A friend of mine recently shared that he is beginning to write his first article on Substack. He asked me how to begin. The following article is my advice. However, first, I’m going to provide some context:
As someone with dyslexia, my relationship with words is characterized by ambivalence. Because reading requires my conscious and deliberate effort, I have a particular perspective on language and the art of writing. Wrestling with words has taught me never to take them for granted and always to handle them with care. My challenges with reading and writing has also served as a reminder to honor the profound way we, as human beings, use words to build bridges between one another and, regrettably, at times tear them down. All in all, I am grateful to say that writing has become a labor of love, the fruits of which can be found here in my Substack: Immediacy Forum.
I typically begin my articles with inspiration drawn from recent readings or personal experiences. I gauge this inspiration by the degree to which the words flood my mind and the accompanying emotions stir my heart. When both mind and heart are fully engaged, I usually find that it's time to translate these thoughts and feelings onto the page. For me writing serves a dual purpose —it's therapeutic, offering a channel for expression, and it's a tool for understanding my own thought process. In this way, writing helps me think properly, a skill I believe will be increasingly necessary for living through the times we are in.
As I put my thoughts down into words, I attempt to shape the article around a particular theme, one that I hope will have value not only for me but for my readers as well. When I reach a point in which I no longer feel creative, I step away from my work and do something else. Running usually helps with this because as I disengage with the words I have written, what remains is usually the essence of what I am attempting to convey.
When I come back to my article, I examine each sentence - does the content, context, structure, and tone convey what I have in mind? Do I actually mean what I say? Do I say what I mean? Do I care what is written? What needs to change or be cut out completely in order for the article to be worth posting? These questions are very important. Good writing has integrity. Most readers detect when we, writers, are bullshitting ourselves, not to mention, them. So being honest, clear, and succinct is useful and helps us gain and retain our readers’ trust. Again, this is important because trust building is becoming ever more crucial as the spreading of disinformation becomes more prevalent. More on this in my next article.
For now I’ll conclude with this: good writing often reveals universal truths. This is one of the reasons why I believe platforms, like Substack, are so popular. Writing, especially good writing, makes wisdom more common and wisdom is what we many of us yearn for lately. Personally, I experience the spirit of writing as a process that moves through me rather than one that is of me. In this way, my experience underscores the importance of having an effective and reliable way to engage with it. What is it like for you?
I hope that my insights on how to navigate the writing process have been helpful. Mine is one approach among many. May you discover your own unique approach too.
Love this. Beautifully written. Thankyou. Also envying your relationship to inspiration and flow! What give described mirrors my experience however I find that at current my subtle awareness of inspiration is not that well developed. It's either there or it's not and I'm not sure how to create it when it's not there, and so to ensure that I don't hamstring myself on the ideal of only writing when the inspiration is there, I find myself showing up to the page as a practice whether I'm inspired that day or not. The outcome is a mixed bag. Sometimes it unlocks good work. Other times I read back what I was writing when uninspired and rewrite it completely because it was far off the mark.
Definitely noticing that a deeper more intimate relationship with inspiration could be the key to unlocking more of it and moving closer with it, like you describe in this article.