10 Proven Strategies to Fall in Love with Writing

It’s hard to stay on the path. It’s hard to keep doing even though you don’t see instant results. It’s always hard to do meaningful stuff.

That is the whole point.

If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Patience is one hardship that will be the hardest to deal with.

It is a wonderful state to be in. With enough patience you have the choice to finish what you start.

If you are impatient, however, you will create hell for yourself. You will be anxious about why it is taking so much time, that you might be doing something wrong, or that you might incorrectly assume that it is not meant for you.

But worthwhile things take time. They are supposed to; otherwise, why would they be considered worthwhile?

The Price of Being Successful

You see someone successful. You get impressed. You want to be like them.

But do you know what they go through to get the success they are sitting on?

They had to work very, very hard to get to this point.

That writer you follow and secretly envy, who you think had it easy because she is a ‘talented’ wordsmith, has been writing for hours, year after year, before she has gotten any success.

It might look effortless to see her write, but trust me, it hasn’t always been like that.

As a writer, you will have to hone your craft for thousands of hours before you start to make a dent in the world. It will be a decade of hard work and patience that will make you a grand master in writing.

The process wouldn’t be easy. You will feel clueless and discouraged throughout your journey.

What will inspire you to keep going?

The love for your craft.

That is the foundation. Like any creative work, it will be hard to write if you don’t enjoy it. You will burn out if you chase after the results too hard.

What I suggest instead is you let go of the results and the rewards and start focusing on the process.

Start focusing on the act of writing.

That doesn’t mean that you stop caring about the results. No.

It just means you shift your focus to the process instead of maniacally craving results.

Have faith that if you do the work, the results will come.

We don’t control what happens to us, but we do control how we react to it.

The Strategies

How do you fall in love with the process? I am glad you asked:

1. Start Small, Build Big Habits: Consistency matters more than giant leaps. Don’t worry about improvement when you first start. Focus on writing daily. Focus on one day at a time.
2. Celebrate the Journey, not the Destination: Reward yourself for the efforts you put in, not the outcome you create. You win if you wrote for an hour today. Value efforts over results.
3. Learn from Your Heroes: Dig deep into your favourite writer. You will discover that she has been writing for a long time. On closer inspection, you will realise they stuck with their art because they enjoyed it. They genuinely love what they do.
4. Reframe Setbacks as Learning Opportunities: You are bound to fail as you start your writing journey. You will feel bad because of it. But it doesn’t have to be like that. You can choose to shift your perspective and see setbacks as opportunities to grow. Because if you think about it, they are really just that. There's no need to bring your ego into it.
5. Clarify Your WHY: Why are you writing? It has to be crystal clear to you. When you know the reason behind doing something, and that reason is meaningful enough, you will do it no matter what.
6. Practice Mindful Creation: Focus is the new currency. Those who have more of it are bound for more success. Remove distractions from your workspace. When you sit down to work, it should only be your work and your focus on the work, nothing else.
7. Track the Process, Not the Results: The process is all that matters in the beginning. Show up every day and forget about the results. The results will come when you gain experience and expertise.
8. Find a Community of Like-Minded Creators: Being part of a community always helps new creators get started. The journey becomes easier when you know others like you are struggling to get what you want.
9. Take Breaks to Reflect, Not Quit: It’s okay to let go of the pressure and spend some time thinking things through. A break can help you get perspective and rekindle the zest behind what you want. Do not, however, jump the gun and quit all of a sudden. Sit on it for a while.
10. Visualize the Long-Term Payoff: Look into the future. Connect with your WHY and see what you want accomplished in the next 5 to 10 years. A lot can happen in a decade. Start thinking long-term. Invest now in knowledge and skills to reap the rewards in the coming future. The more input you put in, the more you will get out of life.

That’s it. This is all you need to spark that love for writing. To be clear and straightforward — think long-term, enjoy what you do, and be patient.