I’d like to take back something I wrote. I once wrote that in order to come up with enough post ideas to publish on a daily basis, I have to think about writing all the time.
Well, that’s not really true. It’s not that I actually think about writing all the time. Instead, it’s that I have to be prepared to think about writing all the time. It’s a subtle distinction, but it can lead to significantly different results.
There’s a big difference between sitting down to write and sitting down to think about writing. When I sit down, I better not have to think about what to write. I better already have a pretty good idea about what I’m going to say. Otherwise, sitting down to think about it is one of the worst ways to come up with ideas.
That’s why it’s important to distinguish between always thinking about writing and always being prepared to think about writing.
If I have to think about it, nothing’s going to come, nothing interesting anyway. Instead, it’s about just living life, maybe trying to live it an interesting way, while staying aware enough to pick out the good ideas when they show up naturally.
It doesn’t mean I’m thinking about writing every moment of the day. It means I’m ready to capture any moment of the day in writing. Like it doesn’t mean I’m thinking about writing while chatting with friends over BBQ, but it does mean I always try to notice it enough to write about it.
