Writing about writing is a very difficult thing for me. It’s like writing about life — I am not qualified enough. I feel to write about life I must have lived life to the fullest. So I usually do not write about life, unless it is a writing laced with humor — which I am miserable at. A proof of it is this sentence you are reading, it is meant to make you laugh, but you won’t, because it’s obviously not funny.
I still feel to write about writing I need to write a lot first and earn the writer tag. By a lot I mean books and all. But since I haven’t written any book yet, I will settle with writing about not writing. I do that a lot, the not writing thing. So I can safely say I am an expert at not writing. If you are a writer who wants to learn not writing, I offer consultancy services. My fee is very modest, trust me.

Credit : TheIncurableOptimist
Not writing is way easier than writing, if it weren’t, we all would be writing. So since not writing is easy, we do it all the time. Why bother with the hard stuff when not writing comes naturally? You don’t need to do any work, you don’t hunt for words, you are not bothered about complex themes, you don’t think about connecting your thoughts and to God be the glory, you do not need to edit. To not write, you just don’t write.
Writing after not writing for a long time is going to the gym after skipping workout, the longer you stay away, the easier it is to not write. You can interpret the previous sentence to mean the harder it is to write. For those who exercise regularly, it’s easier when you are on a streak. I used to go jogging, early each morning, my internal alarm kicks in and I find myself on the road. But whenever I skip a day or two, it becomes difficult to go back and the longer I am out the harder it is to hit the road. In one word, consistency.
Consistency breeds ease. The golden rule of not writing is not to write. The longer you do not write the longer you will not write, and the longer you will not be tortured with editing. Another rule of not writing is not reading. The not reading rule is closely followed by not reading critically. A writer friend confessed he reads book differently now, according to him, he used to read books only for pleasure but not anymore. He now finds himself pausing while reading, munching lines, pointing out mistakes and enjoying tasty sentences. I will advise strongly you ignore him if you really do not want to write.
Remember the key to not writing is to be consistent at the following;
- Do not write.
- Do not read.
- Do not read deeply.
- Repeat 1 to 3
- Bonus tip : Never, ever think about writing. Think about everything but never about writing.
As a professional none writer, I do not intend to spill all my secrets here. But I will appreciate if you join the conversation in the comments and tell us some of the things that makes not writing easy, from your experiences of course, don’t tell us from a book you have not written. As for an actual post on writing, wait until I become a writer and have lived life to the fullest, then I will write a book On Writing and another On Living.

Credit : pinterest.com
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I just started . . .
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You just might unfollow if you saw my posts on writing, grammar, and editing. =)
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Links please. I want to see and then unfilled. 😊😊😊
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You have a very beautiful website. I look forward to coming back and reading more. Please stop by mine and if you like, follow back.
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Thanks Jeyran. I see you do book review, I will check some of the books you reviewed, it will be a great way to stock my reading list. And do drop by regularly, there are lots of exciting read here.
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Hi X43,
How’ve you been? Lol… I enjoyed this, a mix of subtle humour and depth. 😀
Recently, I’ve become quite proficient at not writing, some of the things that makes not writing easy include:
1) Being too busy doing everything but writing
2) Worrying about everything but not writing
3) Replacing the guilty about not writing with the joys of eating ice-cream
4) Not writing about not writing.
PS: I miss writing…
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Hi Nedoux,
Hope you have gotten over the not writing bug?
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Not writing, to me is physically easier, but without it, I notice my personality changing without the outlet.
Other times, I can’t write a thing or think a creative thought. I completely understand where you’re coming from about not feeling like a writer, I do it too. I catch myself only associating being a writer with having books published and sold.
I think we should start giving ourselves credit for what we write, even if it is only ourselves who read it.
PS I like your writing style, it made me chuckle
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“I think we should start giving ourselves credit for what we write, even if it is only ourselves who read it.”
Yeah, I do a lot of writing for myself. Writing is therapeutic to me. I believe it makes life easier.
As for my writing style, Thank you.
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“I feel to write about life I must have lived life to the fullest”
I do not agree with that statement and I do not agree with most things you’ve written. I think I have told you before James that you hold back too much, I actually wrote down some thoughts about that sometime ago with earlier intentions to share them with you. I am not a writer even though I pen down thoughts but I still do not agree with most of the things you’ve written.
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Thanks for the feedback Amie, and I really like that you do not agree with most of my thoughts here. I do not even agree with them sometimes
Anyway, my writings most times are coated with humor and a truckload of irony, so that means they are not always what they seem.
As for holding back too much, I guess you mean my writing too (I’m not going to dispute that), just wait until I become a writer and then I won’t hold back. (insert a cheeky laughter here)
PS: “I am not a writer even though I pen down thoughts..” and you don’t want to agree when I say I am not one too.
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🙂 Brilliantly written! It was a lovely read although you’ll have to be more convincing regarding this talk of you not being a writer. 🙂
As an experienced non writer, I’d say comparing one’s self to writers and waiting for the “perfect” moment, theme, word, opportunity make it very easy to not write.
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The comparison trap.
Thanks for pointing that out. I will have that under advicement if I do make the leap to become a writer. That’s without waiting for the right theme and all as you have pointed out.
And thanks for reading. Feedbacks makes the not writing thing more difficult. 😊😊
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Wow! It’s exactly what is happening to me now – not writing! I am experiencing a lull and that gives me so much concern at the moment. Thanks for sharing this post. I’ve enjoyed the read.
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You are not alone in the not writing gang. Hopefully you can eventually quite that and just write. Thanks for reading too and the feedback. ✌✌
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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That lull is all too real. I’m going through the same thing, it’s a sort of mental tiredness to even put words together. 😀
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I totally agree… I get so exhausted after my normal work schedule that there is no enough energy left for writing. I hope we all get back on track pretty soon. 🙂
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I sure can relate. Some days, these letters just refused to stand close to each other to form even a single word.
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