How to Write When You Have No Idea Where to Start

UPDATED AUGUST 2020

Have you ever had a great idea for a story/book/writing project, but didn’t know where to start? Or wanted to write but didn’t seem to have any ideas...at all? 

Welcome to the writers club!

Welcome to the writers club!

The desire to write runs strong for a lot of us, and yet, many never live out that dream. Sometimes it’s because life gets busy with significant others, kids, work, and other activities. Sometimes, though, it’s purely because we just don’t know where to start. 

The good news is, even if you don’t have any “good” ideas, you can still write! You don’t need to have an “aha!” moment or a wild inspiration to get going.

What do you do if you have no ideas? 

As much as it seems like prolific writers have an abundance of ideas, not all writing is “inspired.” If you’re fresh out of brilliant ideas, try writing one of these scenarios. Paint the clearest and most concise picture you can. Act as if you were living or reliving the moment. If you need to separate yourself from the experience (because you can’t picture it), write the scene without names using he/she/they or with aliases. 

Tell the story of a supremely happy memory.

Set the scene:

• What happened immediately before the moment?

• What happened in the moment?

• Who was involved in the moment?

• What made the memory so happy?

• What makes this memory so special that it has become your favorite?

Tell the story of a funny situation.

Set the scene:

• What happened immediately before the moment?

• What happened in the moment?

• Why was it so funny?

• What kind of funny was it (Embarrassing, cute, corny, etc.)?

• What was so memorable about the moment? 

Tell the story of a hard situation.

Set the scene:

• What happened immediately before the moment?

• What happened in the moment?

• Was the situation hard mentally, physically, emotionally, or a mixture of everything?

• Who else, if anyone, was involved in the situation?

• What was the outcome?

• How did you overcome?

Tell the story of a crazy dream you had recently.

Write down all the details you can remember about your dream:

• Who was there?

• What they were doing?

• Why they were doing it?

• What did the surroundings look like?

• Was it realistic or fantastic?

• Did it end or was it just a small piece of a bigger dream you don’t remember?

• If it was part of a bigger dream, how would you like it to have ended?

Describe your favorite person.

We all have someone we love(d) dearly, so take some time to appreciate their quirks and things you love about them.

• What do they look like?

• What do they wear?

• How do they act around others? Around you?

• What do they love to do for fun? For work?

• How do they feel about topics important to you? (Such as pets, families, etc.)

• What’s your favorite part about them as a person?

Let yourself think and write freely.

Describe the most meaningful act someone has done for you.

Has someone unexpectedly done a service for you or given you a heartfelt compliment?

Perhaps someone gave you an amazing gift or went out of their way to see you when you were sad.

Describe the time when someone did something meaningful for you.

• What was the act?

• Why was it so meaningful?

• Why did the person do this for you?

• What is your relationship with the person?

• What was your reaction? 

Describe the worst day you’ve ever had.

Everyone has had a “worst day” (sometimes more than one).

Perhaps someone you love passed away, or a long-term relationship became irreparably broken.

Find it in your heart to think about that day.

• What happened from the moment you woke up to the moment the day ended?

• Which parts were particularly harrowing?

• How were the events of your day related?

• How did you feel when you woke up versus when you laid down to sleep at the end of the day?

Describe a day in your dream life.

If money was not a factor in your dream life (assume you have plenty), what would it be like?

Thinking about an ideal day:

• When would you wake up?

• What would you do throughout the day?

• What job would you be doing (or not doing)?

• What adventures would you go on? Who would be by your side?

• Why is this your dream? 

Thinking about your life in moments rather than as a whole is helpful because when we’re thinking about characters, we don’t try to write their lives all at once. Sure, we probably have growth in mind of where they came from and where they’re going, but when you’re in the middle of writing, you probably don’t stop to think, “Wow, John Doe’s life is boring. He doesn’t have any experiences that anyone wants to read about.” You probably don’t want to read a book like that either!

What if absolutely nothing interesting happens in my life and I can’t use that as a starting place?

You might be asking: What if absolutely nothing interesting happens in my life and I can’t use that as a starting place?

First, I promise your life is not that boring! Words are powerful, and when used well, can bring almost any scenario to life. It can be hard to work through this, though, if you are stuck in a rut.

If you have a (self-proclaimed) insufferably boring life, try writing one of these scenarios instead: 

Tell the story of the object closest to you.  

Choose an object around you and think about where it came from.

• What is its function?

• If this object had human characteristics, what would they be? 

Right now, there are approximately 20 Post-It notes (or more) stuck up all over my desk and computer. Everything has a story, and these sticky notes are no different! They were “born” in a factory, packaged nice and orderly, and shipped out all over the world. This pack happened to land here in Indiana, and now has a semi-comfortable life in my top desk drawer.

Tell the story of an everyday hero.

Choose someone who does good in their community and tell their story. It doesn’t have to be someone you know personally. If you don’t know too much, imagine what their life might be like.

If you want to get extra creative, you could even imagine them like an undercover superhero.

• What is their superpower?

• What is their weakness?

Think about people you admire who are role models. Who work hard and literally, or figuratively, saves lives.

For instance, maybe it’s the nurse who took amazing care of your child when s/he had an accident and needed stitches. Or the IT guy you called in a panic because you accidentally downloaded a virus and he managed to save all 8,000 of your documents (that were not backed up anywhere).

Tell the story of a dastardly villain who commits ridiculous crimes.

What is the silliest or most ridiculous crime you can think of?

Got it?

Now, think about the villain who commits this crime.

• What does s/he do? Why does s/he commit the crime?

• What are the effects?

• How do people react to the crimes?

For example, a vandal who is drawing mustaches on all of the upper management’s very expensive oil paintings in the formal workplace.

Have fun with it! 

Describe a day in your own life through your neighbor’s eyes.

Imagine you are your neighbor.

• What parts of your day do they see?

• Do they see or hear your morning routine?

• Do they see when you get home or what your pet does during the day?

• Are they a conspiracy theorist who has a far-fetched impression of your actually quite normal life? 

If you don’t know your neighbors very well (we don’t all have a Homer Simpson/Ned Flanders relationship with the people in our neighborhood), image what they might think.

If you don’t have neighbors, pretend just for a little while you do - what would they think of your life?

Describe a day in your own life through your pet’s eyes.

Imagine you are your pet.

• How do you see yourself from your dog’s eyes?

• What do you think as your human does their morning routine and only gives you absentminded pets?

• Do you love your human unconditionally?

• Or get annoyed they are taking too long to feed you?

I use dog as an example, but if you have a cat, a guinea pig, or even a fish, you could imagine it through that perspective, too. 

Describe a day in your own life through your cell phone’s screen.

Consider what your phone might think, if it had human characteristics.

• Are you glued to your phone 24/7?

• Would it be needy & clingy if you put it down to go out with your family for the evening?

• If you don’t use your phone very much, would it be lonely & longing for attention?

• If you have an older model phone, would it be grumpy and complain when you use it?

• Would it be judging you for your Google searches or the number of texts you sent asking your mom for advice? 

We are inundated with information all the time, so it’s easy to overlook or just plain forget to look at our lives from a different view sometimes.

We are inundated with information all the time, so it’s easy to overlook or just plain forget to look at our lives from a different view sometimes. It’s all about perspective.

These ideas are fun and engaging, and will also help you get a different perspective on your life. Getting out of our own head can be a great key in unlocking our potential when are figuring out how to write when we have no idea where to start.

On the other hand, some writers are blessed with great ideas that seem to never end. The trouble then begins when we sit down to physically write or type, and stare at the blank page for what seems like hours. We might type or write a bunch of titles and delete them because they are terrible. Or maybe they’re not terrible, but they don’t meet the expectations we’ve set up in our minds. 

What’s a writer to do when they have brilliant ideas but too many places (or nowhere) to start?

What’s a writer to do when they have brilliant ideas but too many places (or nowhere) to start?

6 Easy Tricks for How to Start Writing Now

Write a filler sentence or phrase.

You can put any words on the page in whatever order you want. They don’t even have to make sense.

As long as you put words on the page, you’re no longer staring at blank white space.

My personal favorite is “BLAH BLAH BLAH INTRO.” That little fluff line got me through all my grad school papers.

Type or write “Untitled” at the top of the page and have a conversation with your main character about themselves.

Typing Untitled allows you to table the title (for now) and move along. Then, pretend to interview your main character.

Ask them things like “Tell me about yourself” & “Where do you see yourself in 5 years.”

After you pose the question, answer in your character’s voice. 

Describe the most exciting thing about your idea.

What’s the part that gets you most excited about your new idea?

Write it down on the page!

• Is it the characters?

• The setting?

• The bad guy/gal?

Write down the exciting part(s), and then write down why it excites you.  

Describe the setting in your idea.

You have this great idea, and it has to happen somewhere, right?

Write down all the details you’ve thought of about the world where this idea takes place.

Include things like:

• Landscape

• Buildings

• Climate

Anything that helps make this world real for you so you can picture it in your mind.

Describe the main character & profile them.

Maybe you didn’t have an idea about a place, but a person.

Write down everything you know about that person so far.

• What does s/he look like?

• Act like?

• Feel like?

• Also write down the things you don’t know yet.

If you’re not ready to write about what s/he is doing, create a character profile for her/him. For my novel, I used this really cool template from Reedsy to help me begin to figure out the details. 

Write the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your idea.

If your idea is still kind of hazy, clear your mind, and then come back to the idea with fresh eyes.

Write down the first thing that comes to mind when you think about it.

Once you have that, analyze it.

What else do you need to know for this to be a scene or a realistic picture of your idea? 

