Month: February 2021

On May 21st 2005 Author David Foster Wallace addressed the graduating class of Kenyon College. Over the next twenty minutes he delivered what is considered by many the best commencement speech of all time, now referred to as “This Is Water”.

The speech gets its title from a parable in which a wise old fish asks a pair of younger fish: “How the water feels today?” The two bemused youngsters reply with “What the hell is water?”

Wallace deploys the image of the clueless fish to show that “the obvious realities of the world are often the hardest to see.” He also uses the speech to share his thoughts on education, awareness, and how to live a meaningful life.

Unfortunately, Wallace took his own life on September 12, 2008. Although he may be gone, the call for compassion and consciousness in “This Is Water” remains as relevant today, as it was 15 years ago. To honor Wallace’s legacy I want to share 5 timely lessons from the speech:

Lesson 1: Our Brain’s Default Setting Is Solitary, Smug, And Self Centered

“It’s a matter of choosing to do the work of somehow altering or getting free of the natural, hard-wired default setting which is to be deeply and literally self-centered and to see and interpret everything through this lens of self.”

If there is an antagonist in “This Is Water” it is the human brain. Despite his scholarly vocation, David Foster Wallace has a rather cynical view on the mind, in its most unobserved state.

Wallace believes that our minds are naturally self centered. He states that while we find this idea repulsive: “It is our default setting, hard-wired into our boards at birth.”

This self centeredness comes with a slew of nasty side effects: arrogance, isolation, and the general belief that the world should cater to YOUR needs.

Wallace emphasizes that this default setting is not something that we are conscious of. This makes it an exceedingly difficult issue to address. But as the opening quotes suggests Wallace believes it is possible to liberate ourselves from this unconscious bias with work.

Lesson 2: Knowledge Has No Teeth Without Awareness

“The real value of a real education, has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness.”

One of the platitudes Wallace deconstructs is the idea education teaches students how to think. He questions this idea by pointing out the graduating students could never have been accepted into a prestigious University if they didn’t know how to think.

The ability to think is not what matters, what matters is the choice of what we think about. Being smart or “educated” isn’t merely the ability to process knowledge, it is having the awareness to direct that knowledge. Or as Wallace puts it learning “how to think” means:

“Exercising some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to.”

As we learned in the previous lesson, the unobserved mind defaults to selfishness. Our brains are mine fields of psychological biases and self-serving fallacies. It is its natural state.

Awareness keeps this urge in check and allows us to examine our thought process, and interrogate our self-centered tendencies.

Lesson 3: You Are The Author Of Your Consciousness. You Choose What You Worship.

“In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.”

We all worship. All of us! Not just the raving preacher on the street, or the Hare Krishna handing out flowers at the airport.

Unlike these “fanatical” figures, our secular forms of worship are more subtle. They manifest in silent adoration for things like money, beauty, power, and intelligence.

While they may not be as palpable as their religious counterparts, Wallace believes they are more insidious. Religious relics are inviolable, but we can never acquire enough money and intelligence. Power and beauty will inevitably fade with time.

While modern society venerates these traits, we are not doomed in the matter. Through effort and awareness we can choose new objects of worship. We can opt out of the less savory options and choose to appreciate things that won’t “eat us alive.”

Lesson 4: There Is Meaning In The Mundane

“If you really learn how to pay attention, then you will know there are other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred, on fire with the same force that made the stars.”

The crux of This is Water is a theoretical, but all too real, trip to the grocery store. Wallace depicts the trip in excruciating detail. Describing everything from the terrible traffic, the stampeding crowds, to the bland “muzak” playing on the loudspeaker.

This grocery store is the imperfect world we inhabit. It is the arena for us to practice awareness. The trenches where we choose what to worship. Without it we cannot grow. It is one thing to comfortably learn about ideas as abstractions, it is another to put them through the insipid inferno of everyday life.

This is one reason the speech holds up. While other commencement speeches excite grads with lofty promises of the future Wallace gives them the unsexy, yet necessary, tools to deal with life’s many, maddening inconveniences. Success and sex appeal are transitory; rush hour traffic is eternal.

Lesson 5: Freedom Is Choosing Awareness And Compassion

“The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.”

At its heart, “This Is Water” is a call for compassion. When left to its own devices the unquestioned mind is short-tempered and brutish. It looks at others as mere pieces in our solipsistic quests. Impediments; things that are in OUR way.

In his initial description of the shopping trip Wallace has nothing but unkind things to say of his fellow shoppers. He describes them as “stupid, “dead eyed”, and “cow-like”.

But Wallace goes on to reconsider the shoppers from a more empathetic lens. From this lens they are no longer “dead eyed cows”, or “assholes in SUVs”, but fleshed out people with their own desires. People who are likely just as “bored and frustrated as he is.”

While Wallace acknowledges that at times this interpretation may be over-generous, the alternative is much uglier. It is to go through life in your default setting, and not considering “possibilities that aren’t annoying and miserable.”

The task will not be easy. It takes effort and discipline. It requires a choice. A choice to be open to the world in front of you. To look at it with clarity and realize that:

This is Water.

Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most celebrated writers and humorists of the 20th century.

In a famous 1994 speech he broke down the mechanics or storytelling using the graph below.

The graph is separated into two axes:

The vertical axis is called the “GI axis” (Good vs Ill Fortune). This axis charts the characters physical and psychological circumstances. As Vonnegut describes:

“Sickness and poverty are on the bottom. Wealth and boisterous good health are at the top.”

The Vertical Axis is called the “BE Axis” (Beginning vs End). This simply denotes where the character is at a given point in the narrative.

When put together, the two axes chart a character’s changing circumstances over the course of a story.

Vonnegut goes on to map three of the most common story structures using this chart.

Structure 1: Man In A Hole:

Simply put this is someone getting getting in and out of trouble. The character starts in a good place, but circumstances or malevolent forces push them below the dreaded “Ill Fortune” threshold. The better part of the story is the character digging themselves of this metaphorical hole.

As Vonnegut says:

“It needn’t be about a man and it needn’t be about a hole.” But the character must “get into trouble and get out of it again.

Structure 2: Boy Gets Girl:

In the “boy gets girl” someone is going about their normal business when they see something they really want. The person gets a taste of this thing, but they inevitably mess it up and lose it. The remainder of the story is them trying to regain what they lost.

This structure mirrors the plot of the traditional Romantic Comedy. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins back girl.

Structure 3 Cinderella:

Vonnegut calls this the most “cherished story in civilization. Every time it gets told someone makes another million dollars.”

This is, of course, modeled after the plot of Cinderella… and the droves of stories with an orphan or widow as the hero.

The protagonists starts near the bottom of GI Axis. Over the course of the narrative they claw their way up the vertical axis, until some misfortune shoots them back down.

This momentary descent is a necessary part of the structure. Nothing bores an audience quicker than a character only moving one direction on the graph.

Of course in the end, “the shoe fits” and our lowly protagonist vaults back to the top of the chart and lives happily ever after. Our favorite ending!

Bonus Structure: The Kafka

For those puking in their mouths over the treacly Cinderella Structure, Vonnegut included a bonus structure called the Kafka.

Like the Cinderella, the Kafka starts on the low end of the GI axis. But unlike its cheerful counterpart, this structure plunges its poor character even further into the narrative inferno.

Unsurprisingly, this structure is not a fan favorite. But you’re one of the misfortunate few whose audience consists of cynics, psychopaths, and literary critics; It’s worth a shot.

Once upon a time there was a ______. Everyday, _______. One Day ______. Because of that______, Until Finally ______.

On their list of 22 rules of storytelling, Pixar boiled the structure of most stories to the formula above.

At first it seemed a little reductive. So I tested it out on a popular story:

Thought it might just be a coincidence so I tried to out on another story:

To really give it a go, I even tried it out on my favorite TV Show:

While the formula is deceptively simple you can learn a lot by breaking down each of the parts.

Once Upon A Time There Was A _____

The first line in the formula establishes character; it lets the writer and the audience know who the story is about.

