While many people tend to delegate writing specifically to assignments for school or work, I find it very advantageous to spend more time writing in your day-to-day life, both in terms of creative expression and increased knowledge of writing that can be later infused into my school or work-related assignments.
Whether longhand or on the computer, writing continuously tends to improve your creative abilities. Even if you don’t want to write or think you don’t have anything to say, no one has to read what you put down. You have no obligation to share your work, however minor it may be, with a single person. And that is what is so freeing about writing.
So, if you’re interested in personal writing, you might want an answer to this question first:
What do I write about?
- A simple diary entry each day is enough to slowly build your skill in writing.
- Stream of consciousness is a good way to spill your emotions onto the page without feeling a need to write anything specific. Just put down what comes to mind. No thinking or planning is necessary.
- If you have a story you’ve been thinking about and want to get it down on paper, what could it hurt to simply write some words and see where it takes you?
- Anything you want. No idea is a bad idea, whether it’s a novel or a recipe or a letter to a loved one, any writing can build a skill.
You can also find numerous articles online that discuss other things to write about if none of the above sound appealing to you. I recommend Grammarly’s 12 Things to Write About When You’re Fresh Out of Ideas
Art Evolution, being the innate ability to get better at something the more often you do it, is one of the biggest benefactors for personal writing. Even if you write simple things every day or every few days, a certain voice will come out of it that you will find plugging into your other, more professional pieces of writing. The creation of your writer’s voice helps differentiate your pieces of writing and helps them to stand out even more.
Before I started continuously writing independently, I didn’t have much of a passion for writing in general. A passion for reading came first, though the two operate very synergistically. As I continued to read and begrudgingly turned in written assignments, I started wondering if I could be any good at writing for myself. No one would ever see it or read it, there was no real pressure to make it good, and I wanted to know if I could do it if I had no restrictions the way I did with school assignments.
So I simply started to write each day on my own time and over time, my ability to write seemed to increase. I found myself infecting my school work with my own style of writing, which ultimately made the work much more interesting to do.
Now, I write every day and actively go out of my way to try and infuse my writer’s voice into whatever projects I can to continue to strengthen both areas of my writing, personal and professional. And because of that, I have received numerous compliments from those of higher authority and importance about the uniqueness of my writing style and voice.
So give it a shot, take a break from everything and jot down whatever comes to mind. You might be surprised to discover what you can create.