Chris Banks’ Post

On Misperceptions of Writer’s Block Authors often blame writer’s block when they have trouble getting their ideas down on paper (or on the computer screen). They convalesce, hoping to regain their ability to write after some time, only to find that they are no better off. Every writer occasionally has trouble writing. Rather than attribute such difficulty to something beyond your control, consider that you are simply unprepared to write. Authors always wear two hats—one is content editor and the other is writer. Trying to wear both hats simultaneously is impossible for most authors. In essence, when you wear both hats, you are trying to determine what you are writing about (i.e., the content) at the same time you are deciding how to write it (i.e., the grammar). I recommend playing the role of content editor first, and when you are confident with the content, take that hat off and put the writer hat on. You will find it necessary to switch hats occasionally, but wear only one at a time. Your writing will become much smoother, and you will find it less taxing and more enjoyable to write.

Many people want to become better writers. But most people never do the work required to get there. Here are 4 things you can do today to become a better writer: 1. Show Up Some writers have a goal: Write X words daily, which works for them. I don’t do that. I create space to write. I show up every morning and let randomness and my subconscious interact. For me, writing is not words per day but an hour or two a day of adventure. 2. Be Yourself This sounds easy, but it is anything but. Bringing a little bit of “me” into the writing about what otherwise could have been a boring subject makes it more digestible, relatable, and personal. 3. Tell Stories Storytelling is a less efficient way of writing, at least from the word-count-per-message perspective. But it is usually the most effective. Stories add flavor to the message and make it memorable. 4. Be Multidimensional Steve Jobs pointed out that when we look at what we have created, we can connect the dots only by looking back. We need to keep exposing ourselves to disciplines and experiences that lie far outside our main activity. If you liked this thread consider retweeting and sharing it with friends. Each week I write an email on investing, life, philosophy, and more. Join 88,000+ subscribers👇 https://lnkd.in/eUSdWAw4

So, September is ‘Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month’. Why? Because writing isn’t just tossing words on a page. It’s the craft behind your morning news, that reel you can’t stop replaying, and the book you can’t put down. If you know a writer or editor, here’s how you can show some love: 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁: 1. Tell us everything – how your idea was born, the tough nights, your first win. It helps us tell your real story. 2. Be honest about what you don’t like. We’ll work with you to get it right. 3. Pay what we’re worth. If “anyone can write,” you wouldn’t have hired us. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱: 1. Read our work once in a while. Tell us what you loved. 2. “Quick edit my Instagram caption?” Quick isn’t in our DNA. 3. “Why are you always busy?” Writing’s a full-time gig, just like yours. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿: 1. “Working late again?” The muse strikes when it wants. 2. We’re not zoning out, just brainstorming. Promise. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: 1. Yes, this is a real job. No backup plan needed. 2. Book one day? Maybe, but right now, we’ve got deadlines. Writers: quietly saving the day, one word at a time! Happy September, writers and editors on my feed 😎

We're all so inundated with content these days (of all kinds) that it's been hard for me to justify writing more of it without someone first asking me to. That's what always drew me to the idea of writing for a company, especially one whose mission is to do good in the world. Yet that idea overlooks the value of art. Art by its very definition does not serve a purpose other than to be. Sometimes it carries a message, but art's main purpose is to be enjoyed. Like most writers I know, I shy away from using such a lofty term to describe my own work, but I think there's something to be said for that approach as a practice. I'm not forcing anyone to read my words or contributing to the overabundance of content consumption simply by writing. I do it for its own sake. I'd love to hear from other writers (and readers) in my network. How are you approaching the flood of content in our feeds these days? (picture for the algorithm - slightly undermining my point)

Every content writer has their own pace and research time, but I've found that taking at least two days to complete an article can be highly beneficial. In the past, I wrote an article in one day and proofread it the same day but didn’t submit it. The next day, I revisited the article, made several genuine improvements, and added value-adding content. Why is taking a day gap for proofreading and editing so effective? 🪶 You approach it with a fresh mind. 🪶 You distance yourself from the topic for a while. 🪶 You create space for new ideas to enter. 🪶 You can read it as a reader, not as the writer, making a significant difference. In my opinion, taking a minimum of two days to complete an article allows for the necessary time between writing, reading, and evaluating. How much time do you generally take to write an article? 🤔

Sometimes your writing has to play in the background. It has to be the hidden hand to drive other content successfully. Video is an untapped resource for the intentional writer. "Define intentional." Well, these are your legendary aspiring writers who believe success is still measured through rejection letters higher than the Predator’s kill count. “Real writers starve until their genius is recognized.” —Sincerely the Romanticized Writer. But it's a new day. The idea of a "starving artist" should be non-existent in 2024. You may not hear the phrasing, but the behavior is still very much present. You don't have to hide drafts and manuscripts anymore inside that mysterious desk drawer. Good writing isn't rated by academic snobbery or an esteemed, shadow community of writers. Nor does it have to wait on traditional publications to accept your work. Writing is merely measured by data and when you practice in public, that's when you receive the correct data to tell you who your readers are and what you should be writing. I write videos. When I write a video, film it, and publish it, I get all the data I need to know as to how well my writing is performing from pacing to performance. Stop depending solely on one channel for your writing to reach people. Sometimes your readers have to be viewers and listeners. Learn how to entertain your readers when they watch your words below. 👇 ⬇️ 👇