Not knowing where or how to start writing happens all the time. Every semester, without fail, I see the moment when at least one student gets excited about an idea, which then kind of fizzles out when they realize they have to actually write about it. I always tell them that for a lot of people, starting is the hardest part. Myself included! Hence my BLAH BLAH BLAH INTRO trick - works every time! 

Every piece of writing starts somewhere, even if it’s not what you thought it would be when you first had the idea. You will eventually go back and revise and edit anyway, so you might as well get the idea out onto the page! 

Writing is hard work. It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new or if you’ve been doing it for years. It’s a skill, and hopefully if you want to write, it’s a passion. Remember, starting is the hardest part. 

If you have a passion for your writing project, and you have put words to paper, you have overcome the obstacle that stops a lot of people from writing at all. Take that passion and run with it. Be excited about it! You’ll enjoy where it takes you. 

Have you had an experience where you’ve been stuck on your writing? Where you didn’t feel so great about an idea? Email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com or drop a comment below. I’m always curious to hear about the experiences of fellow writers! 

Next Steps

If you’ve been “stuck” or in a rut with your writing before, you know the frustration of not knowing what to do to start again - or start at all. The next time you have a hard time with how to start writing, try using these prompts & remember that starting is often the hardest part of writing!

So what do you do with this information going forward? There are several simple steps you can take. Notice I didn’t say “easy” - starting and working on a piece of writing isn’t necessarily easy, but it IS worth it.

1. Decide you will write, even if you’re not inspired…Yet.

Do you want to start with one of the prompts above? Or maybe you’ve been inspired to use one of the techniques to get going in your own way? Make the conscious decision that you will write, and then stick to it. Remember, you can always change your writing later, but not if there’s nothing there to work with.

2. Find someone to be accountable with.

Sometimes what we need to make progress is someone to talk through our ideas with, and someone who will help us stay accountable for making progress.

Whether you go with a trusted friend or a professional, make sure that whoever you want to work with will be a) honest and b) tell you what you need to hear, even if it’s not what you want to hear. This generally means try to find another writer. 

If you are interested in working with me, I offer 1:1 accountability sessions for just this reason. A lot of writers don’t have other writers in their life to do this with, at least not friends who they are close enough with to feel comfortable working with in this way. 

I’ve been a writer and writing teacher for years, and I’ve seen almost everything in writing. I’m always going to be honest, but I will always be kind about it. If this sounds like something you want to investigate more, click here to read more about some of the services I offer along with accountability. 

3. Sit down & write

Once you’ve decided you’re going to write, and you’ve found someone to be accountable with, sit down and do the damn writing! Pick one of the prompts above and just go to town. Let yourself feel the words & know that nothing needs to be perfect.

My challenge to you is to sit down within the next week (accountability partner or not) and write. You can set a timer if you like, but make sure to put words on the page.

Have you struggled with how to write in the past? Or where to start? I’d love to hear about your experiences! Find me on social media, drop a comment below, or email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com! 

Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great writing. 

The Journey Matters

Have you ever woken up one day, looked at your life, and asked yourself, “How the heck did I get here?” Or possibly “What am I doing with my life?”  I know I have! (You don’t need to mention how often this happens - for some of us, it’s frequent.)

Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to achieve our future goals or dwelling on where we came from that we miss the middle period. We conveniently “forget” or gloss over that period when we were working our butts off because when we get to a goal, we’ve made it! Right? 

The problem is that the middle period is most of our time. Seriously. We have a handful of goals, some big and some small, but the reality is that we don’t meet a major goal every single day of our lives. That would be exhausting! And unrealistic. 

Our big goals and dreams take time, work, and effort. When we achieve a major goals, it’s so monumental that all we want to do, at least initially, is celebrate our arrival. That’s what gives us the “ability” to gloss over all the middle work. 

The middle is critical, though.

This is true not just because it’s the biggest part of our lives, but also because it’s where we learn and grow. It’s where we fail, fall flat on our face, and get back up and start again. It’s the unexpected delights and overlooked barriers. Most of all, it’s a journey, and the journey matters. 

I’ve been contemplating my journey a lot lately, as I had one of those “How did I get here?” moments the other day. I arrived on campus to teach my evening classes and before going to the classroom, I went to the vending machine. After deciding not to pay $1.25 for a snack bag of chips, I was walking - will all of my stuff - back to the classroom and I was at ease. 

I saw a couple of students bolt into the classroom, eyes glued to their phones. As I set up and unloaded all of my materials, I thought about how, not long ago, I was that student walking into night class.

I went into the classroom, began writing peer review rules on the board, and thought about how much I disliked peer review as a student. It was surreal how much everything had changed in less than 5 years. 

This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about my journey, and it certainly won’t be the last. But, it made me stop to consider where I’ve been and what I want in the future. Having recently started pursuing my lifelong dream of being a writer “when I grow up,” the journey has become much more obvious in my life. 

Are you where you thought you would be when you were young? If not, where did your journey lead you? If you are, is it everything you dreamed of? 

I certainly couldn’t have pictured where I am right now 5 years ago! 

The first time I remember intentionally doing critical thinking about my journey was during graduate school. I was at a graduate conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, giving a paper about a super cool mosaic novel, 12 Collections & The Teashop by Zoran Zivkovic. (You can read more about it in my recommended reads blog!). 

The closing activity of the conference was for each individual to choose a 3 word phrase that represented one of the guiding principles of their lives. At the end, we all took a picture together that made a mosaic.

Everyone else seemed to be thinking about their phrases with ease. Meanwhile, I was stumped. I was surrounded by some of the smartest people I’d ever met, most of them pursuing PhD degrees, and they seemed to know what they were all about. 

Up to that point, I thought I had a long term plan for my career, but right around that time, new knowledge had made me reconsider everything. I was lost, and I didn’t know where the future was going to lead (besides out of school - I was seriously burned out). In that moment, I figured out my phrase: 

“The Journey Matters”

You can see my piece of the mosaic pictured here. I still have it, and even though it’s not displayed, I think of it often. 

Once I considered that my life was a journey and not a goal (or a race), life changed! Many times since then, I’ve looked back fondly at that day and wished it had come sooner. Everything in its own time, though, right? 

I am so very thankful that I was able to live that moment. Of course, living for the journey is a work in progress. That’s part of being human. But I try to take time every day to notice what’s right and beautiful in the world, even on the days when I’m inundated with stress and bad news. I even have a series of sunrise pictures taken on my way to work. They’re quite lovely, and I enjoy flipping through the different seasons. 

I’m also profoundly grateful for the opportunities I had during grad school. There seems to be an ongoing debate about whether grad school is worth the time and money, and I believe it is, 100%. 

It’s not for everyone, but these are some of the (important) ways I grew during grad school: 

• Learned how to be a full-fledged adult

• Learned how to (effectively) manage time

• Learned to prioritize, plan, and organize

• Learned how to and did networking! (This is probably one of the most important things any adult can learn.)

• Was offered and took professional opportunities that helped me get a job after I graduated. I taught, was a teaching assistant, and was a research assistant. (Not all at the same time.)

• Learned to think critically and in new ways.

• Learned to persevere when everything seems like it’s too much.

• Learned to lean on my support network for help.

• Learned to admit that sometimes I need help because I’m only one person.

• Learned a butt load about English & how to teach it to students.

This isn’t a comprehensive list, of course, but as you’ll probably notice, most of the growth was learning. I did learn in class (a lot! About things I love!), but most of the growth I experienced, especially the pieces I still use regularly today, were as a person. 

I needed this part of my journey to become a successful me in the present day. If I hadn’t had the moment of realizing that the journey is so gosh dang important, I might have missed how much I really have grown, for the better, since college. Let alone high school. 

The next time you find yourself wondering how you got where you are today or where you are supposed to be going, look at your journey. Think about those “aha” moments in your own life. You know, the ones where it was like a light bulb came on in your mind and it was like you were able to see things clearly for the first time. 

Many of us are goal-driven people. We are achievers who like to check off boxes and feel like we’ve accomplished what we set out to do. We have to purposefully stop and make time to remember, though, that life isn’t always about the check boxes. It’s so much more. We just have to make the choice to look around us and see it. 

How do you think about your journey? What are some of your aha moments that have changed your life? I’d love to hear about them! Drop me a comment or email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com. 

Book vs. Movie: An Epic Unwinnable Battle

Let’s face it, we’ve all heard at least one version of a book versus movie battle. Surprisingly, most seem to conclude that the book is always better. Despite the fact that we’re constantly surrounded by media. It’s fascinating! 

This indicates that, despite the seeming decline in print media in favor of digital, we still highly value our creative words. Not only that, but a lot of people prefer the book. It’s remarkable, really, when you consider that our average attention span in 2019 is only 8 seconds - less than a goldfish! 

Clearly we have “battle” lines between the book and movie adaptation, but what are they? 

Detail

Many of our long-loved favorites are quite lengthy and include numerous details about everything from characters to setting. As readers, we devour these details because it allows us to paint a mental image of what’s going on with the characters in their own world. This is especially true within the Sci/Fi & Fantasy genres that can be epic in proportions. 

Depth

There’s something about words that, when done correctly, describe things in a way nothing else quite can. When you read a good book, you feel like you know the characters. Their tragedy becomes yours, and their anger is well-deserved toward that jerk of an antagonist because you hate that guy/girl, too. Books create new worlds or simulate a world very similar to our own that we can live in for a little bit. We gain a deep understanding (we feel) about the people, places, and events that occur.

Character Development

Who here has had a book crush? How about a book best friend? I’ve had both, and I’ll bet most book enthusiasts have, too. No shame here! That’s a telltale sign of a great book, right? How we relate to and understand characters has an enormous impact on whether we enjoy or appreciate a book. In order to relate to, or be distant from, characters, they have to be thoroughly developed first, though. 

