Write to Done

A Writer’s Greatest Tool: the Smartphone

Mary Jaksch — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:32:25 +0000

A guest post by David Pierce from Digitizd

I’m a writer, and I don’t carry a notebook around with me. Heck, I don’t even carry a pen. Do people even use those anymore? Pens. So old school.

Instead, I just use my cell phone. In my life as a writer, there’s been no tool more useful or worth the investment than a smartphone. For such a small device, its benefits are enormous. For writers, the benefits might not be as obvious as they are for, say, money managers, but they‚Äôre no less fantastic. Since owning a smartphone (mostly meaning a phone with a functional Internet connection), I’ve become a far better writer, and in this case I’m convinced it’s the tool that made the man. Here’s why.

Remember Everything

The blessing and curse of a writer, or anyone creative, is the constant stream of ideas coming into, and then immediately out of, your head. Maybe you see something that you want to write about, or suddenly get a brilliant idea for how to kill your protagonist. No matter how good the idea, it’s astonishing how fast they disappear.

With a smartphone at the ready, you’ll never forget anything again. Whip out your phone and enter your thoughts into an application like Evernote or Simplenote, and you‚Äôll never forget what tickled your creativity. Unlike paper, which for me is as likely to get lost as not to, these apps stay synced to your phone, your computer, and the Web, meaning your ideas and inspiration are with you and accessible anytime you need them.

Write When it Strikes

Every once in a while I just get in a writing zone. Problem is, 95% of the time when I’m in the zone, I’m about a million miles away from my computer. While it might not be the fastest writing solution, my smartphone has proven a great way to crank out a couple hundred words when I’m feeling the juices flowing.

When you get an app like Dropbox or Sugarsync for your phone, you can even access your files on the go, writing and editing whenever you feel like it without having to carry a computer around. Having your files accessible everywhere means you’e free to be anywhere, because you can always get done what needs to get done in a pinch.

Read

One of the most often-quoted things about writing is that to become a better writer, you have to read. A lot. In a world where we’re constantly on the go, that’s harder than ever. If you pair your smartphone with applications like Instapaper or Read it Later, you can save yourself a personal ‘to read’ list.

With one click in your Web browser, you can save articles or stories to your smartphone, and they’e available to you wherever and whenever you get a minute‚or in line at the grocery, waiting for the doctor, or anywhere else. You’ll be amazed how much reading you can do in 5-minute spurts.

Get Instant Feedback

Social media’s all the rage these days, with Twitter and Facebook quickly becoming the de facto ways we communicate with each other. One of my favorite uses of these services is what I see comedians doing: testing material on their friends and followers. They come up with a joke, and tweet it. Immediately, people comment on the joke, critique it, and decide if it’s funny or not. Over time, the comedians shape the joke with the help of their fans, and the end result is a better joke that goes in their set.

For me as a writer, that would be huge! If I have a great blog post idea, or interesting thought about the world, instant feedback on whether it’s interesting, or true, or totally moronic, is an amazing resource. Twitter and Facebook, in particular, are available on most smartphones, and let you tap into that huge network of fans, critics, and colleagues.

Never Stop Learning

This might be just me, but I hate the ‘I wonder if’ questions. Not the big, deep questions we should all think about, but questions like “I wonder if the Giants won the Super Bowl in the 70? Thanks to my smartphone, I don’t have to wonder anymore. I have the Internet, the most incredible research tool in the history of the Universe, right at my fingertips.

For us as writers, whether we’re looking up mundane facts or boning up on Darwinist theory so we can debate it better, constantly learning is crucial to continuing to improve as a writer. In a way that was never before possible (short of carrying an encyclopedia on your back – and if you do that, I applaud you), we have access to information, research and knowledge at a moment’s notice. You’ll write smarter, sound smarter, know the answers to everything, and be a champion cheater at trivia.

We’re living in an incredible world, where you can record all your thoughts and ideas, read others‚ and answer any question you could possibly have, all in a matter of seconds. In the palm of your hand.

What about you? Are you a high-tech writer, or do you appreciate the good ol’ pen and paper?

Read more by David Pierce on Digitizd. Or grab his Twitter feed here.

A heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report below.

What Lance Armstrong Can Teach Us About Motivation

Mary Jaksch — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:46:50 +0000

A guest post by Diggy from UpgradeReality.com.

Let me paint a little picture. Allow your imagination to go to work.

It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon, you’ve just stuffed yourself with a great lunch and you’re all stretched out on your couch. Flipping the channels on your TV to find something that you will allow to steal your afternoon away. You have plenty of ideas you want to start and projects you want to complete, but you can’t get yourself off that couch and get motivated to get to work and start writing.

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How Do You Find Motivation?

The answer to this question is often what stands between you (right now, far from your goals ) and reaching your goals and being successful. That reason or thing that sparks us to take action, (the carrot in front of the donkey’s nose) is what we need to find or create. Everyone has a creative genius inside of them. There just needs to be a reason to let that genius come out to play.

I think there is little more motivating than a near-death experience or a loss of something you’ve always taken for granted. Getting told that you only have one year left to live or surviving a head-on collision are examples of events that change everything. After one of these events you will focus on the things you truly care about and spend as much time with the people and things you love.

The secret to being continuously motivated is realizing why your whole focus shifts after you nearly lose something very important (like your health or freedom).

If you can understand that principle and apply it BEFORE something bad happens to you (i.e. pretend or imagine how you would feel if you indeed lost something very important), then you would truly live your life to the fullest. You will love with all your heart, work with all your energy and enjoy everything that this world has to offer you. You will see every day as a gift that allows you to be creative and share your thoughts and writing with the world.

Imagine that you only have one year left to live, would you waste it by sitting on the couch and watching tv? I highly doubt it…

Find Motivation By Setting Imaginary Rewards:

Fear is usually a bigger motivator than dreams and that is why the process of nearly losing something really important to you makes you so much more motivated to live your life to the fullest.

However, you are the only one that knows what you really desire in your heart. This means that you can use that desire as a source of motivation.

Let’s say for example that you really want to be financially independent so that you are able to travel the world and wake up to a tropical beach and aqua-blue sea every morning. If you really really want that tropical beach, it will always be on your mind. When you wake up in the morning you can remind yourself how much you want it and that you are going to do anything you have to do to reach that goal. You can find a postcard or photograph of that beach you want to be on and pin it on the wall behind the desk you work at. That way you will want to write as soon as you see that postcard.