Should writers share their writing samples? Aha! The big elephant in the room. I will be addressing both writers and clients in this post. First, it’s important for clients to know and understand that sample sharing is not necessarily the best way to gauge a writer’s creative prowess. As a writer who has observed various departments of the industry for over a decade, writers can easily grab a sample from other experienced writers and present it as their own. Clients are also fond of making quick judgments based on whatever superficial materials they receive from writers. How, then, should clients and writers approach this? For writers: Please be authentic. You do not have to claim proficiency where your professionalism is lacking. This is how you should package yourself as an authentic writer: † Chat and talk like a professional. † Show the client that you know more than they do because this is your domain. † Never overpromise. † If you’re operating as an individual, have a public portfolio/website. † Share verifiable success stories. And finally, for clients: † First, reach a mental conclusion that you’re ready to commit to your project. † Take it easy on chatting with 20 writers at once just because you want to get the cheapest deal. You’ll sabotage quality by falling for whomever can fool you best on samples—that could be fake—and cheap pricing. † Work with writers who are patient and can guide you through. † If you can’t learn from the writer, you’re probably better off writing your own project. † Work with writers with industry insights. † A paid test works better than requesting free samples. Some writers don’t feel comfortable sharing samples because the supposed “client” might just be another fellow incompetent writer in disguise trying to dubiously snatch quality samples from them. Just because a writer isn’t sharing samples is not enough reason to dismiss their worth. Clients, please take notes.

Writers have a great deal to worry about their future. On one hand, we have Chat-GPT-generated copies that look compelling to untrained eyes. On the other, we have our restless monkey minds that can't read and absorb ideas imparted through writing. They can only skim through content. And the disheartening fact is many writers have given up on themselves. The widespread acceptance of "TL; DR" ( too long; didn't need) has made the conversational style of writing the new norm in the industry, depriving the artistic ferment indispensable for the narrator's voice. Everyone sounds like everyone else. Nobody dares to go into uncharted territory, unprepared. Nobody speaks about true craftsmanship either. They never attempt to spill their personalities into writing. They swept aside the dreams that had kept them awake while reading the masters. But.. Your writing still yearns for you to embody your personality. Your words want you to free them from cliches. And the writer within you longs to honour your unique voice by crafting something that takes you to new corridors of creativity. You can stay there if you sharpen your nib. Or else just like a puff of wind that disappears into the void, you can let your nib and mind rust away. The choice is all yours!

I built a $10M online business by writing words on a screen...but the process behind it is shockingly simple. I think of my writing in three stages: 1. Ideation 2. Writing 3. Editing All three stages are equally important, and one can't exist without the other. Here's what I mean: Amateur writers will try to do everything at once –– sit down at their desk, have the good ideas, write, and edit all at the same time. But, for me, these things must happen in separate stages, because I see them as separate processes that use different parts of the brain. 1) Ideas - come to me in the shower, when I'm walking, and in conversation. I note them down on my phone as soon as I can so I don’t forget them. 2) Writing - is the process of hammering out words (often long and tedious), whatever the weather, whatever your mood, and however many negronis you had the night before. 3) Editing - is where the art is created. All the best writers know that great writing comes from redrafting their work multiple times. Can you see why these are different processes? And how you need a different part of the brain for each? That's why they are best done separately. So act accordingly.

If you’re a writer, you’re acquainted with getting stuck. We’ve all experienced moments when our flow ceases and we find ourselves on dry land. Sometimes, all that’s needed is a nudge, a small tap that cracks the dam of creative ideas. A fissure that lets through a trickle of thoughts that form an eventual fjord of fantastic fictions. Sometimes, these small assists arrive in the form of writing prompts. And sometimes, these prompts must tip the scale of creativity towards the absurd for the floodgates to truly open. Absurd writing prompts are the perfectly rational way writers can challenge themselves to think outside the box. A permission slip encouraging them to explore new ideas and employ storytelling they may not have considered before. Let’s imagine a story where the protagonist’s best friend is a sentient cloud that only rains on Wednesdays. Absurd, right? Well, this seemingly nonsensical prompt opens a world of possibilities. For instance, how would the protagonist's life be affected by their unusual friendship? How would they navigate the pitfalls and pleasures of having a cloud as a companion? The prompt’s ridiculousness forces writers to think creatively and envision worlds and characters that are utterly unique and completely original. Absurd writing prompts can also break down creative barriers, encouraging writers to abandon their preconceived notions of what a story should be and embrace the bizarre and unconventional. By inspiring writers to think in unexpected ways, absurd prompts have the potential to yield surprising, imaginative, and truly unforgettable stories. So, the next time you're looking for a creative challenge, consider an absurd writing prompt. It doesn’t have to be a story about a sentient cloud. Maybe it’s a tale of a talking toaster longing to be a chef. Embrace the absurd and see where it takes you. The only limit is your imagination