Attempt at concept recreation

A book sets the standard for its movie. If a movie is based on a book, the book came first, which means any important concepts and themes must be represented in the movie. Otherwise, it shouldn’t be “based on the novel.” A film must not only make an attempt at representing important ideas, characters, and moments, but it needs to do it well to succeed. 

The battle lines are drawn and defined. The battle commences! Why the book “always” wins.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “the devil is in the details”? Well, 400 pages (or more) of book can pack a heck of a lot of details into one story. Some series have multiple 400+ page books. How on earth could a 2 hour movie represent all 400+ pages of details for your viewing pleasure?

It couldn’t! Filmmakers have to make decisions about what’s important, and sometimes we viewers just don’t agree, even when the movie ends up being 3+ hours long! The effort is there, but sometimes it just misses for us. 

Do you ever really feel like you know a movie character? Or that you’re in the movie with them? Meh, maybe on a rare occasion. But an average length movie doesn’t typically offer the kind of depth a book can.

You can easily lose yourself in a well-written book, but it’s a little harder to lose yourself in a movie when everyone else is watching the movie right next to you. There’s also the issue of casting. Are the actresses & actors able to effectively create the world you imagined?

Casting also plays a role in how well you connect (or don’t connect) to your beloved book characters. If an actor doesn’t create enough character development or decides to take some creative license, your book crush will probably not become a movie crush. Likewise, when you were reading the book, you developed an image in your head of each character, and if something doesn’t match with the film characters? Well, you might not like that very much.

Probably the biggest reason people tend to favor the book over the movie is because a lot of movies swing and miss at their attempt to recreate the main concepts from the book. Reading is a pretty personal endeavor, and there are always going to be “easy” themes that translate for most people. Those are obvious choices to be included in movies.

The harder part is finding the less obvious, nuanced ideas. Because we interpret these nuances differently, sometimes films skip things we feel are really important. Or, they add things that seem trivial. These areas are definitely where our differences show. Filmmakers also have to consider how to create these ideas. Even if it was a critical theme in the book, they have to find a way to represent that visually, which can be hard for complicated ideas.

It’s true, it seems as though books have the edge. BUT, can we really compare a book to a movie? I don’t think so. Here’s why. 

Different expectations 

The reality of trying to compare a book to a movie is that we don’t really have the same expectations. A book might be entertaining, but often it’s more than that. It’s an escape, a new world to explore, a haven where we can get away from our life for a little bit and think about things we don’t know. A good book can literally be a walk in someone else’s shoes. 

We don’t expect that of a movie, though. We go to a movie to be entertained. Sure, it might be an escape, but the fact of the matter is, you’re still in the theatre with other people who may or may not be munching crunchy foods and kicking your seat. If you’re lucky, they’ve silenced and put away the cell phone that will momentarily blind you if you look right at it on accident. Life is still right there, and a movie is more about living and doing something fun than being fully immersed.  

Different medium

We can’t compare apples to apples with a book and movie because they’re different mediums. It’s more like comparing an apple to an orange - similar aspects, but not the same. You can hold a book in your hand, read it in private, feel those feelings by yourself and enjoy (or weep at) them. You can read a physical book and turn the pages, or you can read an ebook on a screen. Most of all, books are word-based.

Movies, on the other hand, are a little different. You can only watch a movie on a screen, whether that’s a TV, tablet, phone, etc. (there are more and more screen options by the year it feels like). You can’t mark your place where you left off, although some media players will remember, most will not. It’s all about the visuals: setting the scene, character portrayal by a real person, emotion through audio and visual together. 

Different experience

Have you ever finished a book or finally put it down after a long time reading and felt disoriented? Like you were a little confused where you were and what time it was? That’s called a book hangover. Or at least that’s what I call it. If you read a book and get a book hangover, it’s obviously good, right? It has captured your attention so much that you have literally forgotten what’s around you in the real world. 

But do you get a movie hangover? Probably not. Maybe in a few select circumstances, but that’s not the norm, right? You are aware that you’ve been sitting there for 2 hours because your butt is numb or sore and you’ve run out of drink. You might be feeling hungry or tired, but you are definitely aware of yourself and your surroundings. You might love the movie! Great casting, acting, costumes, etc. But it’s not the same as getting lost in a book. They’re different experiences, and that’s okay! They’re meant to do different things. 

Am I suggesting a movie can be just as good as a book? I absolutely am! 

TheLord of the Rings: A Brief Case Study

I absolutely love TheLord of the Rings...films. That’s right, the films. I’m even watching one right now. 

I saw The Fellowship of the Ring first, and immediately decided to read the book. I picked it up from the library, giddy with excitement. Of course I would like the book if I liked the movie so much. 

Wrong. 

I couldn’t even get through the first chapter. The description is simply too much for me. There’s so much written on the page that it leaves no room for me to imagine the world. Which is crazy! Because it’s an exciting world with wizards and dragons and elves. 

Which is why I love the movies: they create a visual for me with a ton of intricate details (J.R.R. Tolkien invented 20+languages for this series, guys. It’s really incredible.) in a subtle way. The actors and actresses embody the characters well, and overall, the visual effect is just pleasing and exciting. But the movies don’t beat me over the head by describing every tiny detail of every single thing like the book does.

The Moral of the Story

The “battle” will always be present between books and movies, because we love them both. As a group, we love entertainment and we love getting swept away in a good book - there’s no doubt about it! And our love of stories is continuing to become more widespread as technology makes it possible for almost anyone to write, self-publish, and share their words on the internet. 

Movies get a bad reputation for trying to represent books. But, look. We don’t really expect them to replace the book, do we? It’s not the same and we all know it (even if you aren’t ready to admit it). So why do we keep comparing two things we know are not the same? 

We shouldn’t! We can enjoy both books and movies for their unique pleasures. Don’t like the book? Maybe the movie will be better. Movie was great? Doesn’t guarantee the book won’t be boring. 

Next time, before you compare, think about how the book and movie pair together. How do they compliment each other? How are they different? And why do you think that is? 

Fellow book AND movie lovers: I’d love to hear from you! This is a hot debate and can get rather heated sometimes, so let’s talk about it! Email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com or leave a comment below and tell me about your book/movie experiences.

6 Strategies to Ease Student Fears in Your Classroom

If you’ve ever taught at any level, you’ve probably seen the look. You know, the one when you announce that a project or a test is worth a significant part of the class grade. Students get stiff in their seats and stop moving around. Their eyes widen slightly and their jaw might drop a little. You can see the panic in their eyes as they immediately start trying to figure out what to do before the assignment to boost their grade enough to allow wiggle room, or worse, failure. 

The look is especially obvious if you then say the assignment has a “final” grade: no revisions, no redos, no other opportunities to fix it, should they mess up. Can you picture the look? Not just on a student you’ve taught, but in general. Sometimes the group dynamic even shifts as everyone gets tense. 

I see that look every semester, without fail. English, along with math and the sciences, get a bad reputation for being “scary” subjects. They’re subjects that people, even those who aren’t in school, are very quick to say “Oh, I’m bad at that” or “I’m really good at that.” 

They get pitted against each other, as if someone who is good at English can’t be good at math or science. Or, someone who excels at math can’t be good at English. The worst part is the assumption that if someone is good at math or science, they don’t like English or that someone who has always loved English can’t also like the black and white nature of math. I teach English Composition at the college level, but as a student, I saw the look of fear in my peers in other classes, too. 

So what the heck is happening that our students are so scared when they come to class?

Student worries:

They’ve never been to this kind of class (or any type of class). 

They don’t know anyone in class, and they’ve never met the teacher. 

They’ve had bad experiences in other classes. 

They’ve been told what they were doing for class wasn’t good enough. 

They’ve gotten feedback they don’t understand.

They learn more slowly or differently than their peers and might fall or get left behind. 

They haven’t figured out how to learn & study effectively.

They feel like they should already know what to do even when they don’t. 

They’re taking classes in a non-native language. 

They’re afraid the teacher will think less of them because of the work they submit. 

They don’t know where or how to get help besides asking the teacher they just met and don’t know very well. 

They think the teacher wants them to be exactly like the teacher.

These are just some of the thoughts I have encountered during my teaching career, but the list goes on and on. Typically, students have more than one of these fears, too. It’s not just that they don’t know how to study for tests & papers or that they got feedback in their other English class they don’t understand.

It’s both of these, plus the fact that they didn’t feel comfortable with the instructor. Or, it’s both of these, plus the fact that this is only their second class in college and they’re still trying to figure out what to do and how to behave.

It’s no wonder they’re afraid!

Think back to when you first went to college. What were you afraid of? Chances are, your students have those same fears - maybe even some you didn’t have because expectations and technology have changed since then. 

Not all students are afraid. In fact, sometimes it’s quite the opposite. There are always students who have had great experiences before and are very confident in themselves. (Sometimes too confident for the work they produce.)

I tend to worry less about these students because they will keep producing work. I give them a healthy number of comments, and constructive criticism (very kindly, of course) where they need it; but, I find most often that these students don’t need extra attention and a lot of times don’t want it. At least not in the same way a fearful student needs attention. 

What can we do to help the students who are afraid? 

Be transparent.

Have you ever been in a situation where you were expected to complete a task but didn’t know why or what the goal was? But you certainly had to complete it in a timely manner, and to the best of your ability. That’s how students feel when teachers aren’t transparent. 

Laying out the goals and expectations up front, as well as how you are going to help them meet those, is extremely important. If students know what they point is, they can at least figure it out in their own minds or ask for clarification. They can’t possibly do their best work if they don’t know what they are expected to be doing. 

