Ahh, so you want to call yourself a writer? How cute. To earn the distinction of being a writer, there is one major accomplishment you will need to achieve. You will need to write. Yep, that’s it. All you have to do to call yourself a writer is write.
Indeed, when I was starting, I was nervous to call myself a writer. I thought that this title was reserved for the hardcore, published artist that studied the trade. Then I read a little book that would end up changing my life, “On Writing Well.”
The author, William Zinsser, said two things that stuck with me. One, if you write, you are a writer. Two, if you are a writer, your job is to write. He went on to say that it doesn’t matter how tired, drained, or busy you are—your job is to write. No excuses. This really took me by surprise.
Become a Content Creator
I thought I was supposed to write when I felt like it. After I read this, I began to write more consistently. Next, I stumbled upon another book that changed my life, “The Practice,” by Seth Godin. The author echoes the same sentiments above and says something else quite profound. He says there is no such thing as writer’s block.
Ever since finishing “The Practice,” I have written at least one article a day and published it to my blog. Currently, the total is 146 straight days. I love it. However, I am traveling from Japan to Florida next month, so this will break my streak. But that is okay; the intent is to take my writing hobby seriously—sort of like a job.
What I have learned over the last five months is that writing is part of my soul. I cannot stop writing. If I could write all day, I would. However, I am also a graphic designer, publisher, editor, along with being a writer.
Every day I wake up and write at least 1,000 words about the topic of my choosing. You would think that I would run out of content, but at least two more ideas pop into my head for every article I complete. Of course, I keep a running tally of future ideas in my notes. I am sitting somewhere around 400+ more articles to write, and I continue to see more ideas every day.
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You will find that your work will begin to accumulate, rather quickly, once you start writing a lot. For example, in six months, I have published three 300+ page books—Don’t Gamble with Retirement part I, Don’t Gamble with Retirement part II, and Don’t Gamble with Retirement part III. These are my flagship books, and, to me, they are amazing.
Each book has at least 70 chapters (70, 77, 83), and each chapter cover is designed individually by me. They are all unique. Each article represents a day in my life where I took the time to write, edit, create a design, and post to my blog.
If you had told me six months ago that I could create three books this amazing, I would have laughed. “No way in my life,” I’d have said. No way could I have thought this to be possible. But, I could achieve this remarkable feat by writing every single day. That is where it starts because nothing is more important to a writer than writing.
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So let’s dive into how I began to write every single day. I want to mainly want to cover two topics: how to create your topics and how to give yourself time and space to accomplish your writing.
How to Create a Never-Ending Stream of Content. Strangely, I have an article by the same name. I wrote that article four months ago, right about the time that I began my streak. And everything I wrote about has rung true.
First and foremost, you must prepare yourself to be a writer. It is not something you do when you feel like it. It is your passion. It is your voice on paper. You also have to remove yourself from the results. This means that writing should be your passion, not getting likes, followers, and positive reinforcement. All you can do is release your work into the wild—nothing more, nothing less.
I highly recommend reading the two books I mentioned above to form the correct mindset to last you throughout the creative process. Next, let’s talk about content.
Building a stream of content will be your next big obstacle. When I started blogging about a year ago, I thought I could create content directly from my brain. Sure, it can work for a spell, but you need three things: structure, information, and connections to have a genuinely unlimited creative mind.
Don’t Gamble Your Retirement Away
The first thing I recommend is coming up with your content niche. As I wrote in “Pick Your Content Niche; Wealth, Health, or Relationships,” those are the three main topics that serve as the overarching narrative of most niches. From there, you can drill down, or “niche down,” to a more personal level. Don’t let these three niches scare you off; you can choose whatever you want. For this article, I will talk about Dogs.
Dogs will be my niche. Now I will start my pre-planning phase. Again, this is not how I started; I was just guessing. However, this stage will help you get your act together before writing 100 articles with no direction. Now let’s form our structure based on our Dog niche.
1) Structure. The structure is the most critical part of being able to write as much content as you want. I learned how important the system was by reading “How to Take Smart Notes.” This book will give you direction on taking notes and combining them with other thoughts to continually form new ideas. It truly is life-changing. Please read this book before you move into the information stage.
The output of the structure stage needs to be five sub-niches based on your overall main topic niche. Remember, the most valuable major niches are wealth, health, and relationships. So let’s build out sub-niches that address these. But, first, let’s see what we get for Dogs.
1. Dog Businesses
2. Keeping Your Dog Healthy
3. Dog Training
4. How to Love Your Dogs
5. Dog and Human Love
Don’t Gamble Your Retirement Away 2
That’s our structure—our main niche is Dogs, with these five sub-niches to complete our ideas. That’s it for design. Don’t worry; you can always change your sub-niches as required.
2) Information. Now that you have a structure of what you want to write about, we need to get information in your brain. Okay, this is what you will need to do—read. Yep, you will need to read books and articles on each of your sub-niches.
First, pick a book on each of your sub-niches. Then, read the book and write a book review or takeaways from it. This period will serve not only as a learning phase but also help you build credibility.
