3 life lessons I learned writing my ass off for 12 months

Lesson 1

It’s all about doing the work. Even when we don’t want to. Even when we feel like we don’t have the motivation, the inspiration or the dedication. Just put in the work. Sit down and write. Write, write, write. Most of it is going to be shit. As in absolute, and utter dog shit. But if you keep writing for long enough, if you keep producing, then you might eventually stumble upon something which is not complete and utter dog shit. You might stumble upon something that actually is worth reading — something that is valuable, not just to you, but to other people.

A not so well-kept secret to writing is that most of the work is spent re-writing a shitty first draft, until it turns into something readable. There’s a metaphor for life in there somewhere — if we want to deliver work that is worth anything, we are going to have to go through numerous iterations, reflections and re-writings. Whether you’re building apps, writing novels, music or any kind of work that is to be presented to the world.

A better kept secret is that you have to be ruthless in your editing.

If your writing is not waterproof, airtight, crisp, clean and well thought through, get rid of it. If a sentence doesn’t provide any value to what you’re saying, get rid of it. Unless the sentence has a specific place and reason to be in your work, get rid of it.

Lesson 2

Always work from the assumption that no one wants to read your writing — we need harsh truths, and we need to know that the world is not populated by our moms. If we write shitty poetry and present it to the world, people are going to call us out on it. They are going to tell us we suck. They are going to give us one star reviews and tell us our book was a waste of their time, and that they want their money back.

The catch is that in order to become better at what we do, we have to present it to the world. We need to hear this, if we are ever going to improve.

So put on your big-boy pants, let go of your fear and present it to whoever’s willing to listen.

Last leason

The final thing is this: writing improves your thinking — if your thinking is unclear and cluttered then so is your writing. If your mind is crisp, clear and coherent, then your writing will be too. That’s why writing is such a valuable skill no matter who you are. If we can present our ideas in a structured and coherent manner, then there is all the more chance, that our arguments are going to make sense, and that people are going to want to listen to what we have to say.