Thoughts On Writing
"Writing forces us to put a structure around life. To make sense of it." - Eric Barker
Many times I’ve been asked, “What’s your process for writing?” Aspiring writers want to know what methods and tools I use, when I write, how I prepare to write, and from where I draw my inspiration. Over the years, I’ve attempted to answer that question and provide guidance. Over the years, very few for whom I’ve answered that question actually move forward with writing. So maybe the best answer is:
“I use a process that won’t work for you.”
I don’t view my writing as particularly special and it takes a lot of work. I certainly don’t expect anyone to go about writing the way I do. It’d be a little weird if they did. But it seems the most important message, the one you need to hear out of the gate is that you have to put in the sustained effort to find a process that works best for you. It’s a unending evolutionary process of experimentation, adaptation, and growth until you settle into a process that is more or less consistent. Not always comfortable, but at least familiar. Not a particularly popular message in today’s instant gratification, always on, AI driven world.
Writing is a solitary relationship, a conversation potentially between you and your readers, but always between you and yourself. If spending time with your own crazy mixed up thoughts and emotions is uncomfortable, perhaps even frightening, then finding a “writing process” isn’t your problem. Neither is “writers block” or finding your muse. If you can’t face you - bereft of all your masks and pretense - how can your writing ever reflect anything fresh or unique?
The thing of it is, the more you write, the easier it gets. Masks fall away, pretense dissolves, and your writing improves as the dialog with you clarifies. Not always comfortable, but steadily more familiar.
There are a lot of great books on writing. Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):
“Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method” by Gerald M. Weinberg
“The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
“On Writing Well” by William Zinsser
“On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft” by Stephen King
“Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process” by John McPhee
The Leadership Lab lectures by Professor Larry McEnerney, “The Craft of Writing Effectively“ and “Writing Beyond the Academy“, should be considered essential viewing.
Each of these has had something to offer, but none of them had the full package that works for me.
A final thought: Learn to write a basic research paper, even if it’s for your own benefit. If you learn no other form of writing, this alone will rock your world. Because Eric Barker is right.
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Image credit: AxxL from Pixabay
“Thoughts On Writing” last updated on 2026.03.08.