Everyday, _____

The second line marks the starting point for our protagonist. It lays out the routine that the character is in. What their life looks like when we first drop in on them. This is the element that gets disrupted in the following line.

One day ____

The next line signals a disruption of the character’s routine. Some person or event shakes their world up, and they will spend the rest of the narrative putting the pieces back together. It’s what screenwriters call the “inciting incident”.

Because of that ______

The inciting incident in the previous step calls the character into action. They’re propelled on a journey. Usually one to either repair the part of their world that has gone AMOK in step 3. Or to search for a piece that was missing from their normal life.

What is fascinating about this step is while it takes up the bulk of the narrative (pages in a book, or screen time in a movie), it makes up only one of the 5 steps. This tells me that a good set up and strong ending are the most important parts of a narrative.

Until finally _____

The final step of the formula is the resolution of the story. What happened to the character in step one? Did they accomplish what they set to do in part Four? Perhaps they learned a lesson along the way?

In short, how did it all end? And more importantly, what did it all mean?

The formula may be simple; but it gives an overarching view about how to structure a narrative.

Try it out on your favorite story and see how it works.

I have a memory from University I can’t shake…

During a Political Science lecture the professor asked our class to summarize an essay we’d read. The problem was…

No one in the class understood the essay. It read like a 50 page intellectual word salad.

It had all the hallmarks of stilted academic writing: needlessly abstract ideas, page long paragraphs, and an armada of 5 syllable words.

One by one each of us floundered when our name was called. No one could summarize the work.

In a fit of frustration, our professor threw up his hands and said:

“Guys it’s simple; what the author really means is…”

I don’t remember precisely what the teacher said but I do remember a brave classmate raising his hand afterwards and asking:

“Professor. Why didn’t the author explain it simply, like you did?”

Universities across the globe falsely equate complicated writing with good writing. The audience bares the burden. If they can’t understand it then they simply aren’t smart enough to comprehend the lofty concepts being discussed.

The thing is, my classmates and I did understand the ideas. They made sense when expressed in a concise, coherent way. We weren’t too dumb to understand the essay; the author was simply unwillingly to write in a way people could grasp.

Writing is communication through the written word. It exists to express and clarify ideas. When done properly those ideas should be comprehensible to your reader.

It is a two way street. There is an author writing, and an audience member reading the work… presumably one who is interested in the ideas you want to get across.

That’s why stuffy writing is so self-serving. It brings attention to itself and its author while ignoring the ideas it should champion.

This is not a call for bland or dumbed down writing. If you have a distinct voice, use it. Give in to the flourishes that make you unique.

But do so in service of your audience. Let them join your journey as willing participants and not as bewildered hostages like myself and classmates.

Be generous. Write with the audience in mind.

Growing up one of my favorite TV shows was 24.

The series chronicled days in the life of counter terrorist agent Jack Bauer. The gimmick of the show was it took place in “real time”. This means each season Jack had 24 hours to thwart a new threat to the country.

The show was widely watched, and heavily criticized. Mainly, for its indirect endorsement of torture. But also for this stranger reason:

During the course of 9 seasons Jack Bauer never once stopped to take a piss.

An omission which seemed unrealistic to a fan base that had no problem believing a 40 year old Keifer Sutherland disarmed nuclear bombs, prevented presidential assassinations, and stopped multiple World Wars.

But really. What gives? Why did Jack Bauer never take a piss?

The reason….

Jack Bauer taking a piss has nothing to do with the story at hand. People tuned into 24 each week to see Agent Bauer catch terrorists, not empty his Urinary Tract.

This fact should be obvious to even the most dim-witted 24 fans; but it’s one that many writers forget.

Even seasoned writers have what I call “Bauer Pissing Moments” in their work.

These are added details that don’t move the story forward. They are the plot lines that never pay off. The auxiliary character who doesn’t play a role in the action. The added space on the page that only bores or distracts the audience.

Storytelling is more than chronology. When we tell a story we are not trying to map out every event that happened in a period of time. We are carefully selecting details that strengthen our narrative. And viciously omitting those that don’t.

In most cases “less is more”. Extraneous details detract from the message we’re trying to get across.

