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Have you always loved to read and wished you could write? Want to say something but have no idea where to start? Here are five surprising tips to get you thinking like a writer.

1: Listen

Record a conversation, then type it word for word. My grandfather used to press “record” on the tape machine at dinnertime. He captured hilarious conversations and preserved the preciousness of youth. He also built, for me, an ear for dialogue. Audio re-play lets you hear patterns of speech and catch nuances of meaning you may not hear in the moment. Before you know it, you may have the voice of your next character in your head.

2: Read

Imitation is more than the highest form of flattery. It is how we learn. Read what you love…novels, articles, poems. Then practice writing in the very same way. How? Paraphrase: Start with a paragraph. Read it. Re-write it in your OWN words—not great big flowery words or fierce competitive diction, just write what you think it means. Repeat. This will get you thinking like the author of the piece you love, and get you noticing their styles and techniques. Start small. Keep going. Eventually, input equals output.

3: Be a Kid

The best advice I learned in college? “You’re 11. I’m 11.” My teacher read our first round of papers and gagged. “Too many big words,” she said. “Too much impressing, and too much explaining about what you’re explaining. Just say what you see, like you’re 11 and I’m 11. I’ll get it.” We did, and she got it. I’ve been 11 ever since.

4: Sing

I’m not kidding! No one has to hear you. You can do it in the car and then grab a notebook as you pull into the driveway. Singing has been proven to open wells of emotion in your brain. When you sing, you contact your inner world…the place where imagination comes from, emotion and inspiration. Open your voice and then fire up your computer and clatter away. Keep the music playing to keep you on a roll when your voice has moved from your throat to your fingertips.

5: Flow

Don’t stop. Write pen to paper, fingers to keyboard without time to edit. Give yourself ten minutes of no-stop writing, just go, go, go. Then build up to an hour. Only at the end can you re-work what you’ve written. The good stuff is rarely at the top of the page. It’s buried deep, like gold and diamonds. You have to mine it, in the dark, with courage to go deep till you’ve unearthed it.

Photo by Lost Albatross.