Mustering the Courage to Write

The discipline of daily writing is not unlike any other routine. It must come first, it must contain some element of inspiration, , it needs to be somewhat timely, or, at least, humorous, informative, inspirational or contain something which pulls the readers’ eyes

Finding topic and title or headline which will grab attention is essentially creating the hook to catch readers. Once the reader has been attracted, the first paragraph needs to lure them further and the second hold them until they have finished the piece. If, while you are writing, the topic and content don’t hold you, it won’t hold others.

Content has to come from somewhere. Research is a good start on topics you find worth exploring. It may come from something you have casually read, a comment from a recent conversation, a flash of inspiration, an idea that has been incubating for a long time. Writing gives the occasion for germination, completion, maturation of the idea into a fruitful document that may stir the imagination of others.

Writing can be both therapeutic and healing. It allows for private venting of thoughts which might otherwise never enjoy expression. Lacking a therapist, the keyboard may serve as your outlet for divulging long held ideas, concerns, pains, joys and creative energies you never knew you had.

So, once you have found your topic, and you feel comfortable sharing that topic which others will choose to read and discover something about the author, it is time to put the idea to words, to add sentences and paragraphs in outline or prose or poetry, or whatever your chosen art. It is time to test how good you are at “talking to yourself” and allowing yourself to talk back.