You need to determine if you are someone who is more motivated by fear or by dreams. I am not able to tell you that. What is the thing that is going to make you get out of bed on a Sunday morning or motivate you to work late into the night so that you can achieve your goals?

The Lance Armstrong Story

I’m pretty sure that you know the Lance Armstrong story or have at least heard about it.

Lance Armstrong was a top-athlete at the peak of his career in 1996. Back then, he had just won the World Cycling Championships. He had become the first cyclist to clock the widest winning margin in the U.S. National Road Race Championshipís history. Even more, he had also signed a 2 year contract to ride with a famous French racing team for an amount of $2.5 million.

Later that year, Lance was diagnosed with an advanced stage of testicular cancer. The cancer had spread to his lungs and brain and doctors gave him a 50/50 chance to live. An urgent operation had to be arranged to remove his swollen testicle that was the size of an orange. Lance had cancer cells the size of golfballs in his lungs. Doctors and others were really not optimistic about his recovery.

Lance however, was determined not to give up and to beat his illness. He underwent the surgery and the chemotherapy and lost a lot of weight in the process. Amazingly he was declared cancer-free after he completed his chemotherapy and he went back to his cycling.

For the next 7 consecutive years, Lance proceeded to win the Tour de France. He went from facing death and having people tell him he was going to die to winning the largest cycle event in the world 7 cosecutive times in a row. At a later stage, Lance wrote that he chose overcoming cancer to winning the race. It was the former that allowed him to ignore the negative predictions that his doctors gave him and focus on his own strength and faith.

Lance Armstrong published a book titled “It’s not about the bike” which is a really inspiring and beautiful story to read. If you haven’t read it yet I really suggest you get hold of a copy.

The reason that I told you this story is that you should never give up. You are much stronger than you think and you are capable of withstanding much more than you think. Don’t allow the negativity of others to drain your life or motivation out of you, it’s not over until it’s over.

Let Me Give You A Boost:

Everyone has days where they can’t find motivation and they are a little low on confidence or self-esteem. You may not have the urge to write on these kind of days which can turn into weeks or months if you let them. Even if you have been writing for months without results and your efforts seem fruitless, then remember the Lance Armstrong story. You can be facing what seem insurmountable odds, but you can still conquer them with hard work,persistance and determination.

If you are having one of those days where you don’t feel creative, let me help you by telling you the following:

You are alive

You are enough

You are unique

You are cool

Never give up

Always remember this! Now get off your butt and go and write some mind-blowing articles (Just do it)!

Diggy writes all about self improvement at his blog UpgradeReality.com. If you are looking for motivation, inspiration or useful tips to live a better life, subscribe to his articles via RSS FEED or EMAIL

A heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report below.

A New Way to Look At Writing Blog Posts

Mary Jaksch — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:48:13 +0000

A guest post by Glen Allsopp who writes about Viral marketing.

I wrote my first blog post back in 2006. At the time, blogging was just starting to be used as a way to connect with your audience and attract more eyeballs to your products and services. Back then, I didn’t care about building a readership or writing posts that hit the Digg homepage, I simply kept writing content so that Google would send me more traffic.

Of course, a lot has changed since then. I now couldn’t care less about search engine traffic to my blog and instead focus all of my energy on building a vibrant, helpful community around my brand. It’s not only my blogging focus that has changed in the last few years, but also the way I actually write my articles.

The Old Way

In 2006 I was blogging once or twice per week to an audience of less than 30 subscribers. I think it took about 6 months for the blog to receive a comment that wasn’t left by me. Around this time, and up until very recently, I still held the same ’style’ of blogging, even though my entire aim for what I wanted out of blogging had changed.

The process was very structured, and went something like this:

Decide on something you can write about

Choose a killer headline (1)

Map out sub-headings for different sections of the post (2)

Fill out these sub-headings carefully (3)

Watch out for spelling / grammar mistakes as you go (4)

Re-read the post (5)

Hit publish when you want it to go live (6)

This is a very basic outline, but it contains most of the steps that I used to follow and most of the steps that I’m sure thousands (if not millions) of bloggers still follow today.

If we were to put this process on a chart that showed the level of passion, energy and excitement that takes place when writing the post, I think we would see something very basic like this:

There are clear peaks here of energy and excitement when you find a killer headline that you love, have the post organised and eventually hit the publish button. Apart from that though, blogging can look like a pretty simple and boring process. Some people might love this, and I totally get that, but don’t ignore other options before you try them.

One such option, is the new blogging way…

The New Way

The reason we need a ‘new way’ is because it is no longer enough to succeed at blogging by showing up and posting frequently. A few years ago that would have been great for your readers and excellent for search engine traffic, but things have changed. There is now so much noise in every industry online, that if you don’t stand out with amazing content, you may as well not write at all.

This change still means that you need to write content, and if you wanted you could write in the style of the ‘old way’, or you could start getting the most out of the process. A few months ago I noticed this change in my blogging but really didn’t know how to describe it. It wasn’t until a tweet from Adam allowed me to ‘picture’ the process in my mind that I could finally put things into words.

The process of the New Way, goes something like this:

Decide on something you can write about

Choose a killer headline (1)

Start writing the most important things you want to say (2)

Don’t worry about headings, spellings or grammar (3)

Keep going until you’ve wrote everything you want to on the topic (4)

Take a break and cool down (5)

Tidy up the post and hit publish (6)

If we were to put this in a graph like we did for the old way of blogging, you would see something like this:

This New Way of blogging does include a concept I have written about here at WritetoDone in the past: keep writing until you’ve said everything you want to say, then edit after. Not as you’re going along.

However, this whole process is going to be an entirely new concept to most people. Again, it’s not simply enough to be writing content for your niche anymore. Due to the sheer mass of competition online these days, whatever you put out to the world on your blog has to provide massive value to your readers.

Because of this, if you can get really into your articles and get excited about the process, that’s going to show in the final result. The bottom line is that if you’re feeling really passionate about what you’re saying, you’re going to produce the type of posts necessary to gain mindshare in your industry.