Be a vulnerable human.

Think back to your favorite and most memorable instructors. Were they people who had all the answers but were as dry as toast in class? Or were they people who you recognized as someone who knew stuff, but was still a person with a normal life? Maybe they had the best (worst?) “dad jokes” or a pet that always made an appearance in class conversation. 

More than likely, the people you remember are more people-y than toast-y, right? This is because when we share pieces of ourselves with our students, we become more of a real person than a “teacher” label. I’m definitely not advocating for a tell-all gossip session with your students, but if your student is terrified to ask a question, who do you think they will go to first? A toast teacher or a person who happens to be their teacher? 

If you aren’t really a “sharer”, this could be a little more difficult to work on. When I first started teaching, this was a lot harder because I felt I had to spend more time establishing myself as an authority rather than working on building human connections. Turns out, most of the time being a human is more important than being an authority figure.

Be empathetic.

When a student comes to you with a problem, sometimes completely unrelated to class, how do you react? What’s your instinct? Is your first reaction to think about your student’s performance in your class? I would guess not, although that might occur to you not too long after the initial thoughts. 

I had a student lose her home during the semester one time. I can’t imagine, and I hope I’m never in a position where I fully understand that kind of fear. The best I could do was to be empathetic and point her toward resources who could help. I also worked with her on being flexible for my class. Nonetheless, I am glad that she was comfortable enough to share so I could at least try to help. 

Even in less extreme instances, it’s important to be empathetic toward our students. We only know what they share with us, if they share at all. Even then it’s only part of the story.

Encourage students verbally & in writing.

When was the last time someone gave you a compliment? Or told you they believe in you? I hope you can remember! If not, it’s been too long. The good news is that I believe in you. No hesitations. Whatever you’re struggling with right now will pass, and you are doing great. 

It took me about 10 seconds to type that out to a largely unknown group of readers. Again, no hesitations. So why would I skip that with my students? It helps so much - more than you realize. This week I told my students I would never comment that their paper is bad or even insinuate it. I repeated it a couple of times, just to make sure they heard it. The relief I saw throughout the classroom was unbelievable. It was physical. I could see it.

Taking the time in class and in written feedback to tell your students you believe in them can be life-changing. You might be the first or only teacher who has stopped to do so. Even when the paper isn’t the best work a student can produce, it’s still worth finding something to compliment on. I’ve never found a paper where I couldn’t find one nice thing to say, even when almost every other comment focuses on areas the student needs to improve. 

Consider how you build your assignments & classwork.

Do you work through a process or focus on getting a task done in one sitting? What do you expect from your students as they go through your classes?

As teachers, we have enjoyed learning enough to get through school and share our ideas with our students. I’m not sure I’ve met a teacher who doesn’t like to learn. But this isn’t always the case for our students. Sometimes learning in class can be really hard for them. So, when we write assignments and make a plan for the semester, we should consider students who don’t learn, or like learning, the same way we do. 

There will almost always be requirements and expectations above the level you are able to change. How you express and prepare your students for these expectations, though, is largely at your discretion, at least in college. Building time and space for practice and “messing up” is extremely beneficial, and will certainly help students who are afraid to find their footing before the bigger projects or assignments. 

Put yourself in their shoes before you respond to questions & assignments.

If you’re teaching students at the college level, you went to college and successfully graduated. And then did grad school. Maybe you also got licensed to teach younger students, or maybe, like me, you stuck with teaching adults. Either way, you have completed a significant amount of formal learning. For some of us, it hasn’t been so long since we were students. For others, college was a little farther in our past. 

Either way, you started where your students are right now. You might have had very similar experiences, or maybe they were quite different. Before you give students feedback, consider their circumstances right now. Do they have non-cognitive distractions? Are they trying and not understanding? Take a moment before you write that off handed comment to think how it will land with your student. This isn’t to say you can’t give students constructive criticism, on the contrary, they need it! But we should always be aware of what we’re saying.

I have met a lot of teachers and been in a lot of classes. And I have taught more than a handful of my own classes, now. It’s important to think about the scared students because there are a lot of them. Not just that, but most of the fears they have are things you can adapt and change for your class. It’s just a matter of being aware and making adjustments. 

Most of the fears students have are things you can adapt and change for your class.

There are undoubtedly those who have other priorities. Some who believe a little tough love is just the thing scared students need. Or that scared students should “just snap out of it.” I know because I’ve had that conversation before. 

Having started college as a scared student, I can attest to the fact that this often makes students crawl further into doubt and compounds their fear of failure. The people who made the biggest difference on my learning journey were people who were encouraging and allowed me to “mess up” so I could get better. They understood that being human is hard, and it showed in the classroom. 

What kinds of fears have you seen in your classes? What have you tried to do to help ease student fear in your classes? I’d love to hear from you! Drop me an email at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com or comment below!

OneNote Wonder: A Digital Notebook that Will Change Your Life

Imagine standing there in the office supplies aisle at the store looking at all the pretty notebooks. So blank and clean and full of possibility. Getting a new notebook (and pens) is one of my favorite things in the world. 

But what if I told you there was a digital version? A notebook that never got bent up when you were carrying it around. A notebook with basically unlimited sections and pages. A notebook that saves to the cloud so that you can open it on any Microsoft enabled device. 

If this sounds amazing, and you haven’t heard of Microsoft OneNote (or heard the name and didn’t know what it was), this will be a game changer for you! Seriously. Because having an almost unlimited notebook (and the option for more than one notebook) with all the modern font and color conveniences is pretty much a writers’ dream, right? 

Writing with pen and paper is incredibly helpful, but sometimes you need to be able to write on your phone or in a tight space where you don’t have a flat surface to write on. 

Let me give you the skinny: Microsoft OneNote is part of the Microsoft Office 365 Suite. This means that when you buy the suite, you can use it online, on your desktop, or on your devices through the app. Personally, I use it on my desktop because I prefer the layout; however, most functions can be used either way. 

THIS IS IMPORTANT:

If you are a student or faculty member (including adjuncting) you probably get this for free or at least a reduced price! Many universities and colleges have made the Microsoft suite available to students for free or cheap prices because in college and adult life, most people benefit from Microsoft programs like Word and Excel. 

Here’s a basic run down of how OneNote works:

Step #1) Create a new notebook in Microsoft OneDrive.

This can be a little tricky if your not tech savvy because you do have to save to your OneDrive. Saving to OneDrive instead of just to your computer is what allows you to be able to access your notebooks on any compatible device. It’s also what allows your notes to automatically save and sync any time you make a change, which means that you don’t have to worry about losing any data. 

Here’s a helpful video that walks you through how to go about making a new notebook.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlRmK8DvfU8

Step #2)Access your notebook online or through the desktop application

You can use the online or desktop version - whatever floats your boat. The desktop version looks similar, but the tools are shifted a little bit, so unless you want to learn both, I would recommend choosing one or the other locations to do most of your OneNote work. 

Step #3)Create new tabs

Similar to different sections in a physical notebook, OneNote allows for different tabs. This is super convenient if you’re like me and love keeping all of your documents and notes completely  organized. 

Tabs at the top & Pages on the right side bar

Step #4)Create new pages

Like the feeling of flipping to a new notebook page? Creating a new page is pretty much the same thing! All you have to do is select the little plus sign and voila! A clean blank page for you to start a new idea/list/etc. 

These are the big structural highlights, which are great on their own. But here are my absolute favorite features that will be great for you, if you try this awesome tool. 

Easy & logical page organization

Page organization of my writing notebook in OneNote

When you create pages, you can make headers and have pages that fall underneath - much like the beginning of a chapter in a book. For example, “Chapter 1” is the heading, and all the pages following are part of Chapter 1 until the next heading. You can leave all the pages at the default level, or easily drag pages under whatever heading you want. This also means you can rearrange super quick (if you want/need). 

You can use it like this for your writing, to organize chapters, but I like to use them for Possible Titles, Characters, Plot Timeline, and Random Bits of my writing. I can easily tell which section I’m in, though, because of how the sidebar 

Moveable & resizable text boxes

If you’re like me, you probably find yourself having a random thought here and there that’s not entirely unrelated to what you are doing, but can’t really go onto the page exactly where you’re at. Case in point: if I’m writing a new section of my novel and I think of a characteristic or scene I need to change with a character, the place for that is definitely not in the current section. 

OneNote allows you to create a new text box anywhere you click, resize it by grabbing the edge, and move it wherever you want. So, when you have a random idea, you can jot it down and simply move it out of the way rather than trying to remember and write it when you get done with your task. This never works for me, as my short term memory is terrible, so I love being able to just pop a text box open and put it in the corner for later use!

I also love it for my character profiles because I can have different text boxes and move them wherever I want on the page. Being a visual learner, this is a great tool because unlike a normal piece of paper, you won’t spill over the edge of the page - it expands when you need it to. 

Sample character profile in OneNote (notice the multiple text boxes & star!)

Star option for important ideas 

Another great feature that makes my life a lot easier is the star option for “Important” items. When you select a line of text, you can go up into the task bar ribbon at the top and “tag it” as an “Important” item, which means that it will put a nice yellow star next to that line/bullet point/etc. This makes the point easy to find.

You can also remove the start when you are done and star other items, if you are working on a list or trying to prioritize.

To do list option

To Do List in OneNote! This is for my blog (believe me, there are many more "to-dos" than this), and it's super convenient.

Another great tag option is the “To Do” check boxes. Do you love checking items off your list that you’ve completed? I know I do! This is especially true when I have a lot of small tasks because then I can see a neat little row of crossed out items. 

