10 Truths that Help Me Write

When I write, I am often beset on all sides by the bees in my brain.

And so, I shall remember these 10 truths:

💛 I LOVE WRITING. Writing is thinking, creating, and I can’t not do it.

Remember why I started: to give voice to ideas that are important to me.

💛 The first draft is already perfect, just by existing — which is its sole purpose.

💛 If my phone is far away from me, it doesn’t pull at me so strongly.

💛 I do not have to follow people on social media if what they post makes me feel like shite — even if I love those people.

💛 Keep notebooks everywhere. Ev.Ry.Where. And pens.

💛 Use voice notes when I can’t write. Then transcribe them into notebooks.

💛 “Be who you are — and be that well.” (St Francis de Sales)

💛 When I am stuck, I just have to move my body. It doesn’t necessarily matter why I’m stuck. Just get unstuck, fast. Move my body. Change my thoughts.

💛 I have the right to write badly because then I get to improve it.

And a bonus truth that is probably the truthiest truth of all:

💛 We only get to good through bad.

A brief note on notebooks: I wrote this in a notebook a couple of years ago and promptly forgot about it.

I opened the notebook at random this morning and found it.

And I wrote it out again while I was listening to Margo Aaron and Jay Acunzo talk about writers block, and they reminded me of my final truthiest truth.

What are the truths that help you to create work that matters to you?

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Hi I’m 📚 Vicky and I help misfits + weirdos write incredible rule-breaking nonfiction books. If you’d like to write one, you can get on the waiting list for Season 4 of Microbook Magic in September — DM me for details :)