Want writing tips from a bestselling author?
Daniel Pink has written six books, of which four are New York Times bestsellers.
It’s no stretch to say he knows about writing.
And he shares some of his writing strategies in the HubSpot course, Become a Better Writer With Daniel Pink.
Below, I list some of the key takeaways. But, if you’re interested in learning more, I’d recommend taking the course. It’s short enough to finish over a weekend.
Now, let’s get to the tips.
I found these useful. Hopefully, they can help you too.
1. Find the Right Writing Process
Do you have the time and space to write regularly?
If you don’t, you will struggle to write consistently.
Pink speaks about the importance of creating the right writing environment.
This doesn’t need to be a grand room with an imposing desk at the centre of it all. All you need is a comfortable place where you can write without distractions.
On top of a writing environment, you need a writing a process, too.
And these two are linked, because they all come together to form your writing routine.
The secret here is to finding your personal process, something that works for you and makes sense in your unique situation.
Consider these questions:
What time can you write? This needs to be a time slot you can defend because you have no professional and personal obligations in that moment.
Where can you write? Again, you only need space for yourself and your laptop.
For this part, Pink does his writing in the morning:
“I know from hard won experience that I should be doing my writing in the morning. I’m going to do better writing, I’m going to be more efficient about it, if I do my writing in the morning.”
Try to experiment with routines to find one that works for you. I write every day only because I have a simple writing routine, I wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, and sit to write.
2. Collect Ideas Constantly
Building a banks of content ideas is one way to keep writing regularly.
Pink had some practical advice for developing ideas.
Collection is the first step. It sounds obvious. But if you don’t have a way to collect your ideas, you will forget those gems. I learned this lesson the hard way.
Now, I write down any random idea as soon as it pops into my head.
Writers need to have the “yearning to collect and discipline to filter”, added Pink.
Here’s a summary of Pink’s idea generation tips:
- Collect all ideas as they come to you
- Revisit ideas and pinpoint the best ones
- Tease out ideas that stand the test of time
One of the best things about collecting ideas is that you’ll always have something to write about.
I know something that often held me back from writing or blogging or creating any type of content, really, is that I didn’t have ideas.
That’s no longer a problem because I have notebook filled with ideas ready to go.
Trust me on this:
Once you have a stack of ideas to choose from, you will create content with ease.
3. Get the First Draft out Fast
Raise your hand if you dread first drafts.
I’m with you, and we’re in good company.
It’s comforting to know even celebrated writers like Pink despise first drafts.
Pink’s advice on dealing with sucky first drafts?
Get the misery over as soon as possible.
“What my goal is to get something on paper that is a first draft, and that first draft is a magical, magical, magical moment because for me, at least, that means the worst part is over. At some level, the writing is just beginning, but the painful part, to me, is over.”
A good way to get past this stage is through freewriting. I’ll freewrite for ten minutes.
So, I try not to think about the words or whether or not my ideas make sense. My only goal is to everything on the page and move past the 1st draft phase.
Here’s an article about a writing process that begins with freewriting.
4. Start With a Story
Let’s be honest: there’s a lot of pressure to start strong.
This matters even more when you’re writing online. Most readers take seconds to decide whether or not your post is worth reading.
This means your introduction has a difficult job.
But Pink has an easy solution for nailing intros:
Start with a story.
“…if you look at some of the really good, say, long form journalism or some of the really good writing in non-fiction, you’ll see a disproportionate number of the ledes. The start of it is, ‘One Thursday afternoon in 1948, Joe Schmatz walked into a bar in central Illinois.’ They just start telling a story. And so if you just start narrating, I think that’s another way to get into it.”
Don’t worry, though. You don’t need to find a dramatic anecdote.
“You don’t need to do anything alarming, you don’t need to do anything with a lot of fireworks, you just need to get started in a way that draws somebody in.”
Knowing your audience is the best way to find an intro that will hook your reader from the the first word.
Of course, you’ll need to match you intro to your medium, too.
For instance, in online writing, articles that start by forming a connection with the reader perform well.
5. Engage in Writing Practice
Pink’s final tip?
“Practice. Practice. Practice. Writing is, in many ways, like a sport. If you’re not practicing all the time, if you’re not getting better you’re getting worse. The main thing to understand about writing is that writers write. They don’t think about writing. They don’t talk about writing… They write and they write and write and write and write and write and that’s how you get better.”
Looking for practical ways to work on your writing? Here are tips from writing greats.