You can even give your tasks in OneNote a sub task! So, if you need to work on character development for your newest writing project, you can add more specific tasks underneath: Names, Characteristics, Personality, Character Arc, etc. and they will all get their own check box. It’s fabulous!

Export your OneNote page(s) as Word documents

When I began using OneNote, I was copying and pasting my work into a separate Microsoft Word document to send and share with others. Somewhere along the way (probably thanks to some Googling), I figured out that I can actually export my page into a Word document through OneNote. 

The formatting isn’t exactly the same when you open up your new document, but it’s pretty darn close! So, if you need to distribute notes or something like that, but also need it to stay properly organized within your notebook, OneNote has your back! 

Share with others

Last, but certainly not least, you can share your OneNote notebook with other people. You can give them access to edit, if you want to collaborate with someone or have them put edits in your document. Or, if you only want them to see it but not change it, there’s an option for that, too! 

It’s pretty great because if you work in a team you can just share the document instead of sending separate Word docs. Alternatively, if you’re working solo (like on your writing), you can share with others who may not be near and they can still give you feedback directly on the document without having to email different copies back and forth. 

I first learned about and started using OneNote at work because I keep a lot of documents that need to be uniform and all kept together. I was tired of handwriting notes during meetings and later typing them out, so when I learned how to use OneNote it was a major time saver! I absolutely love the features I have figured out how to use so far, and I can’t wait to learn more as I begin being able to use it at home, too. 

What do you think? Have you used or heard of OneNote? If so, what were your experiences? Favorite tricks and tips you didn’t see in my article? If not, does this sound like something that would help you be more productive and organized? Let me know in the comments or send me an email at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com. Can’t wait to hear from you!

Do the Thing that Scares You

We’re all scared of something. Personally, one of my biggest fears is bees. There’s nothing really wrong with the buzzy little creatures, but I was attacked by a swarm when I was younger and ever since anything that remotely looks like a bee freaks me out.

Besides these small fears, though, I do have some bigger fears looming that can sometimes seem insurmountable. Will we ever pay off our student loans? What will happen when we have kids? 

Thinking on this bigger scale, what are your fears? The future? Your career (or lack thereof, perhaps)? Serious relationships? Take a moment and just think about it - just the big ones (you don’t have to tell anyone you’re afraid of sleeping with your feet out of the blanket even though you’re an adult). What scares the daylights out of you? Go ahead and make a list while you’re thinking about it.

Now, what excites you?

Now, what excites you? That sweet date night coming up? Working your way into a job you enjoy? Spending time with your family? Take another moment here and consider what makes you excited to get up in the morning. Again, think of the big things. The fact you’re having pancakes for breakfast is exciting, but maybe not quite the stuff of big dreams. (Unless you dream of creating a lifestyle where you have time to have a luxurious pancake breakfast every morning at home in your PJs.) Make another list. They can be on the same piece of paper, or separate. Thinker’s choice. 

Looking at your two lists, what overlaps? 

Looking at your two lists, what overlaps? Does anything you listed as a fear make you a little excited, even though it might make your stomach drop, too? What about the things that excite you? Do those big dreams make you a little afraid, too, even though they would be awesome? 

They probably do! Fear and excitement are both excellent motivators, although they work in different ways.

When you’re afraid of something, you might hedge around it or try to avoid it altogether. But, when you’re excited, you take a breath and lean in to the excitement. Even if it’s difficult or inconvenient, you try extra hard for things that excite you because you want them. Somewhere along the line you decided the excitement was more important than the hard stuff. 

Of course, it’s one thing to be excited and run toward our dreams, but it’s quite another to face our fears and overcome them. 

Hard truth, though. If you’re dreams don’t scare you at least a little bit, they’re not big enough. 

I’m definitely not the first person to think of or believe this, and I won’t be the last. It might even be a cliche. But, it’s true. I was taking a webinar the other day with the fabulous Marie Forleo, and she reminded me how important this statement is. How much of a difference it can make in our lives. 

Hear me out.

If you can turn fear into motivation to get to the things that excite you most, you will be a force to be reckoned with. You will turn yourself into an unstoppable dream-getter. 

If you can turn fear into motivation to get to the things that excite you most, you will be a force to be reckoned with. You will turn yourself into an unstoppable dream-getter. 

So why aren’t we all unstoppable dream-getters? 

• We haven’t figured out what we are afraid of.

• We know what we are afraid of and we avoid it.

• We think we can figure out workarounds for our fears instead of dealing with them head on.

• We let the fear run our lives and convince ourselves we’re okay with it.

• We want to be dream-getters but we don’t know how.

Which of these categories resonates with you? Which have you done or do you actively do that you hate admitting to yourself, even though it’s true? 

It’s okay. 

If you need to read that again, please take the time. 

It’s okay to be afraid and it’s okay that it’s not easy for you to admit, even to yourself, that you’re scared of one of your biggest dreams - let alone to tell someone else. 

It’s okay that you’re a work in progress, because the reality is we are all works in progress. 

Let me share something with you. If you’ve read some of my other blogs about the beginning of my novel writing journey, this will probably sound familiar, but if you’re brand new and you’re wondering who the heck I am, let me tell you. 

I am a writer. I am a novelist. I am a teacher. I am a learner. And I have always loved helping others. 

I am a writer. I am a novelist. I am a teacher. I am a learner. And I have always loved helping others. 

But it took me almost a decade to be able to call myself a writer and really believe it. Seriously. When I was young I wrote prolifically! So much. ALL THE TIME. I went away to college as a Creative Writing major, I was so committed.

During my very first creative writing class, where I was the only freshman among juniors and seniors, the professor gave me some “blunt” comments, shall we say. There were other comments, I’m sure, but “Not Impressed” was the only piece that stuck. It crushed my little 18 year old heart. 

Because of that experience, I stopped writing creatively for SEVEN YEARS. I was afraid to disagree with someone who is an “authority” on writing. I was afraid of other people disliking my writing. I was afraid of not being good enough.

I was afraid to try again because I was sure I was going to get knocked down again, and I didn’t know how to deal with that.  

So I changed my major to Literature and kept writing: essays and research. I loved writing about other people’s writing, and that became the new normal. Over the years I convinced myself I wasn’t creative enough for creative writing. It wasn’t really for me, and I had just grown out of it. I let myself think this way, and did so on purpose. 

BULL. 

That’s right. I was purposely telling myself this bull crap because I was afraid of my writing dream. Even though it had been my dream for my entire life. Crazy, right? But what’s a girl to do? Give up because of one bad experience? 

HECK NO! 

If you’re feeling this way, and you’re tired of letting that fear stop you from doing things you love, here’s what you need to do. 

Step 1: Admit You Are Afraid and Define What You’re Afraid Of

You can’t solve anything if you can’t admit there’s a problem. The very first thing you need to do is acknowledge to yourself that you are afraid of something. You don’t have to tell anyone else if you’re not comfortable. And you don’t even have to write it down. But you have to know, in your own mind, that there is a fear and what it is. Out of all the ways you face your fear, admitting it will most likely be the hardest part. 

Step 2: Figure out Why You Are Afraid

Once you have admitted to yourself that you’re afraid of something and determined what it is, you need to figure out why.

What is it that scares you about this particular dream/experience/goal?

What is it that scares you about this particular dream/experience/goal? Was there some sort of event in your life that caused you to put the breaks on something that previously made you happy? Did you go through a phase where your interests changed and you didn’t really know what was happening? Take time and really dig deep for the “why” - it’s important. 

Step 3: Figure Out the Edges of Your Comfort Zone 

You’re getting there! You know what you’re afraid of and you’ve determined why you’re afraid of it. Now you’re looking directly at your fear, and it might be uncomfortable. Good work. Keep going! Don’t turn back now. I know it’s scary, but now that you have a little better picture of what you’re afraid of, you need to figure out where the edge of your comfort zone lives. 

How have you been talking about or working around this fear? What’s comfortable? Sneak out to the edge and push that a little further. What is slightly uncomfortable? What makes you a little uneasy? Not panicked or tense, but just a little...out of your comfort zone?

Press this a little bit in all directions. See how far you can go without going into panic or shutdown mode. If you will remember where these boundaries are, you don’t need to write them down; but, if you’re like me and think you might forget, go ahead and define them on a piece of paper. 

Step 4: Determine One Small First Step to Face Your Fear

You’ve figured out the very edges of your comfort zone, and that’s great. If you need to take a break, feel free! We can’t always face our fear in one day, sometimes they are just too big. But, when you’re ready, you need to step back out to the edge of your comfort zone. That place where you feel okay, but a little uneasy. If you wrote down your boundaries from Step 3, this is a good time to pull that out and take a look. 

Look at those boundaries and determine one small thing you can do to face your fear.

You’re going to look at those boundaries and determine one small thing you can do to face your fear. Notice I said small. This doesn’t mean go running out into the wild beyond your comfort zone with reckless abandon. On the contrary, look at your fear and your comfort zone and decide on one action you can take in the immediate future to start facing this fear.

For me, this step came in the form of actually putting my writing onto a document and not erasing it. It wasn’t a big step, but it was a step. What can you do that might make you a little uneasy at first, but will be one small step toward your big scary dream? 

Step 5: Set Goals for Your Dream

Whew, take a breath! Whether you’ve taken your first small step or not, you’ve set yourself on a completely different path than when we started here. You’ve made a concrete decision about your fear and you’ve decided to tackle it. Perhaps you’ve even done taken that first step, which is amazing!

After you’ve taken the first small step, take a moment and look at your mindset. Look at your concrete step and where you’ve come so far. Has your fear started to look a little less scary and a little more like a dream? If it hasn’t happened yet, that will come (probably sooner than you think). Once you’ve taken your first action, you need to sit down and set up regular, achievable goals for yourself to kick that fear out of your mind and achieve your dream. 

