How I Plan to Become a Decent Writer

At this stage of my life I am working at ‘Becoming’ a better version of myself in different areas. One of which is to become a well paid solopreneur writer and this article is a brief look at how I plan to become a decent writer to realize my dream.

Why Do I Want to Be a Decent Writer?

• Make a living: If I want to make a living writing, it’s important to be somewhat decent if I expect to be paid.
• Freedom and flexibility: It’s hard work and discipline but the potential rewards include the opportunity to work from anywhere I want and to set my own schedule.
• Help others by sharing my experience of working on myself through the power of the Holy Spirit to become a better person: it provides the opportunity to help others who may be struggling with the same or similar issues as me know they are not alone and that they too can improve their lives.
• Expression: it can be cathartic and healing to be able to articulate repressed feelings through the written word.

What Does it Take to Be a Decent Writer?

• Commitment to keep showing up and learning everyday.
• Belief in yourself that you will get better no matter how much you suck right now.
• Vulnerability: Hit that publish button even if it’s not perfect. The feedback you get will help accelerate your growth than if you delay getting it out.
• Establishing systems and processes that make it easier to

What Am I Doing to Become a Decent Writer?

• I wrote down a daily step by step process that I follow every day even on weekends. It includes the following:
  • When I write: every day.
  • Start and end times. I use a timer to stay on track and avoid distractions.
  • Where I write: at desk in my home ‘office’ to greatly reduce risk of exposure to distraction.
  • What I do during that time in a specific order:
    • Copywork anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Seth Godin is my current source of inspiration for material to copy.
    • Write for 30-60 minutes.
    • Publish at least one article per week which I’ve already edited from a previous writing session. Editing is not included during writing time but is scheduled for some time later in the day. Sometimes I may publish immediately without editing.
• I invest in maintaining peak physical and mental wellbeing because feeling good helps with focus and clear thinking, which is an essential component for a writer.

How Will I Know That I’m Becoming a Decent Writer?

• Feedback from audience.
• Periodically compare present work to present.

So, tell me, what are you doing to become a better writer? Do you have a process? If writing is not your focus right now, what is, and how you getting better at it? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading.