I’ve always kept a little swipe file of inspiration quotes and comments from other writers.

If you’re struggling with producing content, then try out some of these little ‘lessons’ I’ve created from my favourite writing tips & quotes.

(Full credit to some amazing teachers, managers and writers who know much more than I)

Lessons in Writing

Lesson 1: Be willing to write a crappy first draft, then learn to edit well.

Just get it down, worry about all the editing and phasing later. Correcting as you go is a big mistake as it will interrupt your flow. As the famous quote goes, “write drunk and edit sober!” If you understand and accept that your first draft might be rubbish, then you’ll forever ban writers block.

Lesson 2: Kill off your inner perfectionist

As Anne Lammott wisely states: "Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft."

Lesson 3: Borrow ideas and seek inspiration

The key here (and there’s a good book on it) is to “Steal like an artist”. This doesn’t mean plagiarize. It means to seek inspiration from everywhere, and all industries, then adapt to your own style and way of thinking. It’s been said there are no new ideas, only rearrangements. Picasso himself said, “All art is theft.”

Lesson 4: Vary your length

This comes down to your editing process. Go through your copy and look for opportunities to vary up your length – don’t be afraid to keep it short and choppy. This quote from Gary Provost describes it far better than I could…

"This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drams, the crash of the cymbals - sounds that say listen to this, it is important."

Lesson 5: Use a framework

If you’re writing for a business then I like to use an outline to stay on track. You want to ensure that your copy achieves its goal, and doesn’t descend off into the land of vague. For this I like to use Alexandra Franzen’s ‘FEEL, KNOW, DO’ framework. This can be applied to anything you’re producing.

All it takes to use the framework is asking yourself:

How do I want my reader to FEEL?

What do I want my reader to KNOW?

What do I want my reader to DO?

There’s a free workbook available if you want to dig into this more.

Finally, I feel all of the above lessons can be summarised into one to rule them all…

It is perfectly okay to write garbage

—as long as you edit brilliantly." C. J. Cherryh