Maybe I’m off the mark, but for myself and many others, I’m seeing a totally new way to look at writing blog posts…

This is a guest post by Glen Allsopp who writes about Viral marketing. He has also written an in-depth guide about guest blogging you may also enjoy.

A heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report below.

How to Leave Your Readers Better Than You Found Them

Mary Jaksch — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:00:12 +0000

A guest post by Nathalie Lussier of Raw Foods Witch

Why do you write your blog?

Maybe you are writing to share your point of view, help others, or just get things off your chest. No matter what the reason you write for your blog, you need to learn how to craft each post to have the greatest impact on your reader.

Your readers are granting you their valuable attention, after all.

How storytelling applies to blogging

In an effort to expand my skills as a blogger, I started reading about the power of storytelling.

Storytelling is an age old tradition that is as natural to human beings as breathing. That’s how we communicate, sell, and relate to each other. The go-to book for understanding the power of story is Robert McKee’s book “Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting“. While the book is about screenplays, it hit me that there was a parallel between scenes in a movie and blog posts.

Here’s the breakdown: your blog is like a movie, while each blog post is a scene in that movie.

Your blog’s theme and genre

Whether you think of it in these terms or not, your blog has a theme. The same goes for movies: documentaries, dramas, horror flicks, love stories, and comedies.

You might think your blog is special and that it cannot be classified within a genre. That would mean you’ve got an “art blog,” kind of like how art films are hard to classify, but make up a genre of their own. If you haven’t articulated your blog’s theme for yourself or your readers, maybe it’s time to write a blog post about it.

Or just a short blurb that you can add to your about page. This will come in handy for the next part: writing to affect change in your reader.

Each blog post should affect change

One of the most fundamental abilities you can develop as a blogger is knowing when to hit publish, and when to recognize a subpar piece of writing. At the beginning of your blogging career you might publish everything you write, but eventually you will start to get a feel for what resonates with your readers.

Here’s a shortcut that I gleaned from Robert Mckee’s book, referring to a scene in a movie: you should only include a scene if it changes the character(s) from one state to another.

Scenes that are pivotal are the only ones that make it to the final cut.

Pivoting a character’s emotions, opinions, or outlook is what furthers the story. The same is true of pivotal blog posts, furthering the overall story of your blog.

What a single blog post can achieve

Just like each scene in a movie is relatively short and to the point, so should your blog posts be. You shouldn’t attempt to change someone’s entire life in one blog post. That’s why you’ve got a subscribe button, and ongoing content, isn’t it?

However, you can achieve a lot in a single blog post. Here are some possibilities…

Take your reader from confused to educated.

Take your reader from bored to entertained.

Take your reader from apathetic to emotionally engaged.

Take your reader from reluctant to convinced, by showing results.

Take your reader from sadness to happiness.

Take your reader from curious to interested.

The possibilities are endless. What you can do with a single blog post will largely depend on the tone and genre of your blog and what you are trying to accomplish.

Pivotal blog posts

Here are a few examples of transformative blog posts that take a reader from one place to another:

Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz takes you from surface level marketing to a deeper understanding of a marketer’s life.

Mary Jaksch of Goodlife Zen takes you on a journey from creatively blocked to a place of opening possibilities and creative flow.

James Chartrand of Men With Pens takes you out of your usual element and dives into controversy.

Glen Allsopp of ViperChill takes you from speculation to proven fact on twitter statistics.

Ali Hale takes you from hating work to optimistic about the concept of work.

Jonathan Mead takes you from hating the concept of productivity to finding a means of making the most of your life.

Take Away Points

Now that you’ve read some examples of truly pivotal blog posts, it’s time for you to craft your own.

First identify your blog’s overall goal, diection, and genre if you haven’t already done so.

Then take the next blog post you were going to write and design it with a pivot in mind.

After you’ve written your first draft, read it over and identify the starting state and ending state of your reader.

Is he bored? Lethargic? Unenthused?

How does your blog post turn this around? Have him leave your writing laughing, energized, and inspired.

That’s when you’ll know you’re truly creating content that makes an impact on your reader’s life.

Nathalie Lussier’s blog Raw Foods Witch is about eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, while eliminating unhealthy food cravings. Follow her at @NathLussier on Twitter.

A Heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report below.

The Ultimate Playground: Blogosphere

Mary Jaksch — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:00:48 +0000

A Guest Post by Tomas Stonkus of Uncertain Change

I have one question for you: “When did you grow up?”

OKAY, that is actually just the first question. Here’s the rest.

Do you remember that exact moment when you decided to stop having fun and start being serious? Do you know when your careless smile was replaced by a frown? Do you know when you stopped believing in your dreams and decided to become reasonable?

Maybe it was around the time when you stopped playing.
Until that point, the whole world seemed to be your playground!

There were no rules, no limitations. Everybody told you that you could be anybody you wanted to be. Nobody ever said no to your dreams; instead, they just encouraged you never to stop believing in yourself and just to keep striving for your craziest goals! It was still OKAY to believe in fairy tales, dragons, elves, Santa Claus, heroes, princes, and princesses. It was still okay to believe in magic! There was so much to explore, so much to see, so much to experience.

What is more important is that you thought you could do it all!

Nevertheless, one day you stopped playing.

It’s because everybody around you stopped playing with you. Just because you grew a little bit older, the “grown ups” decided that you should understand the world for what it “truly” is: a very risky place. Not only that, but taking risks should be avoided at all costs because of the possibility of failure.

Life showed it’s “true” colors all of the sudden: it was a mix of black and white. The other colors seemed to have disappeared somewhere. Being serious and being cautious became the norm. Suddenly there were rules! And they were everywhere. People started telling you to grow up, to do this and not to do that. It seems like there was a correct answer for everything: from how you should dress to how you should act and what you should think! More importantly, nobody wanted to play anymore.

But you do want to play and have fun, don’t you?

I do too!

Before we move on, remember this: life is a risky place. And, guess what? Risky life leads to a fun, rewarding and magical life if you are ready accept that you are going to fail. All you have to do is to remember how to have fun even while you fail!

That is possible only when you are playing.

It’s OKAY.

You probably forgot how to play and need a place to practice. Alright, let us practice together. Let’s go play at the ultimate playground: blogosphere!

