Weekly Writing Tips: Share Your Mind

Writing doesn't have to be daunting, with our weekly writing tips to get you started and keep you going.

This week’s writing tips are all about getting your thoughts out of your brain and onto your page. You have the creative idea in your head—but no one’s going to see it if you’re not able to share it. Here are some tips on how to get your pen moving.

Put All Ideas on Paper

Feel like you don’t have the time to write a whole section? Many writers have gotten their start by jotting down ideas as they work or making notes while they wait for their kids to finish an activity. The simple act of taking notes can be a huge help to you as a writer when you actually sit down to write. This way, you’ll have something physical to go back to, and not struggle to bring your creative, in-the-moment ideas to the front of your mind.

Carry a pen or pencil and notebook with you when you’re away from your computer; or make notes in your phone and come back to them later. Even if it seems incredibly silly in the moment, if it strikes you as something you can build off of, get it in writing. What’s the harm in writing it down? It could become the next big idea!

Carry a Recorder

If you’re not much for writing down your ideas, then perhaps you’d do better with a recording device. You can speak into your recorder and make notes the same way you would writing them down—except this way is a little faster, and you might be able to explain it better.

You can invest in a recording device, or there are apps on your phone that you can use to jot down voice memos. If you really want to capture the emotion behind your words at the time you think them, video record yourself and your thoughts for later perusal.

Remember to Add Context

Perhaps most importantly, as you’re taking notes, make sure you put enough context in so that you can easily figure out what you meant later. If you jot something down quickly in the moment, you might think you’ll be able to remember exactly what you meant. Trust us, you won’t be able to remember exactly what you meant. Something that reads, “Inner light to external,” could mean many different things 24 hours later and isn’t a clear thought. Write out the subject and action clearly, for example, “In-depth look at how finding your inner light can lead you to help others.” Your future self will thank you.

(As a side note, if pen and paper are the way you take notes, make sure you write legibly enough so you can later read your own writing. Yeah, we learned this one the hard way).

Remember, just getting your ideas onto paper is an essential first step. Good writers have the ability to take notes about their thoughts and surroundings and process them for later. Practice making notes about what you observe and think, and see how it shapes your thought process and your writing.

Work with a Coach

Light Rising Publishing offers book coaching and developmental editing to help you get your content out of your head and onto the page in a way that flows beautifully. Tackling a big book project can be daunting, but even more scary should be the idea of dying with an unwritten book in your head. That's where we come in. We make the process less scary with writing coaching for every step of the process and hand-in-hand developmental editing that makes you a better writer and leading to a finished, publishable manuscript. To get started, contact cynthia@cgcommunication.com today!