Think of your long-winded friend, who can’t tell a story to save their life. The reason they falter is often because they over-explain. They bore us with details we don’t need.

Their superfluous syllables are akin to Bauer pissing. Yeah, it may have happened, but it doesn’t make for an exciting story.

So forget your wordy friend and take a page from Jack Bauer’s Golden Bladder:

Don’t piss on your work with unwanted details!

Remember Joe Exotic?

He is a former zoo owner, convicted felon, and the central character of the popular Netflix show Tiger King.

In the month of March, Joe and Tiger King were the talk of the town. The series was discussed, dissected, derided, and meme’d on every corner of the internet. You couldn’t escape it; The world could not get enough Tiger King… or so it seemed.

After its initial ascendency there has been little chatter about Tiger King. Joe Exotic may live on in Tabloid headlines, but nine months after its premiere the series and its bleached haired protagonist are mostly forgotten.

I’m not saying this to kick ol’ Joe while he’s down. Lord knows he has enough problems. I say it because Tiger King is precisely the type of ephemera that will be championed in the coming wave of “year in review” lists.

For those unfamiliar, “year in review” or “best of the year” lists are an annual traditional where some savvy critic, likely residing in Brooklyn or San Francisco, tells you what the most important movies, television series, and albums of the year are.

I’m usually an avid reader of these “year end” lists. But this year I’m less enthusiastic.

Do Joe Exotic and his redneck cronies really need more time in the spotlight? Or is there content we can endorse that has proven more enduring?

This year I want to pose an alternative to the traditional “year end list”. I call it:

“The Year End Re-Discovery List”.

It is simply a list of things which once meant a lot to you, that you fell in love with again during the past year. I’m talking about:

The band you adored as a teenager; that still rocks when you’re 30.

The black and white movie; that holds up 50 years later.

The classic book that gets better with each read.

Why rediscovery?

We overvalue discovering something “new”. We’re tantalized by the fresh single, the viral blog, the sticky meme. This phenomena is so common, psychologist have a term for it: The Appeal To Novelty Fallacy.

There is nothing inherently wrong with valuing new things. However, this bias towards “newness” can cause us to overrate things that seem relevant or entertaining at the moment but have little to no lasting value.

I believe that “re-discovery” is the antidote to the “Appeal To Novelty”.

A piece of art you “rediscover” is one that endures after its novel luster has worn off.

It’s something so exceptional that it begs for a revisit. Something that aces the test of time, and inspires long after its initial release.

Works like this are rare. But that is precisely why they mean so much to us, and why they are worth sharing with the world.

2020 was a year that reminded us of our volatility. I see no better way than to cap it off than a celebration of the forces that continue to fuel us, in good times and bad.

Getting listing my friend!

Ideas hold weight.

A great idea captures someone’s attention. It can solve a common problem in a remarkable way. Positioned correctly, it can change a mind. In the right hands it can change the world.

But where do great ideas come from?

This question invites a slew of fluffy responses. Images of lightning striking. Strategies to coax an ever-elusive muse. Talk of inspiration… as if it were a form of divine intervention.

This talk mystifies the relatively straight forward process of generating ideas. That’s why I want to share 10 clear-cut strategies to help you come up with great ideas.

Strategy 1: Seek Out Great Content

In order to come up with exceptional ideas, you must first become a consumer of exceptional ideas. This starts with seeking out good sources of information.

What is a good source? These are publications who consistently put out interesting content. Organizations who posit fascinating ideas. People who you would like to replicate.

Once you find these sources; become a voracious consumer. Devour articles, books, and podcasts from them. Doing this will feed your mind with the raw materials it needs to create awesome ideas of your own.

Strategy 2: Put Your Spin On Someone Else’s Idea

Want to know a secret most “creatives” are afraid to admit?

There is no such thing as an original idea.

This fact may disappoint people with rigid notions of creativity; but it shouldn’t! It simply means that most ideas we consider new or groundbreaking are often older ideas repurposed for a modern audience.

If you stumble across an idea you like, use it. Put your spin on it. Ask yourself if there is something you can add? A different angle you can use to examine it.

