Okay. I’ll be honest.
This sentence isn’t great.
Neither is this sentence.
Why? Because I have writer’s block.
Every author needs inspiration. Including you.
You might not think of yourself as an author, but you are.
If you’ve ever written an email, or a LinkedIn profile, or blog post, or birthday card… You are an author.
We live in a distracted and cluttered world. When you fascinate your reader, your ideas earn the attention they deserve.
These inspirations helped me as I struggled to finish my new book, Fascinate. More on that later.
Now I want to inspire you to make words that make a difference.
In my studies inside companies such as AT&T, I found that the ability to communicate is now the single most important factor for success.
Verbs prompt action. Use more verbs writing¾ and in your life. Less thinking. More doing.
It’s easy to become so perfectionistic that you freeze. Writing can become downward spiral of typing and deleting. That’s okay. Know when to give yourself permission to not over-think every word.
Write as you speak, so your words are authentically yours. Be colloquial. Or be precise. Be whoever you naturally are, but then be it on purpose.
5. There’s a reason it’s called a breakthrough. You have to actually BREAK THROUGH something. (Click to tweet!)
Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.
Some of us love to write, some don’t. All of us are busy. Yet get off autopilot. It’s worth the effort. You could incorporate a memorable quote, or provocative statistic. Me, I love weird colloquial expressions. (Yee-haw!)
Writing doesn’t just live in books. It lives in birthday cards and love letters. It lives in the little yellow post-it note that tells someone you’re thinking of them. You don’t have to be an “author” to write words that matter.
Your message must battle against endless distractions in order to stand out. Your message can’t do it alone. You two are a team.
The more fully you live, the more fully you’ll write. Live a life filled with experiences and passions and people that inspire you to inspire your reader.
INSPIRED TO WRITE? START RIGHT HERE!
Share a comment about your writing… Tell us what you love or loathe about communicating through writing.
37 Comments
Hi Sally,
I agree with every point you make except number 6. While people should write with voice, to recommend that one should write as one speaks is a complete misnomer. Speaking and writing comprise two different, albeit similar, languages. People who write well and speak well are, in truth, bilingual. Urging people to write as they speak fails to recognize that writing differs from spoken language much as handball and racquetball differ from one another even though the court remains the same. Writing formalizes speech in a way that speech in not intended to work. Just listen to someone reading a speech and the same person speaking without the structure of a written speech. Voice comes through learning that one has something to say, that what one has to say is important enough to translate to the written page. Voice is something that develops from the inner belief that comes from experimentation with writing. The advice to write as you speak eschews organization, punctuation and general order requited with writing that is otherwise glossed over in spoken language. Finally, spoken language and listening are natural consequences of evolution and need not be learned while writing and reading are learned activities that must be taught and learned. Other than that point, your advice is spot on and well said.
Timing is everything!
I’m sitting down to write a speech and finished beat perfect is what I needed to read today!
The rest of the articles great, but that point jumped out immediately.
Excited about learning and growing through this process!
Hahaha I had to laugh at this “momentary terror” after publishing or sending a post. Oh my this is so TRUE! It’s so fun to read what other writers experience when writing. This art of ours… 🙂
Lyne, I love it! That is my number one goal for 2016–writing blog posts, poetry, whatever. So far, I haven’t gotten beyond morning pages. I love your word for the year, though. I may need to adopt it. Thank you for your post and good luck with your writing!
Sally, this article is named ” JUST WRITE !” And it’s just right. From May Tay, Inimitable. ( The Connoisseur according to your test)
Hi Sally – Thanks for the tips. Will you be at ATD Expo in Denver this year? Enjoyed your session in Washington D.C. a few years ago.
Thank you, Sally, for your generous post. I love writing and plan to write a book or two before I can no longer remember {;=> I’ve begun again to write a blog post and am currently doing my darnedest to enrol enough people to have a workshop series fly over a 15 month time period. I’ve written about my experience in the work of being a shamanhealer, transformationist and speaker. I am girding myself to step onto the stage to wake up and inspire my audience. It would be so much fun to meet you in person. Please keep me posted on your whereabouts. with love and blessings to you.