Three years ago when I started writing I had no idea where it would lead.
Would anyone read it? Did anyone care what I had to say? Would I even like writing?
Starting to write was one of the hardest challenges of my life. I had no writing experience. The only thing I knew about writing was what I had read from good writers in books and blog posts.
I started out afraid of what people would think of my writing. What if I missed a comma? What if I didn’t start a new paragraph when I needed to? What if I made the mother of all mistakes, having a typo where I misspelled a word?
Those fears made me delay starting. I wanted to start writing years earlier but I waited due to fear of the unknown.
Here are some of my thoughts on writing.
My first writing was ugly. Looking back it was borderline unreadable. But really it’s no different than watching my son who’s in kindergarten and trying to write letters and his name. Right now it’s unreadable but over time as he practices it will become very readable. Writing takes the same approach. We all have to start somewhere.
To improve at writing you need to keep writing. It’s like improving at golf, cooking, yoga or anything else. You improve by doing it. You keep sharp by continuously playing. Writing is no different. Word by word, day by day and week by week.
Reading helps your writing. All good writers are readers. You learn writing through reading other great writers. Reading cultivates ideas. I really like this visual and what David Perell said, “Read to collect the dots, write to connect them.”

Books. I’ve read over a dozen books on writing. My two favorite that I’ve read over and over are Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont and On Writing by Stephen King.
Consistency. Aim to write at the same time. If it’s everyday, every other day, or once a week. Make it at the same time in the same desk and chair. It may be early morning or late at night. Find what works best for you and set the consistent routine.
Having enough content. I always worried about running out of content. I started a note in Evernote which contains all the ideas that come to mind to possibly write about. Write your ideas down. Through reading and conversations ideas will form all around you at the most unexpected times. Most of my ideas have come while taking showers and walks.
Deadlines spur action. I place deadlines to have pieces done. Otherwise we can procrastinate. Everyone can be a master of procrastination. Set your deadline to start writing or to hit publish.
Reward yourself. Something that took my writing to another level was rewarding myself when I hit publish. My posts come out on Wednesday and Saturday. Every Wednesday morning after dropping the kids off at school, I go to my favorite restaurant for breakfast. On Saturday nights we go out to dinner somewhere as a family. Now I want to be sure I hit publish by making it fun!
Think you have writer’s block? Go for walk. Do a workout. Change your thought approach. Reset and allow yourself to come at things from another angle. It’s one way to reset your line of thinking.
Don’t ramble. Be efficient with your words. Avoid complicated words. It doesn’t make you sound any smarter. Simplicity wins. I love this quote from Morgan Housel, “Writing is an efficiency game.”
Find your voice. Writing is an active process. Write about what interests you. Writing for yourself is fun. Don’t aim to be the best. Be the only.
Write for an audience of one. I believe everyone should write. Write to learn. It’s exploring your curiosities and the unlocking of ideas. You think, communicate and learn through writing. It’s a way to clear your head.
Isn’t everything we try to work at or improve upon done through just doing it? Golfing (swing by swing), cooking (dish by dish), yoga (pose by pose), basketball (shot by shot), sales (sale by sale), teaching (class by class), running (run by run) and so on.
Everyday is improvement through practice by just doing it. Writing like everything is always a work in progress. Word by word.
The Coffee Table ☕
I found the recent Odd Lots podcast with Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway to be very interesting. They had two guests who spoke on Why Insurance Rates Have Been Surging in California and Florida. It took a look at the insurance industry and how carriers price policies, what the regulatory side looks like and why prices are starting to explode across the country.
Sticking with the theme of homeowners insurance, I came across this good visual which Barry Ritholtz shared from the story, Insurance Rates Are Soaring for US Homeowners in Climate Danger Zones. The highest cost of insurance coverage table at the bottom is interesting to see.

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