This isn’t an invitation for plagiarism. Cite your sources; give proper credit to the people who inspired you. But don’t be afraid to use other people’s ideas. Timeworn stories take on a new life when they are told from a fresh perspective.

Strategy 3: Come Up With A Lot Of “Bad Ideas”

The path to a “great idea” is paved by a trail of “bad ideas”. There is no way around it. If you want to come up with great ideas you need to come up with many bad ones first.

Wrestling with bad ideas is part of the business. It is something that every creative person deals with. Even the pioneers of a field, the ones that seem infallible, likely had more bad ideas than good ones. But as an audience we only see their best work.

If you’re particularly self conscious about your ideas, it can be helpful to lower the stakes. Find ways to embrace your suckage! Bad ideas in large quantities birth great ideas.

Which brings us nicely to the next point.

Strategy 4: Give Yourself An Idea Quota

Writer and Entrepreneur James Altucher challenges his audience to come up with 10 ideas a day. This challenge is an excellent way to flex your idea muscle, I suggest you give it a try.

Or better yet, come up with your own challenge! The details don’t matter much. What is important is that you commit to developing a specific number of ideas every day. It can be 7, 12, 25. Whatever works best for you.

Will most of them stick? Of course not. But there may be nuggets of gold in the masses. To reach them you have to start digging.

Strategy 5: Ask A Lot Of Questions

Remember that annoying kid in school? You know, the one who always had their hand up? The one who bombarded your teacher with questions while you and your classmates sniggered and rolled your eyes?

I want you to be that kid!

Yeah, that person might have annoyed the hell out of you in high school, but I’d bet they were the most knowledgeable person in your class.

At the heart of great ideas is curiosity. The curious mind wants to know everything it can about a subject. And how does it do this? By asking questions… A lot of questions.

Interrogate the subjects you’re interested in. Get to know them from every angle. Ask the silly questions that your loudmouth classmate would be proud of!

Strategy 6: Borrow Ideas From Other Disciplines

I consider myself a serial dabbler. On a given day my curiosity may be piqued Astro Physics, Football stats, and French Films. While some may consider this a form of absent-mindedness, I believe it is a great tool to discover new ideas.

We’re often pressured to stay in one lane, but many of the best ideas are interdisciplinary. They borrow from one subset of knowledge and apply it to another. They find connections between seemingly contrasting fields.

To apply this to your own life, do a survey on the things that interest you. Think of ways that you can apply an idea from one subject you like to another; no matter how unrelated they may appear. You’ll be surprised how often knowledge intersects.

Strategy 7: Seek Out Opposing Views

We live in a world with an abundance of information; and a scarcity of opinions.

Having an internet connection should expose us to a wider variety of ideas. But this wealth of information is often used to affirm our deeply held beliefs and insulate us from different points of view.

While this is unfortunate, it can be a strategic advantage for those brave enough to step outside their self imposed Matrix.

You may not agree with everything you hear, but you’ll be better for hearing it. It gives you a glimpse into the psychology of those you disagree with. And connects you with a wider spectrum of beliefs.

Strategy 8: Look For Ignored Or Unusual Areas In Your Niche

If there is a silver bullet question that will help you come up with great ideas it is this:

What is something important about your subject that you think is ignored or underappreciated?

No matter how much blood or ink has been spilled in your niche, I guarantee there are dark corners that have gone unexplored. Finding them may not be easy, but because few have treaded in the territory it is a great way to find novel ideas.

Strategy 9: Get Feedback From Supportive People

Feedback fortifies ideas. It is the secret ingredients that makes an idea leap from good to great.

Today there is a wellspring of resources online and in person to receive quality feedback.

If you have a friend who you trust share your ideas with them. If you don’t, there are dozens of meetup groups in your area where you can mingle with like minded people.

If you feel more comfortable online, join a forum or message board about an area of interest. There may be some bad apples, but these can still can be a valuable resource to bounce around ideas and get feedback.

Strategy 10: Rediscover The Lost Art Of Observation

When was the last time you put your phone on silent and paid attention to what was going on around you?

