Five Inspiring Mantras to Help You Start Writing (and Stick With It)

05 Jul 2025 #writing

In 2018, I wrote a blog post for the first time.

I didn’t know what I was doing. I only wanted to get better at coding. And after years of trial and error and taking my writing seriously, I’ve developed my own writing mantras. Here they are:

#1. If it can help one person, you’re safe to hit post. Write about anything, as long as it’s helpful for at least one person. You don’t need to write to the masses. Just to one person. And that one person could be your past self.

#2. Give something and give it fast. Writing online is different from fiction writing. In a novella, you can describe every detail of the room where your scene is happening. But online, readers decide in milliseconds if they’ll keep reading or move on. Nail your headlines and opening lines.

#3. Write as if nobody is reading, and keep writing because you don’t know who’s reading. Writing can be lonely, especially at the beginning. The cure? Write for your younger self. Write the tweets, posts, or books you would have liked to read two years ago.

#4. Don’t wait to become an expert to write. Write to become one. If you wait to become an expert, it will take you 10 years or more to write your first piece. Instead, share what you’re learning. Show your work. The best way to learn is to teach, and the best way to teach is to write.

#5. An intention makes you start but a system keeps you showing up. It’s easy to start. Just drop a bunch of words into a text box and hit “Post.” The hard part? Doing it for years. For that, find a system to capture ideas and turn them into content, and one piece into many.

In the end, it isn’t just intention. It’s the right attitude, a system, and the habit that keeps you writing.