The Ultimate Playground

It is a cool place, isn’t it? So many weird and interesting people play here.

Look!

There are so many of them and everybody is having fun! However, if you want to play here, you must know a couple of rules first:

There are no rules (ironic, I know)

You cannot possibly fail

The rewards are limitless

Nothing is serious

Indeed, it is a strange place. Blogosphere can be as real as you want it to be. You can make it your real life extension or you can start a new life on the blogosphere and make your real life your blogging extension. The only thing that matters is knowing where you want to be and what you want to become.

Playing in a blogosphere can be confusing at first. That is why I have put together the following guidelines for you to follow.

Pick what you want to be.
If you do not know, it’s OKAY! You will learn what appeals to you as you keep playing in the blogosphere. If you do have an idea, it’s fine! It will make the process so much faster. Either way, every single person on the blogosphere is a creator. Some people write, some people draw, some people create music, and some solve problems. Ultimately, it does not matter what the specific definition is. What matters is that you will end up creating as well. Do you want to be a writer, a life coach, a consultant, a musician, a marketing guru, a dating guru, a comedian, a journalist, a social activist? The list goes on! Take your pick.

Start creating. |
It might be scary at first, but remember the first rule of the blogosphere: there are no rules. Did you ever have crazy ideas come to you that you were too scared to share with anybody? Did you ever think of things that you thought made no sense? Did you ever think of an idea and wanted to see how others would accept it? If you did any of the above-mentioned things, then you are in the right place. That’s why we are all here. Don’t think about it twice, just start creating. Whatever comes to mind, put it out there in the form of music, writing, drawing, a video recording!

Get help.
Blogosphere is a very friendly place because nobody ever fails. People are eager to help. Many of them will help you out for free! There are more resources here for creation than you could have ever thought. If you are stuck and having a tough time creating something – speak out and ask for help. You will always be answered.

Make friends.
Did I mention that people in the blogosphere are very friendly? Don’t be afraid because you cannot fail. People here are eager to meet new people and make new friends. It is much easier than you think! You can make friends by helping others, by commenting on their creations or simply by connecting with your already existing friends. Nobody will ever say no to a new player in the blogosphere.

Ask for feedback or NOT.
By now, you will have created something and you will want to know how you are doing or NOT. It’s up to you! If you want to create just for the sake of creating and expressing yourself, it’s great! Many people do just that. However, if you do want feedback, just ask! Sometimes the feedback will come to you anyway in the form of views, comments, tweets, time spend on the website and so on. Then you can use feedback to assess how you are doing and if you are creating something others enjoy.

Improve at your own pace.
There is no rush or need to improve. It is all up to you! If you want to improve to finally become what you set out to be, then repeat steps 2 through 6 as many times as you want. In no time, you will reach your goal all the while having tons of fun! The best thing is that you don’t have to stop there because the rewards are limitless. You choose how much fun you want to have.

Did you have fun playing in the blogosphere? I did too!

Since you are already playing in the blogosphere, why not play all the time and making your “real” life the extension of you blogosphere life? You’ve had so much practice and learned so much. Why not take what you have learned in the playground and apply it to your everyday life? You already know how to do that!

Since your real life is the extension of your blogosphere life, then the same rules apply as well:

There are no rules

You cannot possibly fail

The rewards are limitless

Nothing is serious

Heck, you can even use the same guidelines for playing in the “real” life as for playing in the blogosphere!

So the next time somebody asks you: “When did you grow up?” you just tell them that you are still growing.

Tomas Stonkus is the creative genius behind Uncertain Change. If you are looking for honest, blunt and practical ideas on how to lead a multidimensional life, subscribe here.

Photo credit: Photo by benchilada

A heads-up for those who want to play in the Blogosphere
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report in the sidebar.

3 Simple Tips for Effortless Writing

Mary Jaksch — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:00:55 +0000

A Guest Post by David Turnbull of Adventures of a Barefoot Geek

I feel writing should be effortless. To some that may sound ridiculous, and a few months ago I may have agreed with you, because syphoning thoughts from your brain into a coherent structure is mighty difficult, but alas, I love writing too much for me to be content with its inherent difficulty.

This desire for effortless writing encourage me sit down one day, a green tea by my side and write everything down that I felt could make the process itself effortless. 2 hours later, with only a short 5-10 minute break because my fingers were tired, I’d written about 4000 words containing the most flowing, yet actionable set of ideas in a single piece of writing I’d ever written. There was no strain, or stress, or over thinking about how a particular sentence should be structured. It was writing bliss.

Of course, with any creative pursuit you can’t bottle up all the relevant advice in a single article, or without continual thought, so these are some of the ideas I wanted to expand upon and hadn’t isolated previously to make writing an effortless process.

1. Ease the pressure. One common tactic recommended by many veteran writers is to get up in the morning, sit at the computer at 9 o’clock and then not move until the clock strikes 5. The idea is that forcing yourself in to that situation will somehow release your creativity and let your words flow. And then there’s the twist on that exercise in conforming to a high word count, such as 1000-2000 words per day, no matter what.

But while these exercises may encourage you to write a high quantity of words, you’ll be sacrificing the fulfilment that can be released from your words, and the state of effortlessness which I feel is worthy of cultivation.

Therefore, instead of trying to attain high quotas each day, do the opposite. Lower your quotas to ease the pressure. Tell yourself before your fingers strike the keys:

After 10 minutes of solid writing I will be satisfied.

…or…

When I’ve written 200 words I will be satisfied.

This completely shifts your mood, from one of dread and uncertainty, to one of possibility and control. But what I feel the main draw of this practice is the way in which it helps you focus on the present moment, on what you’re writing now.

Looking ahead at large quotas and burdens distracts you from the current task at hand – the writing itself – and thus makes the process more difficult. When there’s less of a hurdle to jump over, your mind focus less on the chance of impending difficulty, and more on completing the point it’s currently tackling.

2. Write only what matters. One of the constant struggles I, and I expect many other writers face is the constant desire to make each paragraph better than the last, to be a beacon of continuous improvement and to say only what matters. In many ways this desire is a burden – in any craft there will always be plateaus that are reached – but in other, more important ways, this mindset is a gift, because when you feel your writing actually matters, that it will potentially make a difference in someone’s life, the words will flow effortlessly.

