I've been thinking about all the excuses (aka things our Inner Critic says) we come up with to keep ourselves from writing. Why do we have so much resistance towards something we love?
How to Make Time to Write
A lot of students struggle with making time to write regularly, especially if it means saying no to other people. Kids, partners, friends, family, pets—all these beings can make demands on our time, and many folks feel guilty or sheepishly staking out time to write if it means saying no to loved ones.
For years, I clung to some pretty painful myths about being a writer: That I had to write every day. That I had to write for hours at a stretch. That I had to wake up at 4am so I could squeeze in writing before work or school. That I had to write alone, holed up in my house. Worst of all, some deep part of me believed that if I didn’t do these things, I wasn’t a real writer—I was an imposter. That I was squandering my potential and could never hope to publish or have writing be a major, meaningful part of my life.
The Easiest Way to Make Your Writing Stronger
The easiest way to make your writing stronger, whether it’s poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction, is to add sensory details. What that means, quite simply, is to add your body. What do you smell, hear, taste, touch, and see?
The reason sensory details are so powerful is because they invite the reader into the felt experience of whatever you’re writing about. Suddenly, the reader inhabits a vibrantly alive, richly textured world. Instead of being told what to think or feel, they experience it directly. This is what we mean when we say “show don’t tell.”