AliI want to help you start writing for fun again. Do any other bloggers out there feel confined and stressed – trying to placate the Google algorithms? Are you setting key word phrases even before the words start flowing? Or are you paralyzed by perfectionism? This is not what writing was meant to be! So ditch monetization and rekindle the joy of writing.
What to do? You don’t have time to settle in and simply wait for inspiration to hit you. Writing for fun? What’s the angle? I mean, aren’t you already busy enough? This guy is. Look, he plays Blue baseball, Red baseball, he just graduated from something, he’s running for political office (or works at a fast food chain?), he’s going out for dinner in his top hat — but at heart he’s a simple cowboy in an ugly green hat.
Not if you’re writing for fun. Because then, this is both relaxing and rewarding. It’s part of your down time.
What follows is my short list — to help you find your way back to the fondness of putting pen to paper — a fondness you had a long time ago.
START WRITING FOR FUN — PICK YOUR TITLE LAST
This is crazy if you’re looking to optimize your online traffic, right? I mean, aren’t you supposed to use Jaaxy to find the most popular untapped searches? Work everything around that holy keyword?
Nope.
Now, I’m not talking about making your bank account light up. If you want that, this post is not for you. If you’ve found the flow, and your content and the dollars are piling up, good for you. I just hope you don’t sacrifice creative genius somewhere along the way.
If you want to start writing for fun, you’ve got to be inspired! Write what’s in your heart. What do you really want to say? Then, kick back and re-read it. Craft a title that’s based on your content and try to make it short and sweet. Capture the essence of what you’ve said.
That’s it!
WRITING FOR FUN — BE SPONTANEOUS
Most likely, if you’ve got responsibilities, you can’t crack open your laptop just anywhere and start typing the instant inspiration strikes. But, what you can do is text yourself.
When an idea hits you, don’t waste it. Shoot yourself a quick message which will trigger your memory once you do have time to write. For example, right now I’ve got several texts waiting – from me – a few words that capture fleeting thoughts for future composition. Because, nothing’s worse than when you finally have time to write for fun, and find you have nothing to say.
STOP TRYING TO SELL STUFF
If you do want to link to an Amazon page, let it be organic. This is what I mean by stop “trying”.
What if something fun pops into your head whilst the keyboard is smoking? By all means link it. Offer the sale. But don’t push it. Settle into the joy of self-expression.
Writing for Fun — Personal Experience
On a side note, my personal experience with online money-making has been anything but lucrative. Maybe I’ve just been doing it wrong, but I’ve never made a commission on anything! Is that because I have bad taste, and other people don’t connect with the stuff I endorse?
Ha! I don’t think so, but I have chosen to write for a very saturated market – Christian wellness and mindfulness. Why did I pick this? Because it’s what I care about. It lights my fire. Rather than researching the most sought-after, least content-saturated subject to blog on, I chose to write from my heart. That’s nourishes my soul, and I’ve received positive feedback from around the world. I’ve helped people. That’s good enough for me. 😊
DO IT FOR A HIGHER PURPOSE
If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you know worldly stuff doesn’t matter in the long run. Even if you don’t know Jesus, you may have already come to the same conclusion. So, making money shouldn’t be your goal.
Write stuff with eternal value – stuff that helps and inspires people. Just like Colossians 3:23 says:
Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” (CSB)
Don’t quit your day job either, unless you can afford to.
But, don’t be afraid to just get out there and trust God. Ask Him to go before you and lead you – whether it’s jobs to fund your writing passion, or people to step into your life and change it forever. Wait on the Lord, and be ready to move when the timing’s right.
This isn’t a science – it’s faith. If you make a mistake, you can always backtrack. God is so gracious. He loves you. He gets it. Jesus walked these dusty roads of earth too.
FINDING BEAUTY IN THE PERFECT WORD
Did you go to school for a degree in English? I did, and I’ll tell you, there was no Grammarly back then. 🙁 Do NOT get me started on that!
We students of the 1990’s had to learn to construct a sentence, how to work out the grammar. Noun, verb, subject, predicate. We had to know this stuff.
You can’t really get an old English major to stop playing with words. Nor should you! We love words! There’s almost nothing more intellectually satisfying for an English major than finding the absolutely perfect word – to describe a feeling, a texture, a personality, anything. English students are communicators. We long to describe things with the purest accuracy.
