Just write and publish.
If you want to become a better writer, that’s all you have to do. There’s no secret to it. Although I used to think there was.
I waited in line for nearly an hour to meet my favorite author. It was technically a book signing and he didn’t really have time for questions, but screw it. I knew he had the secret to great writing so I waited. I was going to find out what the secret was and then I was going to steal it.
I strode up and asked, “Dr. Gawande, when do you do your best writing and what’s your secret?”
He looked up and smiled. “Whenever I have time,” he answered. In the morning, during lunch, at night. “Well, not at night actually, because I get sleepy.”
And there is no secret.
“I just keep a list on my phone of things I’m bothered by or interested in and then write about them. When I have the time.”
Hmm, not what I expected. I don’t know what I thought the secret might be, but for a 4x author and regular contributor at the New Yorker I imagined there was SOMETHING. At least a team of editors on call or a month off his surgery rotation to think and write.
It’s easy to assume that people at the top of their craft have it easy. But that’s wrong. We tend to look past all the hard work it took to get to the top and to stay there. Why do we do that? Maybe it’s easier to justify our own inaction. “Ah man, I would start writing if only I were in his shoes for a day…” It’s uncomfortable to face the fact the we just have to start but choose not to.
Just write and publish. And don’t stop.
After all, Atul Gawande wasn’t born a top writer. He might’ve always had the potential but he had to start somewhere and practice. He had to improve through a deliberate process: write, edit, rewrite, publish, and repeat. Over and over again until he found his voice.
The brain is like a bicep. You need to work it and stretch it to see results. In fact, before Atul ever wrote for the New Yorker, he got his reps in through 18 articles published on Slate. That practice was invaluable to his development as a writer. Even Stephen King says his imagination is the same as everyone else’s, it’s just more trained.
Atul just wrote and he published. There was no secret sauce, no Michael’s Secret Stuff.
So if you want to become a better writer, just get started. There are no rules. Seriously, I just made a Space Jam reference. You can literally write whatever you want.
Just make sure to do two things: keep writing and keep publishing.
Want to see how good Atul’s writing is? Check out my three favorite books of his on Amazon (affiliate links, thanks for your support!).