In the words of the Stoic philosopher Seneca:

“…do not go to listen to people who are more concerned about the quantity than the quality of what they say…”

And in that same way, do not be one of those people who are more concerned about quantity rather than quality. Writing less is a positive trait, embrace it, and don’t give into the allure of writing for the sake of writing.

Before writing anything, ask yourself, “Does this matter?” You can never truly be sure before a piece of writing is complete, but if there’s a slight pang of uncertainty then don’t attempt to work with that feeling. Take the time to polish the concept of what you plan to write, and then write.

3. Negate the need for will power. The act of writing often requires a considerable amount of will power. There are distractions on the internet, the sudden urge to procrastinate in the “real world” and a thousand and one other reasons why the timing isn’t write to put pen to paper or finger to keys. But while developing a high level of self discipline is certainly a noble cause, there’s little need of it if you take the time to shape your circumstances which, in turn, shapes your results.

Block distractions on the internet by using the fantastic LeechBlock extension for Firefox. If you’re not a Firefox user then it’s worth making the switch simply to use this extension (that’s exactly what I did). For the stubborn folk out there an app such as SelfControl will do fine, although it’s not automated and as feature rich. And if you have money to burn, or want access to fancy metrics, then check out the premium version of RescueTime.

Procrastination in general can be overcome with a few simple steps:

Outline what you plan to write the day before you plan to write it, and don’t overwhelm this list with irrelevance. Never list more than 3 tasks, and stick with just 1 important task if possible. This appears to be an act of will power, to conform to your to do list, but you’ll be surprised about how psychologically powerful a simple plan is over your actions, especially if it’s carefully planned hours in advance.

Write at a time conducive to being free from distractions. There’s no “right” time to write, but there are better times to write, and those specific times depend on the person. One increasingly popular method is to write late at night, often after midnight. This is something I’ve experimented with and it’s surprisingly powerful, yet I still shy away from it because I worry about the affects of being on the computer so close to sleep.

Separate your writing environment from leisure. This is a change I made in the past few weeks and has resulted in an enormous change in the way I can either turn on or shut off the part of me that is focused on writing. With this, the times when you’re in your writing environment are heightened, undiluted by the activities of the day, allowing you to truly lose yourself in a flow of effortlessness.

Writing doesn’t need to be difficult. Or tedious. Or stressful. It can be effortless. And while I obviously haven’t covered every aspect of finding flow when writing, my intention with this article wasn’t to provide you with a definitive guide, but open you up to the possibility of what writing can be.

It’s easy to fall into the mindset that inducing insanity is simply an aspect of being a writer you need to deal with. Don’t let yourself believe that fallacy any longer though. Imagine what the state of perfect effortless writing would feel like, and then strive for that using both these suggestions and your own creativity.

David Turnbull is some kid who just likes to write about stuff at Adventures of a Barefoot Geek, a blog about life, technology and simplicity. Subscribe to the blog now and follow him on Twitter.

A heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report in the sidebar.

A-List Bloggers Agree: ‘Entertaining Differentiation’ Is Key to Success

Mary Jaksch — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:00:41 +0000

A guest post from Bamboo Forest from Pun Intended

If I were to offer you a beautiful Ralph Lauren shirt and in the same breath an equally beautiful no-name shirt, which of the two would you select?

If you’re anything like me, you’d unhesitatingly go with the Ralph Lauren.

Why?

Simple, when we’re offered two items of equal quality, we go with the known one. That’s the way we humans work. If only we bloggers would put this principle into practice more often.

Let’s look at another scenario. Again I have the random urge to give free stuff away and through a healthy dose of serendipity I cross paths with you. I offer you either a beautiful solid color Ralph Lauren shirt or a no-name shirt of the same quality, except this time the no-name shirt has attractive patterns of bamboo adorned on it — which one are you now going to select?

Many (but not all) would justify selecting the no-name brand because of what it uniquely offers.

Let’s face it… most of us bloggers are no-namers. I sure as hell am, and that’s precisely why I strive to offer something unique, something that even them big boys can not.

Do you do the same?

Another avenue to take to gain attention is to blog on topics that aren’t well covered in the blogosphere. If you’re the only one blogging on a particular subject and there is a human demand for it, you’ll do quite well. There’s only one problem: most subjects that people actually enjoy have already become nicely saturated. So unless you think you can make parrot herding popular again, you’re really out of luck.

Recognize Entertainment is a Major Reason People Read Blogs Before Differentiating

Ask yourself this one question: “Why do I read blogs?”

If you really think it through you’ll come up with many answers and the most prominent one won’t be: “I want to get the best education possible on a given subject.”

Ha! That’s not why we read blogs!

I can envision a blog providing really good content on a subject while still failing to stimulate me. That blog, though good at giving the information I seek, will never rise to the top.

You gotta entertain while you’re at it; you need to be interesting, otherwise you’re not fulfilling a deep desire blog readers have beyond just learning — regardless of whether they’re cognizant of it.

The following is what Jon Morrow of Copyblogger concluded worked best for his own blog after much trial and error:

” . . . I gradually realized that my role as a blogger isn’t to educate the world. People will buy a textbook if they want to learn. They come to me if they want an interesting little diversion with a few valuable lessons.” [Bold Emphasis Mine]

Never forget this reality. Of course you have to convey something of value to your readers. But if you’re doing it exclusively in an informational way and not being fun and creative about it — don’t expect to get too far when going up against the big boys.

We bloggers are entertainers just as much as we are educators.

Subscribing to Blogs is Time Consuming

Some of you may be thinking, “What the hell do you mean it’s time consuming?! I’ll go right ahead and click on over to the RSS feed here at Write to Done! See, took me only a couple seconds Mr. Smarty Pants!”

The action of subscribing doesn’t take long, but people do actually think critically before adding another blog onto their long list of subscriptions. They understand that subscribing to one more blog means designating more of their limited time to it, time that once used can never be had again.

That’s pretty heavy, don’t you think?

This is yet another reason why differentiating yourself is so critical. People really do need a reason to subscribe to you.

Look at this hypothetical scenario. You just did a guest post for ProBlogger and you feel like a bucket load of thousand dollar bills because of it! You take a look at your stats and bask in the warm glow of knowing that readers from ProBlogger are coming over to check you out.

