I was told when I started that you just had to be disciplined and do it regularly until it’s as necessary for you as brushing your teeth.
I was also told the really good writing/insight happens after you’ve written the surface stuff away. Like you gotta write everything that comes to mind, throw that away, and then everything after that, which is usually much more difficult, is actually good journaling.
Apr 27, 2024
Related Recs
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setting a timer for ~20 minutes and just writing without stopping until the timer goes off is *really* good - because at the end of it you have a draft you can revise, which i think is easier and feels a lot more like making progress than emotionally preparing to write something you might not like.
dan harmon has this quote that i think was really helpful to getting me to see the value of just getting the reps in (without all the self-loathing):
*“My best advice about writer’s block is: the reason you’re having a hard time writing is because of a conflict between the GOAL of writing well and the FEAR of writing badly. By default, our instinct is to conquer the fear, but our feelings are much, much, less within our control than the goals we set, and since it’s the conflict BETWEEN the two forces blocking you, if you simply change your goal from “writing well” to “writing badly,” you will be a veritable fucking fountain of material…Prove it. It will go faster. And then, after you write something incredibly shitty in about six hours, it’s no problem making it better in passes, because in addition to being absolutely untalented, you are also a mean, petty CRITIC. You know how you suck and you know how everything sucks and when you see something that sucks, you know exactly how to fix it.”*
Mar 22, 2024
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If I want to just write SOMETHING I'll do some automatic writing. I often get random phrases stuck in my head so I usually start off with one of these and then just... keep going. It doesn't have to make sense it just needs to exist and get you moving. If you get stuck start describing the room, the weather, what you're wearing, what you ate today, etc. being really descriptive with language is always a good exercise.
Tips:
- Don't go into it expecting to write anything good. Maybe you will, maybe you won't, the point is just to write something.
- Don't read it back straight away. Just write and leave it. Come back to it next time you open your journal and see if you can find anything good in there. You might find a good turn of phrase or word you've not used in a while
- Automatic writing is a great way to make use of those words or phrases that you overhear or that get stuck in your head. You might find yourself making sense of them or putting them next to another idea that makes both stronger.
Apr 22, 2024
Writing… Ideas…
One minute it flows out of you wildly - forcefully vomited thoughts that can’t be contained so they must be spilled. Ink to paper, notes app paragraphs.
Other times it can feel like beating your head against a wall repeatedly and still never breaking through to the other side - blood trickling down your forehead and all.
I truly don’t think there is any solution for this. Whatever your creative pursuit, the process will always feel painstaking until miraculously one day it doesn’t.
Unfortunately you don't get to choose when inspiration hits you like an tonne of bricks and before you know it the feeling is long gone.
Sometimes I like to write all my thoughts down in a stream of consciousness. It doesn't have to make any sense, and it usually doesn’t.
If you’re lucky you may find something in that chain of unfiltered thoughts that makes a lot of sense when recontextualized.
Be messy, because you’re never going to be perfect. It doesn’t always work out, but what else are you going to do about it?
Just write.
May 16, 2025
Top Recs from @oldmanname
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Sometimes you can just exist. you don’t (hopefully) need 50 hustles. You don’t need to be a writer and musician and artist and podcaster and influencer and girlboss or whatever. you don’t even need to signal how cool or smart or attractive you are. I know it’s hard cause I think our society incentives (forces?) people to be “on” all the time, but it’s probably better for your own sake to just exist for yourself and your love ones and to adjust your expectations of what a successful or meaningful life is.
Sorry for being pedantic, just know a lot of friends and family my age or younger that seem to be struggling right now in all sorts of ways. Just know, regardless of what anyone says or even what you say or do, that you guys have inherent dignity and you are worth something
Oct 9, 2024
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Eat yogurt, kimchi/sauerkraut, miso, kefir, kombucha, pickles, certain soft cheeses cause they’re good for you
I never had a problem shitting I just like funky foods and pretending my gut is a nightclub where all the bacteria are dancing and having a good time like it’s osmosis jones or something
Feb 12, 2024
Feb 13, 2024