Don’t Gamble Your Retirement Away 3
Most people do not want to read a book. They would instead read your quick review. This is the start of how to build yourself up as a subject matter expert. Indeed, this is how I started ten months ago. I read 35 books (book: “Wealth is a Mindset”) in about three months. I wrote my five takeaways for each book.
I have slowed down in my reading, but I still read for about an hour a day. I have completed 51 books in ten months, and each has its book review (see them on Pinterest). That is the magic of sticking to something and seeing it through; you will accumulate many articles.
Now you are reading books and taking notes. Just take notes on topics that; you have an opinion about, that interest you or you want to dig deeper into. As you take more notes from across your different sub-niches, you will start to formulate brand new content to create.
Now, you still need more information and ideas. Join a website from each of your sub-niches. Ensure they publish at least a few articles every week. Make a schedule of when to check into each site.
You can make it one website per day or read books during the week and websites during the weekends. Whatever is your method, do it, and make it stick. Websites are essential because they will give you more up-to-date information and ideas.
No Freakin’ Way I am Working Another 25 Years
3) Connections. Connecting your ideas is what will truly make your content pop. You don’t always have to section off your thoughts into the sub-niches; you can explore, combine, and overlap your ideas.
Your books and articles will come in handy as you prepare a list of ideas. You’ll be surprised at how much you have learned by reading. It is okay if you only start with 20-30 ideas, so many more will follow.
You see, as you write, you will find that 1,000 words will not do your article justice. You will start to want to create mini-series on specific topics. I have completed over ten mini-series in my few months of creating. It is a great feeling to see one series through to completion.
Again, I have to plug in the book “How to Take Smart Notes” because it will help you form deep connections between your readings and notes. Please read this book if you want to become a serious writer. So now we have structure, information, and connections—time to start writing.
How to Write 1000+ Words Every Day. The first thing that you will need to do is find the time to write. It preferably should be at the same time every day—this will help you build up the necessary internal pre-planning for your writing session.
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I found that the best time for me is in the middle of the night. I wrote about it in the article “Become Insanely Productive during the Magic Hours.” I tried to write when I got home from work, but it depended on how my day at work went. If it was a crappy day, it was hard for me to overcome when writing.
You have to find the best time to write. Give yourself at least an hour and a half. I can write 1000 words in under an hour now, but sometimes I like to expand into longer sessions. According to the book “Limitless,” you will need 45 minutes to get into a flow state.
Find Your Flow State. Flow is when you are in the zone. Sometimes you will enter the flow state and not even remember what you have been writing. It is incredible, but you can only reach this state when you are in deep concentration.
Every time you check your phone or a child interrupts you; your state is broken. It could take another 15 minutes to re-enter your flow state. That is precisely why I write in the early mornings (2 am).
Not only can I achieve flow, but my mind is clear from work, finances, and relationships. It is all about me. Plus, finishing a 1000+ article every morning is an excellent way to start the day. I usually go for a run or hit the gym afterward. It is a winning combination that I do not plan on stopping any time soon.
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Now you have your time window and your notes, what’s next. I usually pick my next topic at least 10-24 hours before writing. This way, I can brainstorm ideas all day long. You don’t’ need to get into the weeds; just think about some ideas and topics based on your future article.
Then, you get to work. No excuses, no worries, just start writing. You have everything you need to succeed. As you can see from this article, you will be referencing your books and articles in almost every new piece you create.
You see, you are creating a universe based on your writings. They are all interconnected, and all belong in the same universe. People will want to dig into your prior works, so let them know where to find them.
Happy Financial Independence Day!
You will start to form derivatives of ideas you have previously. Many articles you may want to re-address with a part two or three. There is no limit to how to keep the train moving. But it all starts with having a structure, information, and connections.
One last thing. Do not try to be perfect. Perfectionism is a limiting belief and will hinder you throughout your writing adventures. You are going to make mistakes; it is a part of writing. Understand that and move on.
I once wrote an article on starting a Tesla Rental Car business, and every single instance of Tesla was spelled wrong. I did not notice for almost two weeks. Finally, I went back and changed the words and moved on. I didn’t even feel bad. To indeed be a great writer, you have to form a small “Don’t Give a F***” attitude.
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So what are my niche and sub-niches? My main niche is Passive Income, and my sub-niches are financial mindset, retirement planning, investing, cryptocurrency, real estate, and business. These topics will all overlap at some point, helping me create a never-ending stream of content.
For example, the article “Run a Passive Airbnb Business” will have echoes of retirement, real estate, and business. “How We Plan to Retire on Dividends” will have echoes to retirement and investing.
If you are serious about becoming a writer, please read the above articles and books. Also, check out my blog, where you can see these ideas in action. I have 450 articles published on my blog, with no intention of stopping.
The following article will take a look at the business side of writing. It is fun, and hopefully, you get the design bug as I did. Designing my covers is just as fun as writing. I never knew I had so much creativity in my blood. That’s the best thing about creating; expanding your horizons. Good Luck!
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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