There’s only one problem, you also write about blogging and yet you really don’t offer anything new or special. Your angle is the same too.

Do you know what those visitors say to themselves when visiting your blog?

“Nice blog, but I gotta be honest… you offer basically what Darren Rowse does and there’s only so many blog posts one can read in a day. No, I’ll take the name brand thank you very much.”

Here’s what Dosh Dosh has to say and he’s never done a guest post in his entire career:

“I’ve seen some bloggers guest blogging actively while getting on the Digg frontpage and offering ebook incentives for subscription. Some of them used to have more subscribers than me but not any more. I and others outgrew them.”

He goes on to say,

“Incentives and other gimmicks aren’t going to get you very far if you don’t know how to consistently put out content that differentiates your site.” [Emphasis Mine]

You can guest post until you’re blue in the face… but unless you give people a really solid and irresistible reason to subscribe to your blog, you will never reach the prominence of the A-listers.

By the way, I just took a look in the mirror: why does my face appear to have an odd shade of blue?

Spend Mountains of Time Bolstering Your Brand

Your brand encompasses just about everything, from how you write, the look of your blog design, even the kind of pictures you choose for your blog posts. It’s all a part of your brand, and it is this overall presentation that enables visitors to distinguish you from everyone else.

In an interview with John Chow, Eric Hamm of the Blogopolis Blueprint asked:

Paraphrasing, “What are most bloggers doing wrong… they’re working their butts off and not making any money… any one specific thing a lot of bloggers are doing wrong?”

John Chow explains,

“I don’t think enough bloggers give enough importance to branding. . . . The A-list blogs have a brand. We manage to distinguish ourselves from the rest of the pack. That’s one of the reasons I still have food reviews, it’s just part of my brand. People know that I write about what I eat [in addition to making money] and that distinguishes me from the rest of all the other bloggers who write [only] about making money.”

In a post on Write to Done, Leo Babauta of ZenHabits had this to say about differentiating himself:

“The other blogs grew quickly but soon hit a sort of plateau, because of one of two reasons:

1. They limited themselves to a smaller niche, and thus limited their potential readership. Once they had most of the potential readers in this niche, growth slowed; or

2. They didn’t differentiate themselves from the crowd. They were one of many other blogs, writing about the same things with the same angles.

These are both fatal mistakes if you want as big a readership as possible.” [Emphasis Mine]

How to Actually Stand Out

I was wondering when you were going to ask this question.

The reality is that very few blogs ever really do stand out. Most of us just blend in with our surroundings as if we were all dressed in camouflage standing in the midst of a tropical jungle.

And there’s obviously no simple equation to make us stand out and make a real impression on all the prospective readers (except for maybe a flying whale as your header). If there were — perhaps we’d all have the success we seek.

But knowing that we must differentiate ourselves from the rest of the crowd puts us in a position to actually do so.

Differentiating yourself doesn’t guarantee success. But without it, you’re pretty much guaranteed that you won’t rise too high either.

In the words of John Chow also from the aforementioned interview:

“The number one question you have to ask yourself is how are you different from the blogger next to you. If you can answer that question then your chances of succeeding is probably 90% higher than the person next to you.”

There’s a lot to be said on how to actually differentiate yourself in a winning way. But I’m not going to delve too much into that because this post is primarily on why it’s so imperative to be different, not the how.

The one thing I will say (because I love you my dear readers) and it’s about as clichÈ as it gets: People are like snowflakes, there’s no two alike.

Considering this truth — be sure not to entirely model yourself after other blogs. Use the wisdom and strategy they can teach you, yes. But as the sun is descending behind the mountains — put a little something unique into your production. Something that comes from deep within you.

Clearly we have a lot of competition out there. And it just isn’t enough to be as good at what our competitors excel at. We must also do what they’re not, and do it really well.

Bamboo Forest writes for Pun Intended, a blog that blends humor with inspiration. To ensure you never miss a good hearty laugh or a good dose of inspiration, subscribe here.

A Heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report in the sidebar.

The U2 Method of High-Impact Writing

Mary Jaksch — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:00:33 +0000

A Guest Post by Oleg Mokhov of Lifebeat

Want to become a high-impact writer? Make your articles stronger and your message hit harder by utilizing the U2 method of high-impact writing. You can use a 3 step method to easily catch the attention of readers from the very first sentence.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s indisputable that Bono and gang wrote some incredible, lasting pop songs. Tunes that become a part of people’s lives.

“One,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Pride in the Name of Love,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “New Year’s Day,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “With or Without You,” “Beautiful Day,” the list goes on…

How does U2 have such high-impact songs? It all stems from Bono’s approach to songwriting: Write the best chorus you can, then make that the verse and write an even better chorus.

So simple, yet so effective.

3 Step Method to High-Impact Writing

What the heck does Bono’s songwriting have to do with us writers? This is Write to Done, not Songwriting to Done.

Answer: You can apply U2’s method of high-impact songwriting to your own writing. Make your articles as immediate and catchy as U2’s songs.

Here’s the 3 step method:

Write your high-impact point, the main message of your article

Make that the first sentence or paragraph

Write an even stronger point for the conclusion

So simple, yet so effective.

Plus, what’s awesome about the U2 method of high-impact writing is that it’s practical, rather than some abstract “push yourself to write better” tip
(what does that even mean?).

3 Reasons This Method Works

Here are 3 reasons why the U2 method will make your articles high-impact:

Capture a reader’s attention right away – our short attention spans need immediate hooking in, or else we quickly lose interest

Best foot forward – when you start off strong, people want to keep reading, just like a good intro riff makes you want to keep listening

More valuable article – you make it easy for the reader to get the value, and the less they have to work the more they’ll read and the more value they’ll get

Nothing Clever, Just Solid Writing

Some songwriters get caught up in trying to be clever, thinking they need to figure out some secret chord progression or song structure to make a better song.

But all it is is simply pushing yourself to make the most high-impact chorus you can, then making it what starts the song and creating an even better chorus.

The same goes for writers. If you want readers, you don’t need to be clever with some fancy structure or rhyming scheme. Just write the best darn point you’re trying to make, then make that start the article and push yourself to write an even better concluding point.