You’d be surprised what the world reveals when you care to look.

Observation is the author of many great ideas. Yet it is a dying art. In our distraction fueled world moments of stillness are often avoided.

I encourage you to leave your desk for a couple hours and take a walk. Go to the cafe and people watch. Head to the park with a pen & pad and sketch what you see.

Make idle time on your schedule. The best ideas come when you’re not trying to find them.

Tim Urban, writer of the phenomenal Wait But Why blog, tweeted the following advice about finding an audience:

If you create art/content — songs, YouTube videos, articles, podcasts — think about people who come across your work as 4 categories of reactions:

1) Didn’t like it

2) Thought it was solid / fine

3) Really liked it

4) Absolutely loved it

1s and 2s are gone forever. 3s might come back. 4s will subscribe and evangelize your work to everyone they know. 4s are what make your work take off, not 3s. A piece of work that yields 4s at a 20% vs 5% rate probably ends up with probably 10X (or 1,000X) the spread.

The thing is, content that yields a lot of 4s also usually yields a lot of 1s — more 1s is the cost of going for more 4s. Likewise, creators trying to minimize 1s also usually minimize 4s. So it’s really two choices: the 1–4 strategy or the 2–3 strategy. 1–4 beats 2–3!

I love this quote! It’s a reminder that “good” content placates an audience, while great content polarizes.

Most content creators are slugging it out over the fickle attention of the 2’s and 3’s, while ignoring the 4’s that will gleefully evangelize their work.

Why is this?

Most of us our deathly afraid of “polarization”. Something that polarizes has a distinct point of view. It forces your audience to have an opinion on your work.

This shouldn’t be a bad thing. It is the quickest way to building a following. People are either in for the ride or they aren’t, it weeds out the ambivalent hangers on.

Conversely, there is less competition for polarizing work. Most content is designed to be disposable. It’s meant to momentarily wrangle someone’s attention until they swipe along to the next shiny object.

Avoid the echo chamber. Dare to write with a unique voice. Veer in the direction your competitors won’t dare to go.

It may fly over the heads of the masses, but it may also glide into the hands of the people who want to hear it.

The funky fellow in the photo is Bootsy Collins.

Bootsy is considered a pioneer of funk music and one of the best bass players of all time. He’s played with heavy weights like James Brown, George Clinton, and enjoyed a successful solo career. This illustrious career largely happened by accident.

Bootsy spent his early years trying to impress his older brother Phelps “Catfish” Collins. Phelps was one of the best guitar players in Cincinnati, and Bootsy desperately wanted to join his band.

Opportunity struck when Phelp’s bass player didn’t show up for a gig. Catfish offered his younger brother a chance to join the band if he played bass. The problem was…

Bootsy was a guitar player at the time. He hardly knew how to play bass. In fact, he didn’t own a bass.

Did that deter him?

Not a chance!

In a stroke of inspiration: Bootsy dug up a set of bass strings, pegged them on his $29 Silver Tone Guitar, and played the gig.

This story tickles my heart strings for a number of reasons:

First, I’m a bass player and love hearing the origin story of one of my heroes!

But what I love most about this story is Bootsy’s perseverance. He could have thrown his hands up and said: “Shit! I don’t have a bass. I guess tonight is not my night.”

Instead he improvised. He crafted a makeshift solution with the materials he had. He did what he needed to get the gig! As any musician will tell you: “the show must go on”.

The best part is: Bootsy didn’t just use his makeshift bass for that gig, he used it for the first several years of his career. He credits it for developing his style. One of the most distinct bass players discovered his voice through a flash of ingenuity.

It goes to show that “greatness” isn’t just a matter of talent. It’s often the result of an individuals ability to move on the fly and stand firm in uncertain circumstances.

Infamous Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson once said:

Writing is the flip side of sex: It’s only good when it’s over.

This is a quote every writer can relate to. We love the finished product, but the act of putting words on a page can be painstakingly slow.

There is an inherent level of tedium and frustration that goes along with the writing process, but we often make matters worse. We do so by making subtle mistakes.