You can add some bigger goals into the mix, but really think about everyday tasks you know you can complete. For me, the bigger goal will be to get my novel published. But that translates into smaller goals such as writing a new section every week, getting regular feedback on new sections, and taking time to map out where my novel is going.

Notice that none of these things are terribly long and cumbersome. I don’t set a page limit or a word count to reach because I know this will be a deterrent and I will constantly feel bad about my progress if I miss them (which is silly because everything I do that didn’t exist before is progress!) 

Step 6: Name Your Dream and Own It

So you’ve got goals in place? Some reachable, tangible steps you can take toward facing your fear and getting to that big dream? Good job! This stuff is hard work. You’re almost there! This next step might seem easy, but it’s definitely powerful. 

You need to name your dream. Call it what it is. When I started my novel in April after my long hiatus, I was literally calling it a “thing” - a little “writing thing” I was working on. Not a project, and certainly not a book. It took weeks and progress of taking those small steps before I was able to say out loud to myself that I was writing a book. I gave it a name. This was very scary!

When you own your dream, it becomes tangible. It’s not just a nebulous idea, but a goal.

Once you’ve named your dream, you need to own it. Owning it might come with the naming or a little while later. But, when you own your dream, it becomes tangible. It’s not just a nebulous idea, but a goal.

About a week or two after I first called my writing a book, I got up the courage to tell a friend I was working on a novel. It didn’t happen overnight, but once I was able to name it, my dream became a solidified reality. Not just a book, but a novel: my novel. 

Step 7: Work Toward Your Dream

Congratulations! You’ve gotten to the point where you’ve named your dream and started owning it. Is your fear still looming? Or has it receded to the background? 

You have your dream and your plan (and maybe a little bit of nervous energy leftover from that big scary fear). Your job now is to go and work on those goals. Use the remnants of your fear to fuel your motivation. You can do it! After all, you’ve gotten this far, right?

Keep chipping away at your goals, even when you don’t feel like it or it feels impossible. It’s okay to feel that way sometimes, but don’t let it take you back to where you started. Everything you do toward your goals and dreams is progress. No one is perfect, and you don’t need to be! You just need to keep working hard and making an effort. 

Step 8: Reflect

When you achieve your goals, small or large, make sure to leave time to reflect not only on how you feel about your accomplishment, but also how far you’ve come. You can write your thoughts down, jot notes, or just contemplate. Personally, I like keeping my thoughts in writing, but if that’s not you, don’t feel pressured to do so! 

You are powerful. You are an unstoppable dream-getter who doesn’t let fear hold you back. 

This final step is about recognizing to yourself, and others if you want, that you are powerful. You are an unstoppable dream-getter who doesn’t let fear hold you back. 

Whenever you feel like your fear is too much or you find yourself avoiding things because you’re scared of them, take a breath and do it anyway. It may take longer than a day or two - heck, it might even take a really long time! But do the thing that scares you. You and your dreams are worth facing the fear. 

What fears are holding you back? What small steps do you think you can take to face them? Email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com or leave a comment below and let me know! If you’re struggling with this, shoot me an email and let’s talk about it.

What's the Deal with Writing Prompts?

We’re constantly inundated with new ideas. We see them on TV and other visual media, read them in books, and perhaps research or create them on our own, if we’re feeling inspired. 

This can be a good and bad thing, right? An abundance of ideas would seem to lend itself well to a lot of great creative work. But, sometimes it’s just too much. We have so many ideas at the same time that we don’t know where to start and we just kind of shut down. 

We writers hate this. Both the feeling that we have no “good” ideas and the feeling of being overwhelmed by too many ideas and not knowing where to start. This is where writing prompts come in handy! 

What is a writing prompt?

A writing prompt is usually a short phrase or sentence that has a multitude of directions it could lead, should someone use it for their writing. You might remember using prompts at school when you were young. Things like “Describe your dream vacation” or “Tell me about your summer vacation.” 

A more “adult” or intricate example might be: “A stranger shuffles up to your front door and paces around the front porch for several minutes before ringing the doorbell. What does s/he say?” 

Who uses writing prompts?

Anyone can use a writing prompt! 

• Young writers

• Old writers

• New writers

• Experienced writers

• People with anxiety who aren’t “writers” at all

• People who want to learn to appreciate their lives a little more who also aren’t “writers”

• Anyone who wants to create something but isn’t sure where to start

All writers get “stuck” sometimes, and writing prompts can help. Even if they can get you out of your own head for a little bit. But writing prompts aren’t just for writers - they can help anyone who wants to be more mindful, or just wants a place to express themselves in a way that doesn’t make them worry about where to start.

When do I use a writing prompt?

Many people use prompts for lots of different reasons. Certainly we use them in school to get students writing (much to their dismay sometimes), and creatives often use them to spring into new genres or ideas. These are the most common reasons I’ve seen and heard for using writing prompts: 

• You’re stuck. You had a great character in mind but you have no idea what he’s supposed to be doing. You had a great setting but nobody to inhabit it. You had a dream or an event that sparked a great idea, but when you wrote it down, nothing else came to mind. The list could go on and on. Everyone gets “stuck” every now and again, so using a writing prompt to get you out of that rut can be super helpful.

• You feel like your current idea is boring. You have a great character and a storyline, but you’re just not feeling it. And maybe your readers aren’t either. You just wrote 50 pages and when you reread it, it’s just blah. So, the issue wasn’t that you didn’t have an idea, or that you were stuck, but maybe your idea just isn’t the one for you right now. There are certainly many creative writing prompts - maybe you even find one that spices up the work you’ve already done!

• You want to try something new. Just like we tend to read specific types of books because we like them, a lot of times, we tend to write pieces we like or we are within our comfort zone. Using a writing prompt can be really great to get you out of your box!

Where can I find writing prompts? 

Because we are a largely digital society now, writing prompts are EVERYWHERE. If you Google it, there are 145,000,000 results for a simple “writing prompts” search. When you search Pinterest for “writing,” the very first suggestion is writing prompts, which will lead you to all sorts of images and visuals containing writing prompts for your use. There are also books upon books of published ideas for helping you get started writing. 

The amount of writing prompts available can be almost as overwhelming as having too many ideas and nowhere to start! The good news is, whatever it is you need help starting, somewhere out there is a prompt that can help you. You just have to search for it. 

What kinds of writing prompts are there? 

This is an interesting question because a lot of people assume writing prompts are purely creative or only for creative writers. Or that they are just for kids or younger people. 

This is not the case, though! There are tons of writing prompt types. 

• Kids

• Adults

• Students

• Book of Prompts

• Novel

• Prompt Generators

• Creative Writing

• Gratitude

• There are writing prompts for pretty much anything your heart could desire!

If I use a writing prompt, isn’t that someone else’s idea? 

If you were to copy and paste someone else’s words and use them as your own, that would be a problem; however, prompts are there to help you! Most of the writing prompts you look at are barely more than a phrase. 

This is because they’re just meant to get you thinking, not to write anything for you. If the prompt you want to use is about a large bird named Thompson, you are the one who will create Thompson as a character - NOT the prompt. S/he will be your large bird who can do whatever you want her/him to do! 

The other thing to note here is that if you found a prompt on the internet (maybe it’s inspiration at first sight?), you are definitely not the only one who’s seen it. In fact, there are probably lots of people who have! And they may be full of great ideas about it, too. This doesn’t change how the writing prompt resonated with you, or that you had a brilliant idea. You are the only you, so even if your idea is a little similar to someone else or something you’ve read, your voice will be different than everyone else. Take that idea and run with it!  

Rachel, have you ever used a writing prompt? What do you think about them? 

I will be completely honest with you: I have not used a writing prompt to start any of my own creative writing. When I was younger I was brimming with ideas I thought were brilliantly original (even though they were not). I wrote all the time about lots of things! 

A poem from around 2010 (ish?) about being 30. It's surreal now that I'm closer than ever!

My current work features a lot of situations and inspiration from my own life, and I honestly started it because of a dream. You can read more about it here. Because my novel is drawing on experiences I’ve already had, I have plenty of material without a prompt. 

I also keep a gratitude journal every day, which some people like to use writing prompts to begin. Because my gratitude journal is not rigidly structured, I know I would have a hard time keeping up with prompts. Moment of truth? I would not do it if I had a list or prompt I had to read every day beforehand. The challenge of remembering what I’m grateful for on the bad days is enough of a challenge for me without adding in other ideas. 

I have used prompts to try my hand at poetry, which I am admittedly not good at. I am definitely not a poet at heart. The poetry that I have kept, however, is alright because it was loved and worked on throughout an entire semester. I would never have thought to write about any of the subjects unless I had been prompted first.

In the end, the choice of whether or not to use a writing prompt is completely up to you.

You are the mastermind behind your own writing, after all! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with looking at things from a different perspective sometimes; in fact, I encourage you to do so. 

Even if you’re not a writer and want to express yourself in a way that’s NOT crying on your spouse/best friend/dog/other pet’s shoulder, writing prompts can be a fantastic option. You don’t even have to worry about where to start!

What experiences have you had with writing prompts? Where & when did you use them? Did it go well? I’d love to hear about it! Drop me an email or leave a comment below. 

The Hidden Benefits of Writing with Pen and Paper

When was the last time you wrote something by hand? What was it? A to do list? A grocery list? Maybe a note to your significant other/roommate/child? 

I write to do lists every day, but rarely do I write longer words on paper anymore. I keep my creative work in a Google document and a Word document (for safe measure). I typically keep my blogs solely online in Google documents and my website. 

