The Guy who does results base accountability, Mark Friedman, has a lot to say about writing. I thought I would copy it here so when I’m stuck I could have a look and maybe be inspired.
Most jobs require writing. And many people hate it almost as much as public speaking and sitting through meetings. If you have trouble writing, here are some rules which might help.
1. Sit down to write for 5 minutes at a time. If you write longer, great. After taking a break, keep coming back for the next 5 minute session.
2. Write about what you feel like writing about at that moment, regardless of where it fits in the overall paper, or even if it doesn’t fit at all in the current project/paper. (Note: I wrote this in the middle of editing a paper on performance measurement, because I felt like writing it.)
3. Find the time of day to write when you feel most energetic. Don’t try to write when you are tired. It’s OK to give up for the day. Some days are just no good for writing.
4. When you get stuck, or as a starter, complete one of the following sentences. It helps make the writing conversational and you can clean up the wording later:
- What I need to tell you is…
- What I’ve learned from doing this work is…
- What I’m trying to say is….5. Do not try to write like someone else. You can’t do it, and you will make yourself miserable trying.
6. Use humor and vernacular liberally in beginning drafts. Tell it like it is. You can make it ready for prime time later (or not, as the case may be).
7. Never send anything the same day you write it, if you can help it. You will find significant ways to improve it the next day. Several days worth of improvements are even better.
8. Always keep a scrap heap at the end of the main writing for pieces you’re not sure about. Sometimes they can be used later. Sometimes whole papers can be crafted from such garbage.
9. Never throw away anything you have written, no matter how bad it is. Keep a file, notebook or something where you can throw ideas for later work.
10. Nothing is ever final. The word “draft” is a great shield. Don’t be afraid to keep changing things. It’s OK for people to have different versions of things, providing the newer versions are better.
11. Edit your writing by reading it and making changes as you go along. Don’t try to edit your writing on one read-through. It takes eight passes to complete a piece.
12. Be wary of other people’s advice about writing…
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