Thread by @thomasjbevan1

//THREAD\\

In which we discuss how to develop your talent as a #writer
Part 1

(vital for all #writinglife #amwriting people,
but applicable to anyone wishing to improve at a skill)

CC
@futureinmind @ryanstephens
@pathtomanliness @AJA_cortes

#writing is a skill like any other.

Intensive, deliberate practice applied consistently over time is what leads to improvement.

This thread is the first in a series that will apply Daniel Coyle’s extensive work on talent to the discipline of #writing

Read on and learn…

Over the next few days we are going to apply the lessons from

Daniel Coyle’s Little Book of Talent

(A distillation of his groundbreaking The Talent Code)

To the discipline of writing.

Aspects of his number system are not relevant & will be marked N/A

On with the show...

1/ Stare at who you want to become

To begin with, you'll need a compelling vision of who you intend to become

You need to have an image of yr future self

Use photographs & videos to fuel this. Watch them before you go to bed and immediately before you begin the days practice.

[This is the kind of basic mindset and visualization practices,

So familiar to athletes and other performers

that writers rarely engage in.

Writing is both a performance and a skill and therefore

requires such techniques to focus the mind]

2/ Spend 15 minutes a day engraving the skill on your brain

For writers this involves the traditional (and often neglected) technique of Copy Work.

Copy Work is exactly what it sounds like:

You take a passage from a masterpiece of literature and you copy it out by hand...

As you do so you will in effect be ‘replaying’ the decisions and choices that the writer made.

You will sense why they used certain words and techniques in certain places.

Chess players do this by replaying classic games move by move (H/T @edlatimore)

...

Copywriters will rewrite famous sales letter by hand (H/T @schm7dt )

A variation on this technique features in all fields of mastery because it *works*

Finding a brief chunk of time to make this a daily practice will transform your writing ability.

3/Steal without apology

‘It’s not where you take things from, it’s where you take them to.’ Jean Luc Godard

I assume that as you are a writer, you are also a voracious reader.

In your reading certain passages will grab you. Steal the technique from the passage...

... and write something of your own with it.

Deconstruct what is critical about the technique in terms of the effect the passage has.

Explore how you yourself could possibly incorporate it into your style.

Cormac McCarthy’s polysyndeton is one example among thousands.

4/ Buy a Notebook

And reflect upon your writing by keeping a performance journal.

Discuss results from today, ideas for tomorrow, future goals.

Doing this will help you over time to see patterns which you can leverage towards better performance

It creates enormous clarity.

5/ Be willing to be stupid

The brain can only form new connections when you reach to the edges of your ability.

This involves making mistakes. Lots of them.

And failing. Often.

These mistakes that you make along the way are the guideposts you use to get better at writing.

6/ Choose Spartan over Luxurious

‘Luxury’ according to Coyle, ‘is a motivational narcotic: it signals our unconscious mind to give less effort.’

Now I know a lot of you use fancy apps and programs to write in.

But I would strongly recommend trialing a more basic system...

I still think that index cards & a pen are the best way to capture ideas as they come

And I use the ultra-basic Linux program Pyroom for 1st drafts.

(I get fancier in the editing stage)

Here’s a screenshot from a draft of a blog post I wrote for @LifeMathMoney

Pretty spartan

7 & 8/ N/A
(They refer to ‘hard skills’ & #writing is a ‘soft skill’)

Which leads us to number 9...

9/ To build soft skills, play like a skateboarder

The #mindset for improving soft skills like #writing is to be like that determined kid at the skatepark: (S/O @GoldmundUnleash )

Aggressive,
Curious,
Experimental,
Always looking for new ways to challenge himself.

If this is an unfamiliar analogy for you, actually go to a skatepark or look up videos.

Look how often improving skaters fail at a trick

How often they drill the same move over &over

How they try hundreds of subtle variations and never seem to grow bored

This is true practice

10/ Honour the fundamentals [my rewording]

The vast majority of top performers place great importance on practicing the same skills they practiced as beginners

I will bet you any money that Tiger Woods spends a lot of his time practicing basic shots and techniques

For writing

This means always keep in mind the fundamentals:

The readers enjoyment is more important than showing how clever you are

Kill your darlings

Show don't tell

Mind your adverbs

And basically, everything I talked about in the Elmore Leonard thread...

11/ Don't fall for the Prodigy Myth

Dr. Carol Dweck argues that the praise and attention that prodigies receive leads them to take fewer risks to protect this 'magical' status.

This is why so many child prodigies seem to struggle in adulthood.

They soon stop pushing themselves

Those who find early success should ignore the praise

Those who don't should keep going.

Mastering #writing is a marathon

Anthony Burgess wrote his first novel at 39

Raymond Chandler published The Big Sleep when he was 51

Such examples are more common than you would think...

*And lastly for today*

12/Five ways to pick a High-quality teacher/coach

a) Avoid someone who reminds you of a courteous waiter

b) Seek someone who scares you a little
(You want them to be honest, sometimes unnervingly so)

c) Seek someone who gives short, clear directions

d) Seek someone who loves teaching fundamentals

e) Other things being equal, pick the older one

Well done if you made it this far!

RT this thread & point yr #amwriting friends in the direction of it

(#NaNoWriMo is coming up so I presume they're more neurotic than usual)

Also

Be sure to look out for my piece in @StoicGoatFarmer #99things book

Featuring contributions from:

@drbabelovelife
@BillyRedHorse
@ArmaniTalks
@iamjustincscott
@Sociopathlete
@AwareIntegrate
@PaulMDomenick
@PathToManliness
@SteafanFox
@SamuelThews

and many more

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