We don’t intend to make them. In fact, we often do them because we think they will make our writing more efficient. But in the end they only slow us down. Eliminate these 5 habits from your writing process:

Not Creating A Plan Or Outline Before You Write

Most writers hate constraints. I know I did for most of my career as a writer. And what could be a bigger constraint than having an outline: a blueprint for how your organize your piece. Writing is about freedom! Why am I limiting myself by creating an outline?

Oh boy, was I wrong! Outlines not only make you write quicker, but they actually give you more freedom to express your ideas.

There is no bigger constraint on your writing than “too much freedom”. When you have no constraints on your writing it allows your bad habits to take the wheel. You can end up spending an inordinate amount of time trying to think your way to the perfect idea. Or writing aimlessly for hours, only to realize that you’ve gone in the wrong direction.

Outlines take time up front, but they save you hours on the backend. They make your work precise. They remove the busywork of thinking of what to say, and they allow you to focus on the act of writing. Your inner “free spirit” may not want to write one, but pay them no heed. Outline your work!

Revising Your Work As You Write

Ernest Hemingway’s famously said:

“All first drafts suck”

Oof! If a writer as good as Hemingway’s first drafts suck. What hope do you or I have?

This is something that all writers know on some level, yet many of us sweat and toil over a first draft that won’t be good no matter how much time we spend on it.

This is the writing sin that I am particularly guilty of. I used to spend hours scouring my first draft. Picking apart every sentence, tweaking every word, and generally making my life a living hell in the process.

The writing and editing process are two different things. Once you create an outline (see step one), your next job is to write a first draft. And write one quick! Your best ideas come when you’re in the flow of writing. If things don’t sound perfect from the get go, don’t worry. You can polish your work when you edit.

Trying to pitch a perfect game the first time around will only slow you down and make you want to chuck your laptop out the window

Doing Research While You Should Be Writing

Got a quote you need to look up? Maybe a juicy statistics your readers will enjoy. Or a fun fact that will pump up your piece. You may be tempted to open up another tab and do some fact finding.

DON’T DO IT!

By our nature many writers are curious people. Doing research while we’re writing often puts us on a wild goose chase; it sends even the most diligent writers down a mental rabbit hole that will distract you and add hours to your writing time.

Worse yet, it is often an excuse to procrastinate. When we don’t want to sit down and write, we convince ourselves to do more “research”. This is usually code for firing up dozens of windows in our web browser. It’s more likely to end in us getting angry about the latest political news, than to aid in our writing.

If you need to get quotes and stats for your work, do it either when you’re writing an outline or when you’re revising. These things take little time and will power to look up. So never get distracted by them when there is precious writing to do!

Trying To Cram Your Writing Into One Sitting

There is a part of the writing process I like to call the “dark night of the soul”. This is when you’ve spent hours hunched over your computer. Your eyes are glazed, you’re burned out, and most of all you’re convinced what you just wrote is the biggest stinking heap of garbage that anyone has ever created. Moments like this make you question not just your career but your very existence.

There is only one remedy for this “dark night of the soul”: it is to step as far away as you can from your keyboard.

It’s really that simple. Giving yourself and your writing a little space to breath allows you to see your work with fresh eyes. Most of the time you realize what you’ve written wasn’t that bad; oftentimes it’s pretty good! If it does suck you can edit it with a sharper mind. You’ll be more calm and objective about what you need to change.

Trying to write something in one go robs you of perspective. Your time would be better spent getting some fresh air, petting your dog, or doing anything other than cursing at your work.

Not Hitting “Send” At 90%

Look, here’s the ugly truth about writing. Nothing you write will ever be perfect. You can look through it again and again and there will be subtle things you can improve. Should you make sure everything you create has standards; absolutely. But this is a sorry excuse for not shipping your work when it is “good enough”.

There are obviously exceptions if you are writing a final paper, PHD, or about to finish the next great novel. But in most cases after outlining, writing, and revising your work a couple of times it is good enough to put out in the world. If you’ve done the previous steps, you’ve done the most difficult parts. Making small tweaks is just adding another garnish to a dish that’s ready eat. It’s time to shut off your inner perfectionist and hit “send”