I Utilized the U2 Method for This Article

The first paragraph of this article was originally the conclusion. It stated the message and value of the article.

But I decided to utilize the U2 method and put the high-impact point in the very beginning. Now, this article starts off with (hopefully) an immediate and catchy paragraph that hooked you in to read this far.

Following the 3rd step of the U2 method, the conclusion you’ll read next is an even higher-impact point.

The U2 Method of High-Impact Writing

Transform your next article into a high-impact hit. Utilize the U2 method of high-impact writing to create an immediate article that captivates readers and hooks passer-bys.

You’ll capture a reader’s attention right away, have your best foot forward with your content, and create a more valuable article.

Oh U2, is there anything you wonderful Irishmen can’t teach us?

When not pulling writing tips from the controversial but awesome Bono, Oleg Mokhov writes unconventional life-maximizing ideas for remarkable people and makes energizing electronic dance music for melody-lovers on his site Lifebeat.

A Heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report in the sidebar.

Climbing Mt.Story: How to Survive the Creative Journey

Mary Jaksch — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:39:37 +0000

A guest blog by Larry Brooks of Storyfix.com

Once upon a time there were three climbers. Each had a different approach to their craft, though none had successfully climbed a mountain quite this high before.

On this day each climber stood before the mountain they were about to climb alone (even if we have a critique group, we are very much alone with our stories) to ponder their chances. It was known as Mt. Story, and it promised a rich experience, both along the way and once you reach the summit.

This is a story about three different ways to get there.

And one of the climbers almost dies.

One was a Planner

She studied maps of the mountain, spent half her savings on equipment and took classes on how to use it all. She understood the principles and the rules of climbing, and understood that to ignore them was to risk your life.

She’d climbed this mountain many times in her mind before she set foot on the actual slope. She was well aware of the route taken by those before her, and she was also aware that she might pass a few frozen bodies along the way.

Those poor souls, she reasoned, hadn’t come prepared for the hazards the mountain always throws at you. They thought this was easy, a linear process that would be compromised by too many rules.

And ignoring those rules got them killed.

Her climber friends who weren’t planners told her she was missing the best part of the experience. How do you know where to go, they asked, before you get there?

I’m going to the top, she answered, and I want to avoid bad weather – that cloudy stuff that will get you killed – along the way.

One Was An Organic Climber

She showed up at base camp with her tennis shoes and a sandwich, and she’d read Into Thin Air, so she was ready. She’d tried a few ascents before, but had to stop because her water bottle was always empty before she lost sight of the tent.

This climber was all about creativity and the experience of discovering what awaited behind every snowy cliff. Heck, if one fell on her head she’d just go back to base camp and start over. Or maybe travel laterally for a while until something vertical opened up.

Heading out on what she hoped was the path, she didn’t even see the lingering clouds. The ones that shroud the mountain daily. In fact, today she couldn’t even see the summit at all, but hey, it was up there somewhere.

Planning? That was fine for others, but she just couldn’t go there. What’s the fun and adventure in that? Let’s just start walking and see what happens.

The Other was a Hybrid Climber

This guy had the right equipment and a little climbing experience that told him what those clouds meant. He understood where the first milestone rest camp was located, and how to get there. At least, sort of.

From there, he reasoned, he’d access the weather and decide on one of several routes, each of which made perfect sense. It all depended on his mood, and the clouds, at the time.

Most critical of all, he knew precisely where the summit was. If he stopped for a little picnic along the way, hey, this wasn’t a timed event. The summit would be there when he was ready to go for it.

And if bad weather confronted him, well, he knew how to handle that, too. Because he, like The Planner, understood the principles of climbing, and he would never stray too far from the path.

So Off They Went

The Planner knew where she was going and how to get there. She was safe and warm the entire way, and therefore able to savor each moment of the climb without wondering where she was, where she was going and if she would make it off the mountain alive.

The Organic Climber took off from base camp in the same general direction – up – under the assumption that the optimal route would announce itself. And if it didn’t, what the hell, she’ll just make something up that sounded good in the moment.

There were no rules anyhow. At least in her view.

Those bodies she had to step over along the way? That’s what they thought, too.

The Hybrid Climber plodded along, taking each step as it came, but with an awareness of where he was.

Without it, he knew, he’d quickly become lost. Just like that lady he saw roaming around the mountain in her tennis shoes.

Here’s What Happened

The Planner reached the summit first. She’d encountered a few surprises along the way – some of them quite pleasant – and because her big picture plan was in place, she had time to explore options and even adjust her route to better enjoy the views.

But she never lost sight of the goal. Everything about the climb was in context to knowing where the summit was, and how to get there.

The Hybrid Climber got there, too, and not all that long after the planner.

He’d taken a few wrong turns , but because he at least knew which direction led to the summit, and where the major crevices and icefalls were hidden, he was able to return to the course – even change course on occasion – all with great success.

As for the Organic Climber, well, she reached a summit, too. Eventually. But only after trying many things in many ways before discovering what worked for her.

And even then, it wasn’t what she’d hoped for.

The Planner and the Hybrid Climber passed her as they descended, asking if she needed any help. No, she said, she’d be fine as soon as she figured out where this crazy climb was taking her, and in the short term, when those dang clouds were going to burn off.

Meanwhile, she said, she was having a blast. She was only temporarily lost.

She somehow made it to the top the next day, exhausted and confused. Trouble is, it wasn’t the crest of the mountain at all.

She’d taken a wrong turn without even knowing, ending up on top of a big mound of volcanic ash, all the while swearing that this little peak was good enough.

After all this, starting over would be just too much work.

Secretly, though she’d admit this to no one in her climbing group, she wished she’d brought a map.

The Moral of the Story

All of us, planners and organic writers alike, set out to achieve the very same thing: the creation of the best story we have in us. The writing process is nothing other than a search for that story.

The story planner conducts the bulk of that search before they begin, something that can’t be done successfully until one grasps the core principles of solid storytelling. And in doing so, they consider and then discard alternatives that will get them killed.

The organic writer conducts that search in the form of multiple drafts. During the journey they face harrowing choices, because each new idea means they need to either start over or try to somehow jam it into the narrative flow.

If they don’t start over – because that’s too much work – if they try to retrofit it into an existing structure… well, this is the great killer of organically written stories.

