Content Creation Secrets

Until I started blogging, I used to write down notes, reminders and quotes that pop into my mind.

This usually happens when I was in the middle of writing something else – when I was hit by a dilemma, doubt or when the spirits were running low.

These reminders somehow revved up my spirits and gave me the tonic to continue writing.

I usually don’t go back and read these reminders, but I occasionally, I stumble upon them in various notebooks when I’m cleaning my study.

I’m always surprised at the directness and profundity of these notes.

They contain a kind of energy which you don’t see in preplanned writing.

I use to wonder how I could have written such profound notes when I was in the throes of doubt and struggling with my writing.

As I thought deeply about it, an answer began to emerge. It was not the struggling writer who has written it, but a greater self.

That greater self is a teacher, who knows it all, who knows what’s good for his student.

When the student stumbles, he steps in and shows the student the way with advice, pointers and suggestions.

Yes, you are a student and teacher rolled into one.
The student is the one who’s learning and doing his homework (writing).

The trouble with the student is he thinks he’s smart. For a time, he thinks he knows everything and wants to go it on his own.

He does not need the teacher because the teacher is always comeing up with something that makes his life miserable. That’s what most good teachers do for the student’s own good.

So, he openly tells his teacher that he doesn’t need any advice. He turns a deaf ear to what his teacher has to say.
The ignored teacher, however, is patient. He waits. He knows one day the student would need and appreciate his help.

Looking through the notes I recognized the presence of the teacher and his wisdom. I decided to use his services whenever I run into a writing problem.

I went to him with the firm belief that he will help me eliminate any writing problem I face. I know he has the answers.

So, for instance, when I’m stuck writing, I don’t ask the student what I’m supposed to do.

If I ask him, he’ll surely say, “Quit and do something else.”

I ask the teacher and he says, “Just write down a sentence. Don’t worry, just write down a sentence.”

So, I write down a sentence.

Confidence comes to me because I know the teacher is beside me to offer guidance.

When I hesitate after writing the first sentence, he’ll say, “Go on, write down the second sentence. You’ll be fine.”
The student makes a face and says, “But I don’t know what sentence to write.”

The teacher firmly replies, “You don’t have to know what sentence to write. Just write down any sentence. Go on.”

Since the student is lost, he just goes on and writes the next sentence and the next and the next. Before long, he makes a connection and the writing starts flowing.

I then realized that the student is always complaining, always offering excuses when he meets with the slightest obstacle or difficulty. He’s always trying to avoid inconvenience, even the minor ones.

There was a time I gave in to the student and found that he’s taking me nowhere in my writing.

This is when I started listening to the teacher and started writing down what he says.

These days I just listen to the teacher’s voice in my head, He’s speaking most of the time and hardly allows the student to complain.

In those days, when I realized the importance of the teacher’s advice, I had him write letters to the student. They were long letters which I forced the student to read and put into practice the suggestions offered.

The more letters the student read, the less were his complaints.

But then the student can’t totally give up his habit of complaining about the same old things. But when the teacher steps in and tells him what to do, he stops complaining and starts writing. He always ends up praising himself for taking the teacher’s advice.

The student in you will always be complaining – I’m not in the mood to write, my writing is not good enough, I’m too tired to write…etc.

If you listen to him, you’ll get nowhere. Call in the teacher and hear what he has to say. He knows what’s best for the student, just like a doctor knows what’s best for a patient.

I’m sure you would have heard the teacher’s voice, but may not have paid it much regard. You may be listening more to what the student has to say.

Ask yourself, “What have I benefitted from listening to the student?”

Ask yourself, “What will I benefit from listening to the teacher?”

Listening to the teacher is your secret weapon to successful content creation.

Call in the teacher now and ask the student to shut up.

Writer’s block is supposed to be a boon for some - for those who want to write but don’t feel like writing.

You know these people - they’re excited about writing - in fact so excited that they can’t get started, so excited that they’re afraid to get started.

When you ask them why they aren’t getting started, they reply, “Oh, I’ll be starting soon. I’m just have a little block.”

Sensible reply. Justifiable excuse.

Trouble is some have been waiting for years for the block to clear and there seems to be no sign of the block clearing.

And while waiting for the block to clear, they’re always doing something useful that will help their writing.

They talk to anybody who is willing to listen.

“I’m planning to write a _____________. It’s about ________.”

They can go on for hours about the content that’s in their heads. They have all the words to explain their works in detail, but can’t seem to put down the same words on paper.

You know these folks, you may have met some, folks with grand ideas, big-time, Hollywood-style, vision, have no time for the ordinary or simple, have no time for those who work hard at their writing (they prefer geniuses because they think they are in that class).

I met such folks at an informal writer’s group some years back. Always taklking about writingas a given. They give the impression that they lead a writer’s life - they read the best books (they read more than practising writers), attend workshops, readings and do everything a writer should except sit down and write.

The next time you ask them, “So, how’s the writing going?”

“Well, starting very soon. It’s all in the head waiting. Just a matter of putting it down on paper,” comes the reply.

All in the head waiting? Waiting for what?

So, I asked one of these folks, “So, you’re still enjoying your Writer’s Block?”

“What do you mean?” He is provoked by this lesser writer who writes at least a thousand words a day.

“I mean you must be enjoying writer’s block. Otherwise, you’ll be writing,” I said.

He gives you the I-know-what-I-am-doing look.

“Can I share a secret with you?”

“What secret?”

“When I get writer’s block, I start writing.”
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Some years back, I met a retired foreign service officer at a film festival. When he heard I live by my pen, he started talking about writing.

His knowledge of the writer’s craft was impressive. He talked about award-winning writers and how they went about getting ideas and turning them into great works.

Obviously, he had picked up these details from reading writer interviews.

He had some advice for me.

He said, “Keep on writing. One day a great idea may just fly in through the window and you’ll strike it rich.”

I asked him, “Are you a writer yourself?”

He said, “No, I’m not.”

I wanted to know why he was not writing when he knew so much about the craft.

He said, “Well, my English is not good enough.”

I told him his English was good enough for writing, He didn’t need anything better.

He shook his head and said, “No, you need good English to write.”

I gave up. Speaking English all his life and being a voracious reader did not yet qualify him to write.

I wanted to tell him, “You can write like you speak.”

I knew it was no use. This man was not going to take any advice because he had made up his mind not to write.

Now as I pen these words, I wonder, “Has he started writing or is he still complaining about his `bad’ English?”

I’m sure he has no idea when his English will get better but he will be safe in his my-English-is-not-good-enough excuse. This excuse will certainly shield him from the hazards of writing.

Even if a great idea flies in through his window, he’ll say, “Thanks for the idea, but I can’t write a word yet because my English is not good enough.”

So, what will he do while waiting for his English to be good enough? You guessed it right. He will continue speaking good English and most importantly, he will advise writers to keep pushing on because a million-dollar idea may just fly in through the window.”

Know anyone who gives this `perfect’ excuse?

Or do you yourself give it?