By Maryke Benadé
Call it writer’s block. Call it “I don’t have time to write”. Whatever you call it, it is keeping you from writing and sharing the museum’s messages. It is making you feel like you have nothing to say, when in fact, you have a lot to say.
So how do you combat this feeling?
By acknowledging it as a feeling or thought and not fact.
There are numerous methods to help you combat your fear of writing/fear of failing. Here are a few tips that I have implemented, and hopefully it can also help you create meaningful and intentional content.
Start a writing routine
Start incorporating consistency with your writing, by start a writing routine. I have found a writing practice called ‘Morning Pages’, from author Julia Cameron. I first heard about this practice from the writer Seth Godin. He believes that there is no such thing as writer's block and that we are just trying to be perfect and not fail.
I have let go of perfection and realised that it is okay to make a mistake, it is after all how we learn important lessons. By incorporating Morning Pages into my daily routine, it helped me get over my fear of writing/fear of failure. I have come up with some interesting topics for future blogs. Sometimes what I write is not a ‘publish’ ready version, but it creates a writing routine. Over time, this routine becomes second nature, and this repetition can only help you improve your writing.
It’s okay to be bad
Similar to Morning Pages, writing a bad first draft can help you get over the idea that you have nothing to write. Where Morning Pages help set you up with a routine and a starting point to write, I experience that writing a bad first draft helps me get all my ideas and thoughts about a topic out of my head. Once I have written as much as I think I know about the topic, I can go back and see what I need to remove or what I am still missing.
Set a timer…then write!
If your excuse has been “I don’t have time to write”, then make time! Set a timer for 15 minutes to start with, and start writing. Do not stop until the timer has gone off. By the end of the 15 minutes you will be surprised by what you have written and have gotten over your fear of writing. The hardest part is sometimes just getting started.
Once you have found a duration that suits your schedule, find a time that suits you best (mine is generally early in the morning), set your timer and write every day.
Over to you
By starting small, being intentional and creating consistency, you can create a daily writing habit that will help you write more consistently and help you become a better writer.
In an upcoming blog, we will look at how to write intentionally about a topic and the wonderful world of drafts and editing.
For now, incorporate the tips in this blog, have fun and write!
References:
Cameron, J. (2019, January 3). Morning Pages: the beginning | Julia Cameron Live. https://juliacameronlive.com/2019/01/03/morning-pages-the-beginning/
The Practice with Seth Godin: Creativity Has No Guarantees. (n.d.). https://www.marieforleo.com/blog/the-practice-book-seth-godin
Image: Photo by Florian Klauer onUnsplash
Huberta Consulting blogs covers communications strategy, museum communications, content strategy and a range of other museum-centered topics.
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