Writing

If you wait for the right idea to start, you’ll be waiting for a long time.

If you wait for the right idea to start, you’ll be waiting for a long time.

A couple of weeks ago, I hit a big milestone in my creative journey. I have now been writing and sharing it online for 1 year. It feels really good to have accomplished that.

In the last 12 years, I have tried to start a consistent writing practice multiple times, and I always gave up because it didn’t feel like I had the right idea.

What should the newsletter be called? What should I write about? How often should I post? Is this the perfect idea?

These questions would haunt me, and I’d be caught in analysis paralysis.

Then, I’d give up (or not even start).

1 year ago, I decided to let all of those questions go and just start writing. I came across a quote from Rumi that altered my perspective: “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”

I realized that the “right” idea wouldn’t emerge until I got started and stuck to it for an extended period of time. I began to see that I had to write my way to the right ideas. I had to start taking action.

So I committed to 3 guidelines that helped me start a writing practice without the pressure of finding the perfect idea. If you’re in a similar position, maybe they will help you too.

Just start

Just start creating daily for an extended period of time. If you do that, ideas will come to you that would never have appeared if you did nothing. The more you create, the more ideas you’ll have.

Focus on process, not traction

When you first start creating or building something, focus on the process.

If you focus on traction, you will be discouraged after 1 month (I’ve been there). Don’t worry about engagement, followers, etc. in the first 6 months, at least.

Pick a sustainable practice

It’s important to create in a way that you could do it for years.

If you try to hold an unsustainable pace, you will burn out and stop (like most people). It’s better to do a little for 2 years than a lot for 2 months.

If you start taking action and sustain it, paths will open that would not have been revealed to you if you just kept thinking about it.

Now I have been creating consistently for 1 year, and the right ideas are still forming in my mind, but each month brings a deeper understanding of what I like to write about and what people like to read. I’m excited to keep going.

Have you ever avoided starting something because you didn’t have the right idea? Let me know in the comments.

-Mark

“It's a dangerous business…going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

-J.R.R. Tolkien