Writing Tips

You’re under a deadline to write a 750-word blog in a couple of hours. What do you do? If you’re anything like me when I’m under pressure, you start writing a sentence, then correct a word in that sentence, write a second sentence, correct a word in the second sentence, delete the first sentence, then delete the second sentence—and you’re back at ground zero with no sentences and just 90 minutes left on the clock to finish the blog.

“What in the world am I even talking about?” you think to yourself. “And who’s going to read this anyway?”

This is what I call writing from your head, not your heart. And it’s easy for me to get stuck writing from my own head because I think I must get my writing RIGHT. After all, I’ve got a Ph.D. in English, and I’m a well-published author, writing coach, and editor. I have to prove I can write—right?  When I’m in my head like this, I’m thinking, “Pay attention to every word, every sentence, every paragraph, every mark of punctuation, every typo and misspelling.” After all, my writing and my thinking must be perfect! But perfecting every jot and tittle, especially in the beginning stages of writing a blog, an article, or chapter of a book will drive me (and you) crazy! It will also keep you (and me) from writing, finishing, and feeling confident about almost anything significant.

So here are three strategies I use to get out of my head and write from my heart.

1. Free write first. Edit later.

Like other human beings, I deal with a negative voice inside my head that’s constantly criticizing me: Why can’t I write faster? I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m not good enough. I’m boring. What I’m writing is boring. This is too hard. I don’t have what it takes. 

My inner critic will go on and on like this, especially when I first start writing something important to me. That’s why the first strategy for great writing begins with what writing experts call “invention” or “automatic” writing. You might call it “brainstorming,” “content dumping,” or “free writing.” But regardless of what you call it, this early writing is meant to generate ideas and enable you to discover what you have to say. If you don’t give yourself the time to write freely without starting and stopping to critique what you’re saying, you’ll never get out of your head and into your heart. And, by the way, you won’t save time by trying to write and edit at the same time. So set an alarm for at least 15 to 30 minutes and write with abandon.

Sometimes writing by hand  in a notebook—rather than typing on a computer—promotes more freedom to create without censoring yourself. Typing makes it too easy to start correcting words and sentences too soon in the process. Handwriting can slow down your brain, signal that this is only a draft, and lead to what psychologists call more “emotion-focused” writing.  So try curling up on a comfy couch and using pen and paper to write from your heart.

2. Write with a specific person in mind.

A second strategy for making writing  from the heart easier is to think about a specific person you’re writing for. “If Chantel were sitting beside me, struggling to get out of her head, what would I tell her about how to write from her heart?” The minute I tap into who Chantel is and what I know she needs, I begin looking for answers from my own heart, not just my head, which is also the type of coaching I’d offer her if we were working together face-to-face. In other words, writing to a specific person encourages me to start caring about Chantel and stop protecting my own ego about my writing.

3. Tell a story that makes you feel something yourself.

Knowing I had to meet my deadline for writing this blog, I woke up early on the day of the deadline with low-grade anxiety. “You can do it in two hours,” I told myself. “Just stick to your morning routine. Breathe. Stay present. Stop worrying.” After taking my two dogs for a walk, I plucked a small orange off my tree, peeled it, cut the orange in pieces, and mixed them with banana slices—my favorite fruit salad. After eating breakfast, I walked into my office and turned on my computer. “What am I going to write about?” I thought. “I have no idea. Why did I ever say I’d do this?” (Can you hear me getting stuck in my head right away?) 

Sifting through a list of blog topics my marketing company had suggested for me a year ago, one topic caught my attention: “How to Get Out of Your Head and Write from Your Heart.” Perfect. “Now,” I asked myself, “How do I write from my heart?” The answer came almost immediately: whenever I’m writing something that comes from my heart—and not just my head—at some moment during my writing process, I start crying, laughing, or getting excited about what I’ve written. In other words, I, myself, experience an emotion—a feeling from my heart—that moves, touches, and inspires me to share my ideas. 

You, too, will know you’ve gotten out of your head and written from your heart when you feel inspired by your own writing, know it will move your readers like it has moved you, and feel confident that what you’ve written will empower others to take new actions. 

Most entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches, and leaders will say they want to write a book to benefit their readers—and rightly so. But I’m here to tell you that it’s A-Okay for you to write a book for yourself first.

Why? Because when you invest your time, money, and whole heart into writing a quality book, your writing will require you to develop and clarify your expertise and experience in one coherent place—which will ultimately benefit your reader. You start, however, by putting your own oxygen mask on first. 

Here are three great reasons to write a book for YOU.

1. You’ll find out who you really are as an expert, as well as be clear about your message.

A book will require you to organize, focus, and develop your ideas and your message until they’re tightly focused—not just for your audience or prospects, but for yourself. When done well, the process of writing and publishing a book is about discovering, creating, and elevating who you are as an authority in your industry—and in life. Not just anyone gets a book written and published, which is why people are impressed when someone actually publishes her book.

2. You’ll differentiate yourself from other experts in your field. 

When Lindsey Schwartz published her bestselling book, The Powerhouse Woman, she had already been doing well for herself in the health and wellness industry. Although she didn’t consider herself a writer at the time, publishing a book made Lindsey stand out in the crowd beyond even what she, herself, had anticipated. For example, Fitposium honored Lindsey as their 2017 Fitpreneur of the year. Then Lululemon invited Lindsey to become an Ambassador for their major fitness brand. By continuing to leverage her book, Lindsey has distinguished herself by holding her third annual Powerhouse Women event, as well as by launching the Powerhouse Woman podcast in 2019—none of which would have happened had she not started writing down her ideas in a book.