What we need to keep in mind is that our readers want to reach that summit as much as we do. But they don’t want to take a random walk in the park with us, they want a steady, exciting ascent, dodging a few avalanches along the way.

Every draft an organic writer generates prior to the final one is nothing other than a process of story planning.

That’s no different, and no more or less creative and rewarding, than what the story planner does before they start to write it.

The Hybrid Writer’s Tool Chest

If you use a hybrid process successfully, you know where the story will end before you begin it, or shortly thereafter.

And because you understand the core principles of storytelling, especially structure, you know where the major story points go and how they serve the story.

Even if you aren’t yet sure what will happen between those story points. You’ll take that on when you get there.

This is what allows your inner organic self to linger and play along the way.

Story planning is always a matter of degree.

A little or a lot is up to you, as long as it is in context to the principles of solid storytelling.

While it’s okay to make up your story as you go, it’s never okay – at least in terms of likelihood of success – to make up your own principles.

The mountain doesn’t care how you climb it. But it’ll kill you in a heartbeat if you do it wrong.

Either way, a successful final draft always depends on knowing what that ending will be.

Whether you find it on a map or looking through fog along the trail is up to you.

Larry Brooks is a bestselling author and the creator of Storyfix.com, an instructional site for novelists and screenwriters. His book, The Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling, will be released by Writers Digest Books in early 2011.

A Heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report in the sidebar.

Are You drowning in Interesting-Things-to-Read-on-the-Net? Here’s how to cope

Mary Jaksch — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:00:10 +0000

This guest post is by Sarah Wilson

I can get disproportionately excited about new online devices that help me write more efficiently. Like, a while back, I was frothing about Instapaper, a 2.0 equivalent of the Post It note. Here’s how Instapaper works:

You’re wasting time online and stumble on an interesting blog post or New York Times article. You can’t read it now; you’re meant to be finalizing a spreadsheet or something. Printing it out is just wrong. After all, you have one of those Please Consider the Environment email signatures. And you offset your Virgin Atlantic flights. Perhaps you could email it to yourself and flag it. But that seems way too clunky and cluttery.
What to do?

Install Instapaper (go to instapaper.com) in three easy online steps, or thereabouts.

Drag the “Read Later” button to your Bookmarks menu.

Next time you’re reading something you want to go back to, simply click the “Read Later” button and your article is filed in a special folder in cyberspace. For perusal at a more languid juncture.

Finally, head to instapaper.com every now and then and read what you’ve stored. You can also file the clippings into folders. I’ve divided mine according to the three different magazine columns I write, plus one for my blog, and another for general interest.

More recently I’ve come across Readability, which can then convert my saved reading into a more readable format. Here’s how Readability works:

Again, it’s a new FREE! button that changes stuff you’re reading online into clear, simple, old-school text, getting rid of pop-up ads and annoying eyeball clutter.

Install the Readability button. Seriously it’s one step.

Actually it’s two. Once installed, you then adjust your preferences. You can choose between “newspaper”, “novel”, “ebook” and “terminal”. And change the font size and column width. Journalists will love that you can convert to a newspaper format. I read mine like this. Newspapers and magazines were designed to have the best type of font (serif) and column width (narrow enough such that your eye can flick quickly from one line to the next) to make for simple, elegant, fast reading. Just so you know.

When you’re reading something online, just press the readability bookmarklet on your toolbar and it converts the text into a far happier format. A treat for sore eyes!

Is it just the Capricorn in me, or are these really nifty?

Well, I certainly used to think so. But this week I had a look in my special cyber folder and the sheer volume of tagged URLs sent me into a spiraling fug. It resembled the stack of books piled next to my bed that I’ve “been meaning to read”. And the folders of saved emails that-might-come-in-useful-down-the-track. And the basket next to my couch bulging with newspaper clippings and back issues of Vanity Fair with cornered pages, marking Christopher Hitchins essays I might need to refer back to one day.

And it suddenly occurred to me – my entire life is flagged-for-follow-up. I’m one big backlog of informative material waiting to be attended to. If only there were a rainy Sunday long enough to get through it all, I might finally … get on top of myself.

I hang onto articles because I’m scared of what will happen if I need them one day, and they’re not there. This fear binds me to my stuff. Like many people, I buffer myself with my just-in-cases, instead of flying naked, instead of seeing what will happen if I head out into the clamber armed with just my inner-resourcefulness.

I’ve flown naked before. I hitchhiked through Greece when I was 18 with just the clothes on my back (so, not literally naked); I lived in Paris for a fortnight with no money, no passport, not a single possession to my name (I’d been robbed). Lately, I’ve been thinking I’d like to fly naked again.

I hate making sweeping generational generalizations, but it must be said that those Y kids can teach the rest of us a bit about flying naked. They don’t get excited about Instapaper. This is because they don’t hang onto things. They skim read at the time of receipt, delete and move on. (And they don’t really need Readability. They’ve grown up accustomed to blocking out pop-up ads and scanning different formats.)

The under-30 crew were schooled during a time when you could look up references online in 2 seconds, instead of via the Duwey system when the librarian got back from lunch. They’re au fait with flying naked. Back when I was studying law, some time after the last ice age, if you lost a case note, you were stuffed. Little wonder we hang onto every scribble.

But, let me be the one to break it: times have changed. Information can be Googled or Binged instantly, emails retrieved from servers. Further, ideas move around so fast. There’s no point hanging onto today’s idea because it’s bound to be RT’d or Digg’d to death by tomorrow anyway.

My 20-something brother doesn’t save anything. Why would you, he says. That’s just looking backwards. Where’s the flow of information? Roll forward and gather no moss, is his adage.

I still love my Instapaper and Readability discoveries. But what I loved more this week was going in to my special folder, selecting all and hitting delete. Then hauling my Vanity Fairs and New Yorkers into the communal foyer of my apartment for the neighbors to take. Information shouldn’t be held on to; it should be passed on, like a hot potato. Information in, information out. Sweetly, it’s left more room in my life and my special folder for fresh ideas.

Sarah Wilson is an Australian TV and print journalist (and former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine) who writes about how to make life better. Follow her adventures at sarahwilson.com.au or on twitter.

A heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report in the sidebar.