How to Write
You’ve heard “the pen is mightier than the sword,” right? Your literal pen or smartphone is your sword—your weapon. Without a sword, you’re going to get killed by an enemy who carries it with him 24/7. You need to be strapped when you think of ideas. You need quick access to your weapon, even when you’re sleeping. What is a warrior without a sword? Nothing, a civilian.
Like drawing a weapon in a duel, it’s vital to have the quickest possible access to your weapon— a writing utensil. Ideas are fleeting; they come and go. Store them somewhere safe and keep moving. Use pen and paper to slash your enemy quickly. Your notebook or notepad is your adversary— cut that sumbitch. Think of yourself as a warrior traveling through enemy territory.
As long as you can write, store, and save your ideas, you’re a writer. This is a 24/7 mentality.
My Writing Process
I do my best writing when going about my day—at work, getting coffee, walking, working out, doing errands, and driving. Ideas and concepts enter my head like a lightning bolt piercing my cranium from the atmosphere. When a significant idea or thought enters my brain, I type it in my Iphone’s notepad. This happens at least a few times a day but sometimes as many as ten to twenty times per day. Think it, write it—a simplistic approach that cuts to the heart of the matter. The key to this method is speed and simplicity.
Ideas become notes. Notes become sentences. Sentences become paragraphs. Paragraphs become posts. Posts become books.
In the evening, I email the notes to myself. From there, I copy and paste the notes and put them into various Google Word Documents.
The ability to write notes puts time on your side. There’s no "time to write" or schedule when your thoughts arrive-there’s only now. Impulsivity and inspiration go hand-in-hand. When you feel inspired — don’t deny your impulses.
The most important part of this process is removing barriers to your ideas and utilizing an ability to store them — the ability to write them down. Remove any obstacles.
I write my best shit doing something entirely different from writing. Part of this essay was written while I was at work.
Writing isn’t about setting aside a 4-hour block to sit down at a computer; sitting down and deciding to write is only part of the process. It might be only half of it. Most of the heavy lifting is already done if you've taken notes properly.
The First Draft
When it comes to the first draft, shitty writing is good writing. The shittier the better, because the shittier it is, the better it can be. So find comfort in writing complete shit. It’s fun.
The only pressure comes in the form of not taking action. It’s better to write something and get it done. It can only improve.
Write the first thing that comes to mind. Then, if you have a thought or an idea in your head, fucking write it. Work on it later, and take a walk to clear your thoughts. Do some push-ups. Go for a walk. Just write it, fuck it, who cares?
“Writer’s block” is a myth. It’s not a real thing. It’s an avoidance technique used by people too deep in their heads.
I don’t walk into the writer’s mindset thinking, “Oh, this is going to be awesome, flawless literary prose, hell yeah.” I write with the mentality of “I’m just going to write what’s on my mind; maybe it’ll be good after a few revisions, if not, oh well.” This is a superior mentality. People with “writer’s block” are just trying to tell you that they’re phags in coded language. We get it, buddy.
It’s important to keep in mind that what you write doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s the first time you have written it. It’s probably going to be revised and enhanced several times before you have something good worth publishing.
Finding Focus
Walking is part of my writing process. Likewise, exercise IS part of the writing process. It’s not good to sit down at the keyboard for hours. The best solution is to break it up with exercise every 45 minutes of writing. Walking, push-ups, stretching, sit-ups, and refreshments are necessary for retaining focus.
I can only focus hardcore for about 15-20 minutes. If I’m really in the zone, I can go a solid 45-minutes of total concentration. With breaks in between sets, I can write for hours.
This sounds like working out, doesn’t it? It’s similar—it’s not something you can do all day long. The writing muscle needs time to recover, and it gets stronger the more you use it.
Write How You Talk
This is important. Our “education” system trains people to write in a dull academic manner that nobody enjoys reading. “Formal” writing is just lame writing—uninteresting, dishonest, and stupid. You never hear somebody’s voice when they write in an overly proper manner. You can listen to my voice in your head when you read my shit. Reading my posts is like having a conversation with me.
If people find you interesting or funny in conversation, they’ll enjoy your writing—if you write how you talk.
It’s a transportation of your personality onto paper. When you try to sound smart, cute or seem anything other than what you are, you look like a poser, and everybody can see right through it.
Things your English teacher said you shouldn’t include in your writing are things you should have in your writing. For example, slang, swears, ad hominems, etc. There’s a reason why your English teacher never sold any books—chances are they suck at writing because they have no balls.
My challenge is to write how I talk yet have excellent punctuation, grammar, etc. This is the sweet spot I aim for.
Our “education” system trains people out of writing. I used to write bullshit paragraphs to fill a word-length requirement. I remember peer-editing and being mind blown by how shitty and boring everybody’s writing was.
It was surprising to read other people’s writing and discover how lame it was because many of these people were cool in real life. Herein lies the disconnect. Your writing shouldn’t be different from your personality—from how you talk.
Our education system trains people to be boring-shitty writers with no personality.
Write What You Know
I’m writing about writing because I’ve been doing it for a while, and I have three books coming out. It’s something I know. You won’t catch me writing about shit I have no clue about. I started out writing about podcasts I was listening to. Now I’m working on books.
Nobody cares about your beliefs. So what do you know to be true?
Don’t try hard, follow your instincts, and don't try to impress anybody. Your personal experience is what people want to read about.
Put Yourself in Time Crunches
Time is a finite resource, and that’s a good thing. Having “all the time in the world” to do something leaves one complacent and lazy. Having limited time forces a writer to make efficient use of it.
I usually work 40-hours a week, Monday-Friday, and I have plenty of time to write books.
During the week, I write notes while I’m at work. As soon as an idea pops into my head, I write it down when I have a second. It might be that quick. When working, I’m really at work and don’t have the luxury to access my phone at a moment's notice. Sometimes I have to wait for the right time. At the end of the week, I have a page of notes to work from. It doesn’t matter, I just put in a 40-hour week, I was productive writing every single day.
Even if you’re working a full-time job, put in an hour a day. It adds up. Deadlines are a good thing. Self-impose them. I give myself deadlines all the time.
What are your favorite times to write?
My favorite time to write is in the morning. My brain is fresh. Good chance I thought about what I wanted to write the night before. The earlier the better. Sometimes I wake up absurdly early. I use this to my advantage. I’d say between 4:00 and 5:00 am is my favorite time to write.
I use my mental energy when my mind is at its most powerful, and I go as far as my momentum takes me.
It’s a misconception you need to sit down in front of a computer to write at your best. You’re not going to write your best shit staring at a screen. You’ll probably write your best ideas just living your life. I write some of my best shit at work.