Writing for Fun — When Word Nerds Get Together
My husband is also a word nerd. When we both strive to find that subtle, nuanced word that describes what we’re feeling or thinking. You know, there’s nothing quite like it! It’s like: “Wow, I get you! I get what you’re saying! Yes!”
And yet, for the sake of my mental health, I (and you) must guard against obsessive perfectionism.
WRITING FOR FUN — TIME TO KISS PERFECTIONISM GOODBYE
Don’t let your love of words, your quest to turn the perfect phrase, unravel into the agony and paralysis of perfectionism. Let it die.
You’ve got to let acute perfectionism go, because it’s Creativity’s killer. And this is a slow smothering death. In my case, there are physical manifestations, which often trigger obsessive thoughts.
You know yourself. You know when it’s time to step away. Either let the page rest until tomorrow, or just publish it on your blog and be done with it.
FIND SOMEONE TO HELP YOU BEAT BACK PERFECTIONISM
The trick is to truly walk away at the right time. Find someone to help you help yourself. I often need my husband Luke to remind me, gently. He can tell when I’m not writing for fun. And though he pesters me, I love him for it. I won’t ever give in to his first reminder but it will put the thought in my head – to begin to loosen my iron mental grip. To remember to breathe.
I tell him “just half an hour more”. He returns then. I tell him – “almost done – just another half hour”. And finally, I’ll be done (even if my brain isn’t).
If I don’t heed these warnings, which I know all to well, my brain won’t stop processing for hours after an episode of “obsessive writing” (that’s my term for when playfulness degenerates into hyperfocus, and I need medication to help me sleep at night).
Did you miss some grammar?
Too much using the passive voice? 😉 That’s me!
Can’t find that subtle word?
Let it go.
WHY AM I PERFECTIONIST?
Quality Work
If you love quality work, high-five. This is admirable! Too many people nowadays lack pride in their work. Mediocrity isn’t your vibe. You take pride in a job well done.
But there’s that place where it’s finished. It needs to be. It’s good enough. And if you keep pushing when you know it’s unhealthy, maybe it’s time to explore where this negative quality-seeking comes from.
Pride
Is it pride? And I don’t mean that contented feeling you get from doing your best. I mean the pride where you need to feel better than others. It’s part of your identity. In this case it’s “word snobbery”, I guess.
Not a very big deal, right? Wrong. Pride of any sort casts death’s shadow – no matter how small it may seem. Take my word for it. Pride kills. It harms you and it harms those around you. I’m not going to deep dive into this, but check out this article on Humility. I pray there’s some illumination to be found.
Spiritually and beyond, pride destroys more than any other vice. It is the forerunner to hate and the enemy of love.
Identity Crisis
Or, maybe you feel like you aren’t enough?
Do you feel you’ve got to prove something – prove your worth?
Oh, precious child of God. Your worth is so much beyond what you can produce. Please know this.
You are loved by the most incredible, infinite, powerful, Source of Absolute Love. And you can’t do anything to earn this love. It’s mind-blowing. God’s love.
Click here to learn more about what God has revealed through His Word, His Creation, and one of His humans (me). 😊
WRITE WITHOUT EDITING — SAVE IT FOR LATER
Jump in. Whether that means pen to paper or fingers to keys, start it flowing. Type nonsense, for heaven’s sake. Just get it started. Ramble, muse, joke. Be playful. This isn’t for a grade. It’s for the life found in the space between the words – the connection found between the letters.
It’s for finding your voice.
Let the joy flow. Or catharsis. Pain often starts its journey to healing through words on a page. Words just for you. And perhaps, in time, words for others. But let there be words.
And when you’ve said what you need to say, and your hands start cramping up, take a break. Leave a space.
Pause and breathe. Because space is where you rest. And rest is often where creativity begins.
Let go. It is enough.
_________
Do you love writing? Or did you, once upon a time? Pick up that pen or crack that laptop and enter in. If you’re overcome by writer’s block, or nitpicking has choked writing for fun, I’d love to help you out. Perhaps I can offer some encouragement. Send me a message below! Or, share details of your personal victory over perfectionism. — Ali 🙂