Writers write. Here’s what the rest of us do…

writer-writing-regularly

Not a writer, I just write a lot.

That line doesn't work nearly as well if you're not listening to Big Pun singing how he's not a player but just crushes a lot. #justsayin

But the truth is this – I write daily on this blog. And I write some posts on other sites (like wpDaily.co). And I write for work. Oh, and I'm constantly working on eBooks. So yeah, I write a lot.

But I'm not a writer.

When I think of writers I think of a group of folks who know words. They're the masters of literature. They're accomplished (or Chevy Chase in Funny Farm).

Writing Regularly is Hard when you're not a Writer

So what do you do – how do you manage things – if you're not a writer but you're writing a lot? How do you keep things fresh? How do you come up with ideas? How do you stay engaged?

These are the questions I get regularly – particularly when I'm finally face to face with someone who's noticed I write daily. So today I decided to circle back and give you 20 ideas for how to keep things flowing when you're writing regularly.

20 Tricks to Help Those Writing Regularly

  1. Read daily. At least 15-30 minutes.
  2. Keep a journal. I use Evernote.
  3. Listen for questions on Facebook.
  4. Listen for questions on Twitter.
  5. Write & keep partial drafts.
  6. Write titles, keywords, and tags. Save for later.
  7. Write the sequel to a favorite post.
  8. Write a comparison post.
  9. Write a review.
  10. Make a list (like this one). Or this one.
  11. Share an opinion.
  12. Write a tutorial.
  13. Share an infographic. Say what you like.
  14. Recommend someone – a service or a product.
  15. Warn people – stop them from doing something.
  16. Write a sarcastic article – and watch for comments.
  17. Create a series.
  18. Ask a question, like this.
  19. Invite them to sign up for something, like this.
  20. Ask your readers what they want to hear.

Writers Write…

I admit I have a hard time thinking of myself as a writer. But I write daily – a habit I developed 6 months ago while evaluating what I knew/didn't know about blogging. And what I know is that if being a writer means having total mastery of the language (unlike me, where I start sentences like this one with “and”), I'm not one.

But what I do is write. And I use this list above to help me move thru my days. The list works. Go ahead, steal it. Make it your own. Add to it. And let me know what I missed in the comments below.