But I used to write everything by hand. I have an entire novel manuscript from when I was in high school that was written out by hand with a trust pen and notebook. 

I have been thinking a lot about this recently, as I begin to write more. I realized that I miss it. I miss the delicious feeling of a brand new pen sliding along a blank page. The visual of my thoughts becoming something on the page - a something that can’t accidentally be deleted with one wrong click of a button.

Now don’t get me wrong, digital technology can be incredibly useful! But it’s not always the best way to write. Here are 10 important reasons to pull out a notebook and write the old-fashioned way sometimes. 

10. Allows for a global view of your writing.

When you’re typing, you can always scroll back through the document. If you make it tiny, you might be able to see all the pages at once, but you probably can’t read the writing at that point. When you have a pen and paper document, though, or, a typed and printed manuscript, you can lay those pages out on the floor or table and physically move them around to see how certain parts would sound in another area of the text. It’s pretty cool. 

9. Allows you to see progress.

As you can see, most times we don’t always think in “final draft” form. We make mistakes, change working, and sometimes cut things out. In a pen and paper document, you have a record of what you’ve said and done. You can decide later whether your third draft wording is better than your first. With word processing, we don’t typically get that experience. Microsoft Word does have a track changes function, which is nifty. I’ve definitely used it before, but it’s not something you probably want on a first draft. Mine are way too messy for that - yikes! 

Pen & paper first "page" of this blog

8. Acts as therapy.

I find handwriting more emotional than typing. It’s not that typing can’t have the same effect when put together (I see you, Eleanor & Park.) It’s more that my handwriting fluctuates with my mood. Angry writing is different than sad writing which is different than writing when in love. I like visually being able to see and remember the emotion in handwriting. Getting things out on paper and being able to see them visually is helpful for us to be able to process emotions and ideas and work through them. 

7. Removes risk of accidentally deleting your writing.

This is a big one for me because I seem to be a master of losing documents by my own hand. Most of the time I can recover them, but that still causes a panicked irritation in the moment. I know I will keep paper all day long: obviously I still have handwritten writing from when I was much younger. So having a physical copy really help my peace of mind. 

6. Removes risk of naming your document something “clever” and never finding it again.

How many times do we keep our original titles for writing? In my case, rarely. So finding a piece of writing with an old title you may or may not remember is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I could be searching for days without luck! Having too many documents is beside the point. When you write something with pen and paper, you can’t lose it to your own cleverness (or lack thereof). 

5. Feels productive.

So, I wrote this blog out by hand first. I wanted to see how it felt, and it was great! A “normal” word processed blog with blog spacing (little paragraphs with lots of spacing) might be 3-5 pages typed out. My handwritten blog, with mock blog spacing, turned out to be 5 handwritten pages versus the 2.5 typed pages. The length was about the same, but I felt much more productive because I wrote 5 pages in a little over an hour!

This blog written out by hand!

4. Offers a much needed break from screen time.

I don’t know about you, but I spend a heck of a lot of time staring at a screen every day. I work at a job where I’m constantly on the computer, and then I will often come home and write/design/do administrative blog work on the computer. During the school year I also grade on the computer. It’s A LOT. Sometimes I just need to get away from that for awhile, you know? I think we all do. 

3. Assists with memory.

Science has tied handwriting to improved memory. I find this very compelling. If you’ve met me for any length of time, you probably know that “if I don’t write it down, it’s not getting done (or remembered)” is pretty much a theme song of my life at this point. Long term memory? Great. Short term memory? Awful. So when I write with a pen and paper, it helps me imprint the idea onto my brain. It’s almost like physically writing allows the idea to skip the short term and go directly into the long term memory. Science for the win! 

2. Forces you to slow down and think.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely can’t write nearly as fast as I can think. Typing alleviates this problem a bit, as I can type pretty quickly, but sometimes I don’t need to be going that fast. I like the idea that I have to slow down to write things down in a legible manner. So much of the time I’m hurrying or feel the need to rush. I don’t want my writing to feel like that, and I don’t want it to sound like that when you read it, so handwriting is a perfect solution. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS_j7mNru9w

Alister Stephens discusses his recent experiences with pen & paper writing.

1. Connects you to other writers.

I’ve always been a writer, a storyteller. And I’ve written A LOT over the years, with both pen and paper and word processing. There’s something about handwriting, though, that makes me feel like a writer. This definitely isn’t to say that people who only type are not. But writing is a craft people have been doing for hundreds of years! Many of my favorite books were written long before convenient word processing was available. Think about it for a moment: all of Jane Austen’s novels, for example, were carefully written out. Remembering this makes me feel like I’ve shared something with the authors of the books I hold dear. Where were your favorite books written? Can you imagine the author sitting at her writing desk scribbling away at a piece of paper or parchment? 

Writing takes time in any form, and I’ll admit pen and paper does move a bit more slowly than typing. But in the extremely fast-paced world many of us live in, it’s actually a sweet reprieve. It’s not a negative experience because it’s “inefficient” but a reminder that sometimes the best thoughts occur when we slow down to let them. 

What do you think? Have you written anything the old-fashioned way with pen and paper? What was your experience? Drop me an email or a comment below and let me tell me about it! I’d love to hear. 

7 Surefire Ways to Beat the First Day of Class Jitters: Teacher Edition

As a student, you probably remember getting a little nervous on the first day of classes each semester. Or maybe a lot nervous! There were several times I distinctly remember, the Sunday before classes started, questioning what I was thinking to take the hardest combination of classes on the same semester. 

As teachers, we can empathize with our students because we’ve been through similar experiences. We make a great deal of effort on the first day to make students feel welcome and to begin community building right away. We always hope they leave a little less uncomfortable that first day, and maybe even have a class “friend” by the end of the week. 

What we talk about less, if at all, is that teachers get nervous, too! It’s not just students who have panicky thoughts about their class load and are worried about how the very first day of the semester will turn out. Sometimes I think I might actually worry more about it than my students. 

Teacher Panic: What Could Go Wrong? 

I’m not saying that everyone worries like I do. In fact, I hope they don’t! It’s a little silly, even to me. (Thanks, anxiety.) But, every semester, I always worry about what could go wrong. What I could accidentally do that would make things awkward that first day. What a student could say that catches me off guard just enough to unsettle me and make me lose credibility before class has even really picked up. 

I know I’m not the only one who has these thoughts. I have a lot of teacher friends, and am casual friends with many of my former professors. Most people I know who teach - college and kids - get anxiety right before the semester starts. Sometimes it even sneaks in with our excitement as we’re preparing for the semester. 

These are some of my worry points:

Building the course calendar. This has, admittedly caused less stress the longer I teach. I am going into my fourth year teaching college English, and this bad boy takes a long time, but is usually manageable if you have planned the class before. If you have not, the course calendar is very stressful! 

Last fall I taught a brand new class with more projects and objectives than ever before. It wasn’t just a new class, either. It was the first time I taught an essentially 3 hour class, and there were also at least 2 assignments I had never designed or taught before (and that I hadn’t done as a student until graduate school). Triple whammy = major stress. Trying to figure out the course calendar was awful, to say the least. 

Anxiety points: New class, new college/university, new/changed objectives or expectations, new length of class (50 min., 75 min., 2 hr. 50 min), required assignments & topics you haven’t taught before

Selecting the readings. This has always been the trickiest piece for me, even as I gain experience. When you create the course calendar, you select the readings, presumably for most of the semester. So, if you happen to change something (or derail), the entire course calendar becomes incorrect. 

Since I’ve taught at community college, I’ve met several people who present the first half of the course at the beginning and put up the second half later. This is a great idea! And I have used it in the past year. BUT. (There’s always a “but” with most solutions, right?) When you only plan the first half of the semester, you have to then go through the process again when planning the second half of the semester. 

I also like to be as inclusive of different voices as I can with readings, especially at the beginning of the semester. Not only does this increase engagement, but it also gives more students opportunities to relate to the readings. 

Finally, there’s the issue of the textbook. There’s always the worry about assigning book reading too early. Some colleges/universities let instructors choose, but at my institution we have one book for all required entry level English classes, plus a common read, if you choose to use it. As a student, I always purchased my books before the semester, as we often had reading for the first day in English; but, many of my students depend on financial aid, which sometimes isn’t available until a week or two after class starts. So some students will have the book that first week, but some won’t. 

Anxiety points: Too much vs. not enough, being inclusive, assigning textbook reading too early, students not having materials, readings won’t include enough talking points

Planning the first day. After you’ve done some longer term planning, it’s finally time to think about the first day! At least this is how I go about my beginning of semester planning. Hard stuff first, then fun stuff. Or what I think will be fun. But will students think it’s fun? As a teacher, you’ve probably encountered each end of the spectrum: the chatty-right-away group and the stone-cold-silent group. If you haven’t yet, you will.

For me, the chatty group is much less unnerving and easier to work with. Last semester, though, first day of a 3 hour class, the first hour and a half was painfully quiet. PAINFULLY. I hadn’t really considered this, because previously my community building activities, where students have to talk to each other, have gone quite well. Needless to say, it’s definitely on my radar as a concern, now! I now think about ways to spice things up (without getting too spicy, it is only the first day, after all). 

Anxiety points: You’re nervous, students are nervous, new classroom, new technology, student engagement, “fun” or engaging activities planned 

Teacher Triumph: How to Tackle Those Jitters!

Even if we’re a bit nervous about the semester, we wouldn’t be teachers if we couldn’t stand up in front of our students and teach them, right?  Whether you’re teaching adults or kids, you worked hard and learned your butt off to be there! 