3. Your self-confidence will grow exponentially. 

Most of us battle “Imposter Syndrome.” Sometimes we don’t think we have enough credentials, experience, or intelligence to claim ourselves as an authority. Once you publish a solid book, your insecurity will take a back seat to your confidence. A published book that you’re proud of will demonstrate to you—and your readers—that you ARE an expert who is ready and capable of changing the world for good.

Book writing is a creative, self-reflexive process with multiple dividends. To produce a quality product, you’ll need to free write, revise, get plenty of feedback, revise some more, refine your ideas, and hire professional assistance to support you as you solidify the message you want to share out loud to make a difference for others. 

But the first person you need to make a difference for is yourself. By writing a book and getting to know who YOU are and what you truly have to offer, you’re putting your own oxygen mask on first. After that, you can put an oxygen mask on your readers. 

Dr. Laura Bush is the Founder and CEO of Peacock Proud Press, a nonfiction book writing, editing, and publishing business. She works with corporate and community leaders, successful entrepreneurs, and sought-after speakers who want to share their expertise in the form of a book. She also works with individuals who have a passionate commitment for writing a memoir with a message.

I used to think (naively) that if someone was a talented painter, she could sit down at an easel, pick up a brush, and paint an impressive picture with relative ease. In other words, I believed that an artist’s talent somehow determined whether the creative process took much effort or not. 

In contrast, as a writer, I thought (arrogantly) that the writing process was more complex and more difficult than painting. Then a talented artist I know told me she often got “stuck” when she painted. “What?” I thought. “Aren’t writers the only ones who get ‘blocked’?” Apparently not!

The more I learned about the similarities between a painter’s creative process and an author’s writing process, the more I saw valuable parallels that could help first-time authors write and finish their books. These similarities became especially apparent when I saw artist Jana Galvan’s four successive versions of her painting, “Rose Abstracted.” 

After reading Jana’s descriptions of each version of her painting, I noticed key similarities between the four CORE principles of the recursive writing process that I teach first-time authors: Content Dump, Organize, Revise, Edit. To illustrate the similarities between a painter’s process and a writer’s process, Jana graciously agreed to share her painting for this blog, as well as how she arrived at “Rose Abstracted.” 

Above each version of the painting, I’ve included Jana’s explanation of the step in her creative process. Below each version of her painting, I’ve included a description of the corresponding stage of the writing process and how Jana’s painting visualizes that stage of writing. 

Artist’s Step 1:

Paint an abstract background by laying down a few colors at a time.

Writer’s Stage 1: Content Dump.

Similar to Jana’s process for beginning this painting, I tell writers to content dump, free write, and brainstorm. At this first stage of the writing process, just get words on the page. Don’t censor yourself or stop the flow of your ideas. In the beginning, writers’ words, sentences, and ideas are still messy. That’s okay. As Octavia Butler explains, “You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.”

Artist’s Step 2:

Look for a face and/or a figure within the background and sketch it out in charcoal. Stand back away from the painting and check the composition.

Writer’s Stage 2: Organize.

Just as Jana starts to “look for a face or figure” in the abstract background that she’s painted, at this stage of the writing process, writers begin looking for how to organize their messy ideas into an outline or “map” that captures how the content might be presented for a reader, and in what order—even though that order could change with revisions. In other words, the focus and structure of a book is emerging, but the writing is not fully fleshed out.

Artist’s Step 3:

Paint from your imagination. Try out different colors. Add elements to the image and make those images more distinct and more fully realized. Take the time to observe what’s really there and which parts of the composition need more attention or not.

Writer’s Stage 3: Revise.

At this stage of the writing process, you’re developing ideas, fleshing them out, making them more real and more persuasive by adding examples, illustrations, stories, evidence (more “paint”). Then keep revising and refining these initial ideas (even start some new ones), so that your writing communicates more clearly, more persuasively, and in a more engaging way for your reader. Note: this is the stage of writing that many less-experienced authors dislike because it requires more time and more creative and critical thinking than they anticipated. To write a quality book, you can’t rush revising—or try to skip over it altogether.

Artist’s Step 4:

Identify which parts are already working and which parts need more attention. Enhance and refine those parts. Look closely and finalize each detail. 

Writer’s Stage 4: Edit.

After developing and revising your ideas, fine tune and edit for clarity, grammar, punctuation, misspellings, and typos. Caution: starting to edit details of your sentences too soon in the writing process can stop the creative flow of your ideas. If you still have a lot of writing to go, and you find yourself editing for things like grammar, spelling, or punctuation, stop yourself and go back to content dumping, organizing, and revising.

After finishing a painting, the final step for an artist is to courageously show her work in public. Similarly, the final stage of writing for an author is to boldly publish her book. Without having an art show or without publishing a piece of writing, your talent, your voice, and your contribution to the world will never been seen or heard. So be courageous. Be bold. Just finish your book!

Jana Galvan has over twenty years of experience working as a graphic designer and artist specializing in portrait painting.