5 Practices to Start Today to Kickstart Your Way to Being a Writer

In over 20 years in marketing and communications I’ve worked with incredibly intelligent people. I’ve worked with engineers, executives, finance professionals, technology gurus, and subject matter experts on a myriad of topics across multiple industries. I’ve worked with people who have huge ideas, see the world through unique lenses, manage intimate relationships with key decision makers, or know what the next gamechanger in their field will be by instinct.

Most of these incredible people are convinced their ideas aren’t worth sharing, they’re not the right person to communicate it, or that their expertise isn’t actually very interesting.

I hear repeatedly, “I’m bad at writing.”

Here’s what happened. Long ago, you were learning to express your ideas on paper, you submitted to your teacher multiple masterpieces, one assignment after the other. You had big ideas, hot takes, and beautifully crafted poetic prose returned covered in red, harshly judged for how well you placed your commas or spelled fourty, cuzzin, twies, beutifull, or a million other words that don’t even make phonetic sense. Our approach to teaching writing intertwines mechanics with expression…and so we have created generations of experts in math, art, science, technology, and more who are convinced they don’t have ideas worth publishing.

Here’s the truth: If you have ideas, can think, have discovered something, can develop opinions, can observe the world around you, you can be a writer! What you may not be is a grammarian. Mechanics and grammar should not get in the way of sharing your ideas, expertise, and meaningful contributions. There are apps for that.

Experts sharing their ideas, observations and experiences is what drives industries forward. It can also be an important avenue to driving your career forward. Start rewiring your self-concept today and build your writer confidence.

1. Make time to read. Not industry articles and business books. Read classic literature, read poetry, read fiction. Enjoy the similes, onomatopoeias, foreshadowing, anthropomorphism, allegories, alliterations. Honestly, you don’t even need to know what those are or be able to name them when your ears hear them. Reading works that heavily leverage literary devices will improve your writing and overall ability to communicate.
2. Write letters to someone you trust and can speak naturally with. As a lieutenant in the Army my grandpa would ghostwrite his superiors’ memos by starting with “Dear Dad”. It made it easier for him to write clearly because he already had a natural shorthand and trust with his dad. He’d comb back through his original copy with his own red pen, take out the personal address and perhaps reword a few things to make them more formal. He was frequently praised for his sincere, honest and clear tone. If you’re faced with a blank page — take the pressure off by addressing it to someone you know and trust.
3. Just start writing. Write letters, thank you notes, journal entries, full sentence sticky notes. Writing takes practice — find a way to write (in full sentences) every day. Get your ideas on paper (even just sticky notes).
4. Write without squiggly line judgement. Get your first draft down on paper. If you’re writing in a word processor (like Microsoft Word), do your first draft with the proofing turned off. Don’t let your idea flow be disrupted by the red and blue squiggly lines alerting you to misspellings and poor comma usage. You can fix the spelling and grammar later — ideas first, mechanics second.
5. Congratulate yourself. We are more likely to grow and improve from a place of confidence. When you finish writing, take a second to acknowledge something you did well. Say it out loud. You’re on your way to being a writer!

Elizabeth Nerland is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience currently serving as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications & Engagements for Chugach Government Solutions. Elizabeth has worked in a myriad of industries including government contracting, oil & gas, travel & tourism, finance, non-profit and education. She served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) teaching graduate and undergraduate marketing courses. She holds an MBA from UAA; a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts (BSBA) in Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Corporate Communications from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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