No matter how long it might seem or how quiet it gets, you will get through that first day. It’s a guarantee. But, in case you don’t like waiting around being nervous and uncomfortable, here are 7 ways you can help yourself get past those worries about the first day.

Turn your jitters into excitement. Sure, the first day might be a little nerve-wracking, but it’s also very exciting! You get to meet a whole new group of students and then watch them learn things you love for the next 16 weeks. That is SO COOL. Channel that nervous energy into making sure you are prepared, have a good lesson plan, and maybe an anecdote or two to loosen the tension. In the end, we’re all people, so the more “people-y” you can be the first day, the more approachable you will be. Showing (and telling) your students how excited you are to be there is definitely one of the most people-y teacher actions you can take.

Relax the night before & get a good night’s sleep. I can’t express how incredibly helpful it will be to get enough sleep before the first day. If you are already prepared (and not scrambling at the last minute, admit it, this adds to your stress) you can watch a movie or read a book, go to bed at a reasonable hour, and wake up ready to go. Your energy & stress levels will be much higher if you skip this step. 

Review your class roster. Look and see who’s in your class, and try to pronounce their names out loud at least once. The idea of a group of people seems less scary once you know their names, right? At least a little. Because then they seem a little bit less like strangers, and you will need to be able to address them! 

If you’re working with adults, I would highly recommend sending an email the week before class asking if anyone has a preferred name or nickname they use. If the student has an unusual name they might very well have a nickname they prefer rather than you accidentally butchering their full name. Some students might also just prefer to go by a different name entirely. Either way, when you go to take attendance or do first day activities, you will be able to pair those names with the name on the roster and stumble and/or get corrected less. 

Prepare a fun first day lesson plan. How many times did you go to class the first day only for the teacher to read the syllabus to you? And how many syllabi do you remember? Probably none. Because it’s BORING. Certainly the syllabus is important, but there are other ways to go about reviewing expectations. 

It’s the very first time students are meeting each other and you. Make the most of that! Have them interact, even if it’s in little ways like getting someone else’s contact information for times they have to miss class. Do something you would have liked as a student. What would make you comfortable or interested in the class? Even if you’re the greatest most interesting person ever, you won’t convey that energy at all if you only plan a syllabus reading activity.

Arrive early & scope out your classroom. This seems like common sense, but sometimes you can’t get into your classroom because someone else is teaching there before you! I’m a firm believer in being early for most things, but it’s definitely helpful for teaching because then you can figure out the lay of the land. So, if you can, getting to your classroom early that day has many advantages.

You can set up all your stuff and walk around. You can figure out how to work the room without circling like a vulture. Those of you who have taught in awkward and small classrooms know what I’m talking about, right? You can also test the technology before anyone gets there - sometimes those projectors are finicky beasts! Best to wrangle them into submission before your students start arriving, if at all possible. 

Be prepared to laugh at yourself! This was initially very difficult for me, but now I really enjoy it. I make terrible jokes and use puns. I use hilarious (and awful) memes. I love laughing the rest of the time, so why not in class, too? My goal is to keep things light and open that first day. 

I want to be as approachable as I can, and one way to do this is to freely laugh. To make jokes that are purposefully bad (what they don’t know is that those jokes will be sticking around all semester). I’m perfectly fine standing in the silence, which they also think is a joke (it’s not), but that’s really not doing anyone any favors, you know? It’s much more helpful for everyone to get the conversation going and to get them laughing or relating to each other. Even if that happens at my expense. 

Remind yourself why you love teaching. I saved this for last because I think this is the best and most important action you can take to help yourself with the first day jitters. You didn’t become a teacher because you were afraid to talk to students, did you? That’s just a minor short-term inconvenience. It will pass. But your love for what and who you teach will not. 

We come back to teaching because we love working with students. We love that moment when a student finally gets something they have struggled all semester to understand. We love that we can share ideas and subjects we are passionate about with other people, who sometimes like it, too. The best thing you can do for yourself before the semester is remind yourself why YOU became a teacher. What keeps you coming back year after year? 

We teachers get nervous that first day, too! But there are things we can do to work around that. And if this is your first time teaching, know that it does get easier. 

How do you prepare for the first day? What jitters do you overcome? I’d love to hear about it!

Timed Writing: 3 Reasons You Should Try It (Outside of School)

You’ve probably done “timed writing” at some point. If you’re shuddering and remembering a time during high school or college where you studied all night and still flopped, I’m right there with you. 

I will be the first to admit that even as an English major, and someone who has done A LOT of writing, this version of timed writing still makes me cringe. I teach timed writing as a requirement of my class, and I am very up front about the fact that it’s a requirement and probably one of my least favorite things about college. 

So why do we feel this way? 

There are so many steps. Not only do you have to formulate a “correct” idea, but you then have to plan, organize, execute, and proofread it within the allotted amount of time. 

There’s a lot of pressure to get it right. You’re doing all of this for one person, usually the teacher/instructor, to read it and judge it with a grade. This grade will then be part of how you succeed (or not) in a class. When you’re paying hard earned money for a class, you want to do well! 

We have prior experience looming over us. Even if you’re a good test taker - congratulations! - there will almost always be at least one time when you fail miserably. Something unexpected comes along, you don’t understand the prompt, you have the flu on finals, anything. For most of us, that experience will be enough to convince us somewhere in the back of our mind that timed writing sucks. So many times this determines our outlook on future situations like this before they even arrive. 

After high school and college, or even grad school, timed writing can take a different form. It doesn’t have to be the long sigh as you get out a pen and notebook. We don’t talk about it much, but setting limits for yourself in your writing habits can be incredibly helpful! 

Here’s why. 

We run out of time. Being an adult with a job and adult commitments is hard, despite the fact that most of us try to rush to get here. Working at a job you may or may not like for most of your waking hours takes a lot out of you. You might not always want to come home and write about your day or work on a creative project. Sometimes your mind is just done.

We run out of inspiration. I don’t know about you, but on occasion we get into a rut. My husband and I have our weekly grocery store run, walk the dog in the evenings, go to bed and wake up at certain times… you have those routines, too, don’t you? Or some version of them. This doesn’t leave much room to be “inspired” to write. 

We don’t know what to write. Then there are other times when I am ready to go: maybe I just took a nap or someone left a really nice comment on my blog. Maybe I am just happy and want to express that. But how does that translate into something productive? I am an advocate for writing for its own sake, but a lot of people might see that as a waste of time if they don’t have plans for the writing. 

So, if I tried this timed writing thing (when no one was watching so they can’t “grade” it), how would that help me? 

Makes writing more manageable. Writing is hard. It takes a lot of work. It requires filtering through your own mind, which can be a challenge sometimes if you want the writing to make sense to other people. If you set a timer for yourself knowing that you will stop when the timer goes off, there’s not as much pressure to “finish” something.

Gets ideas onto the page. Sometimes the hardest part of writing is starting. At least that’s how my writing works. For whatever reason, I’m always nervous to start a new project or write down an idea that feels really out of my normal box. I assume it’s because I’ve always been a people pleaser.

But, if you have a timer there knowing that you are only going to spend 15 or 30 minutes with this idea, maybe that makes it less scary. It’s only a 15 minute idea, so even if it’s utter garbage (sometimes you’ll have that), you won’t have invested a lot into it before you realize how bad it really is.

Forces you to do something. If you’re a writer, aspiring or established, it’s important to work on your writing. You aren’t going to get better at it doing nothing, and you’ll probably feel guilty for loving something and never making time for it. I am 100% guilty of this, and have used any number of excuses to dictate why I don’t need to write. But, I do need to write. And if you love it, you need to write, too.

When you set that timer for 15 minutes, you are prioritizing yourself and something you’re passionate about for those few minutes. You will thank yourself later. (Don’t worry, your Netflix/Hulu/Other Streaming Service will still be there when you get done.)

Note on Timer Length

I’ve mentioned 15 minutes a lot, but you can set your timer however you feel best! The reasons I find 15 minutes works well are because 1) I can usually spare that amount of time, 2) it’s short enough to feel like just a few minutes, but long enough to get a whole thought onto the page, and 3) if I forget to set a timer, it’s pretty easy to see on the clock. 

I also think that 30 minutes would be a comfortable amount of “timed” time, if you know you will commit. The longer you set for yourself, the easier it will be to find a distraction during that time and lose focus, which won’t help you!

When I started writing this blog, I set myself a timer for 20 minutes.

I wanted to see how much I could get done by that time, as I haven’t really timed myself too many times when writing blog posts. I also wanted to use it as an example that this really works. I try very hard not to give advice I wouldn’t take, because I feel like that’s silly. It’s the “do as I say but not as I do,” ideal, which is not how I like to function. 

Anyway, I got from the beginning of the blog all the way down to right after the “It gets ideas onto the page” section - about 770 words. Very productive! I did start writing with a pen and notebook, but quickly realized (yet again) that I type much faster than I write. Unfortunately, my handwriting just can't keep up with my ideas in the same way as typing.

Even if your first timed writing, or any try at timed writing, isn’t very productive, you still did it! You created something with that sliver of time, even if that’s just a not-so-awesome paragraph. 

Here’s the thing: even if no one ever reads what you wrote, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write it.

For many of us, writing is the way we best and most emotionally express ourselves. It helps us cope with things that are hard, delight in things that are joyful, and just connect with other humans in a way that a lot of other mediums don’t allow for. 

If you’re thinking this won’t work for you: do me a favor. Try it once or twice. Set your phone timer, the oven or microwave timer (the one that will drive you crazy if you don't get up and turn it off), whatever floats your boat. Try it and see what happens. 

I’d love to hear about it! Even if it was 15 minutes of wasted time (I don’t think it will be). If it was, email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com and let's talk about it.