Where Do I Start Writing?

Write Your?Story

I once called writing excruciating joy. It is the hardest work you will ever love, but it is a purposeful activity, and it is a rewarding activity. And for those who are hardwired to be writers, it is not an option. You write because you must write, and you write with purpose. The big question first is, what should I write about? Write about what you know, your own experiences, your own observations, your life, your beliefs, your journey.

Write what you know, and you will always be the authority on that. There are things that you care deeply about. Write about those things. It will engage your emotions. It will give you a voice. It will make you believable. Write what you care about. Don’t bother wasting your time with things that cannot engage you, that have no meaning to you. Write with your heart, right? With vision. Write what you can see in your mind.

Write about things that you can visualize that are picturesque for you. This will unlock the part of your mind, uh, where you can use picturesque language, where you can be vivid in your description of whatever it is in your heart. If you can see it, then you can write with vision about it perhaps is a soundtrack to what you want to write. You hear the music, you feel the dance. There is poetry.

This is not an absolute necessity, but if there is a tune in your heart and in your mind, a melody, put that on paper as you write and write what you can hear. Are there voices in your mind? Are there conversations that are going on while you think or while you sit quietly under a tree? Write these down. They bring your story or your article, or your novel or whatever it is.

You’re writing your speech to life so that it is a living movement of humanity on the page that you are composing. Write your pain, write your pathos. Write your passion. The ancient words for passion and pain were the same. When you write from that, which pains you the most. You are writing with a sincerity and a compassion and an empathy that draws in the reader and enlists them as a part of your story.

Write your pain. Write your joy. Write your laughter. Write the things that make you smile. Write what makes you dance and leap for joy. Write the wonders of life. Don’t just get stuck in the pain. Life is beautiful. Write your questions, wrestle with big ideas. Wrestle with the meaning of the moments of life. You will not have all the answers as you write. Sometimes you will find them. Sometimes your characters will find them.

But make sure you give attention to the questions and don’t be afraid to leave them unanswered and dangling. You’ve got to leave something for the reader to do. There are more things to write, and I have many more suggestions for you. We can talk about some of those in coaching and mentoring, but the main thing is I don’t want you to get stuck in the weeds in contemplation over what you’re going to write.

So the last suggestion I’m going to give you is to write your story and write it now. Don’t wait. Stop the video and go write something. Write today and write tomorrow and write the next day. It is your story, and it must be told.

Something to Write — A Workshop

I have my earphones on because I really wanna get down to business with you today.

I wanna do some work.

I have a project for you. We all run into speaker’s block and writer’s block when we’re creating content. It happens from time to time. We live off of inspiration and there are moments when the inspiration doesn’t come. The idea doesn’t pop into our heads.

So I want to give you an exercise because I believe that the best exercise for writers and speakers and teachers is to be preparing every day, to be writing something every day, to be creating some sort of content every day.

In fact, I’m doing that right now.

I’m creating content that wasn’t created before.

So here’s what I want you to do.

I want you to get a piece of paper and a pen or a pencil or open your editor. I don’t care if it’s Notepad or if it’s Microsoft Word. It doesn’t really matter. Will it allow you to type?

Then I want you to start writing. And you say, “Well, what am I gonna write, Tom?”

I’m going to give you something to write.

Are you ready to copy this? Here’s what I want you to write.

I am having a difficult time deciding what to write. I woke up this morning and the first thought I remember thinking was …

You have to come up with the next few words. That’s all. I don’t care if you get just a sentence. I don’t care if you get a paragraph or a page. Write it down.

You don’t like that one. Okay.

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was …

You don’t like that one?

I woke up this morning….

Mind you, I’m talking. I have no idea what I’m going to say next.

Okay, here it is.

I woke up this morning and the first thing I heard was …

Well, how about this one?

I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw was …

Here’s another one:

I woke up this morning and the big question I wanted to answer was …

Do you have something to write about?

Then sit down and go write about it. I, and send it to me if you like. I’d love to read it.

Talk to you later.

Bye-bye.

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