Just Do It: The Nike Guide to Becoming a Fluent Writer

When I first started writing—I mean seriously writing— I was a mess. I noodled with every freaking word. Okay. I'll put this word down. Ackkkk! That one's not right. (Chews the skin off the edge of her thumb.) Wait. Maybe this one. (Frowns, grabs the Roget's Thesaurus for 20 more synonyms for the word  "growth.") It was like Mrs. Brumbley, my fourth grade teacher, had come back from the grave (okay, I don't really know if she's dead, but she must be by now.) Mrs. Brumbley was short. I told Mama she was fat the afternoon of the first day of school, at which time she corrected me.  "We don't say 'fat,'" Mama said. "It's better to say 'big-boned.'" Big-boned Mrs. Brumbley would stand behind me, adjusting her glasses, clearing her throat in that gross "aug-g-g-h" sound she made. She ripped apart my summer vacation essay with bright, blood-red pencil marks. She found my penmanship to be in bad form when I turned in my first poem. Mrs. Brumbley is exactly who you do not need when you are writing your brochure, flyer, blog post, e-newsletter or website. Your customers want to know you. Call it voice.  Call it whatever you want.  Just show the authentic you. Here it is, the Nike 6-Step Guide to Writing Success:  1. Strike the word "creative" from your vocabulary. If you're like me, your stomach gets all balled up when a client says, "Just do something creative." We had Cree-A-tive Writing class in high school. And just when I think that's behind me, a business networking group I belong to—okay, it's Biznik—starts a Cree-A-tive Professionals group. That's just too much pressure. Deep down, don't we all wonder if we can live up to this creative crap? 2. Put your Mrs. Brumbley in a box. Picture your Mrs. Brumbley. Maybe it was the sixth grade teacher who marked up your reports, circling all the misspelled words. Or your big sister, who made you feel like doo-doo when you thought of a cool, but somewhat strange, idea. Now here's the weird part. In your mind, shrink her (or him) down to the size of, oh, say, a rat. Pull out that shoebox that still has the new shoes smell in it and, holding her by the collar, drop her in. Now if you're feeling a tinge of guilt, just punch a few holes in the box cover so she can breathe. If you can still hear her muffled sniveling (yes, she will still try), in your mind, deposit the shoebox outside the door. You don't want to hear from Mrs. Brumbley. 3. Accept that you don't understand the process. You're not supposed to. Stephen King calls them the "Boys in the Basement." They have all the great ideas. They desperately want to be let out, if only you'd let them. Whatever name you have for what happens when you write, just trust it. Don't try to analyze it. It's your right brain. And, no, you don't really have two brains. It's the right side of your brain. It's where the party is. Where sometimes stupid things are said but when you take a closer look, there's something interesting going on there. 4. Believe that just this one time, you can write something beautiful.  You'd be amazed at how many truly gifted writers think they are a fake—a fluke. They did something brilliant once, but they can't do it again. Bonnie Friedman, one of my favorite writers, says: Every day I must prove to myself that I am a writer. The knowledge goes away in my sleep. I go through this every time I sit down to write. It's so normal I don't even pay attention to it anymore. I simply sit down in my chair with the thought of writing just one article. Or one blog post. Or one e-tip. So if you're thinking, "That was my only good idea," well, you're wrong. You have many more. Trust me.   5. Listen and watch. This is the fun part. Well, not always. We all have those off-the-wall ideas, but the problem is, they don't stick around for long.  Take my husband Bob. All his Richtor scale thoughts come to him though the showerhead. I am now trained to hear them every morning at the breakfast table. I think I could just get a pitcher of water and dump it on him and the ideas would pop out.  Me? Not so easy. I get them early in the morning. Very early. Like between 2:00 and 3:30am. I have a notebook and pen on the nightstand. I'm thinking about getting one of those light-up pens so my partner isn't jolted awake by the blinding ceiling light. Anyone know where to get one of those? You might get blindsided when you are driving, or eating your morning cereal and banana, or watching TV. Once the Boys in the Basement are out, they don't really care where they express themselves. Be ready. Keep a tape recorder in your car or your idea notebook in the bathroom. You don't even have to do anything with them right now. Just get them down. 6. Now just do it.  Sit down and write something. 15 minutes or three pages. Every day. I know what you're thinking. But when I do, garbage comes out. Well, yes, it does. But if you keep at it, little gems will pop out, too. You'll go back and read it and think: This idea, if I changed it a little bit, just might work. I'm fond of the physical process of writing, so I need to grip a pen, a Rolling Writer that produces thick black strokes, or, better yet, a Schaefer fountain pen that oozes out in dark splats. Okay, I'm a writer, I get a little weird when I talk about pens. Just remember to keep writing the whole time. There's something about it that frees up your right brain, the Basement Boys. If you can't think of anything to write, put the words down, "I can't think of anything to say," and keep going. You'll find that, after a few days, or weeks, you will have something to say and it may even surprise you. Now, you may not use a lot of your ideas in your marketing and advertising copy (but then again you might). The point is: this little exercise, done daily, or even 2-3 times a week, has this unexplainable effect on your brain that keeps other ideas flowing—wonderful ideas from how to market yourself better to how to solve that problem your prospect has, the one that will bring you lots of new customers. I think you should try it. Just do it.  2009-02-15T22:43:47Z

2009-02-16T23:23:13Z

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just-do-it-the-nike-guide-to-becoming-a-fluent-writer

2009-02-16T23:23:09Z

If you're like me, your stomach gets all balled up when a client says, Just do something creative. Find out where creative ideas come from and how you can tap into them in your writing.

Just Do It: The Nike Guide to Becoming a Fluent Writer

2009-02-24T09:49:23Z