How to Master The Craft of Writing

You’re reading an excerpt of Great Founders Write, by Ben Putano, writer, entrepreneur, and book publisher. He’s the founder of Damn Gravity Media, a publishing house that inspires and educates tomorrow’s great founders. Purchase now for lifetime access to the book and on-demand video course.

In architecture, a keystone is a wedge-shaped rock that sits at the pinnacle of an archway. It balances the forces of the opposing sides of the arch, holding the structure together with surprising strength. In fact, the more weight you put on top of the keystone, the stronger the arch becomes.

Entrepreneurship is a lot like building an arch. The keystone is your writing routine.

Good writing strengthens every other part of your business, from decision-making to marketing. It’s vital for keeping opposing forces and emotions in balance. Without a writing routine, your archway is more likely to topple.

My friend and fellow entrepreneur Andy Ellwood has maintained a writing routine for over fifteen years. Through journals and blogging, Andy has used writing as a tool to build a successful career at some of the fastest-growing startups in tech. It’s also helped him navigate personal challenges and reinvent himself several times over.

My own writing routine has evolved over time. Although I write every day now, this wasn’t always the case. I started with occasional journaling, a blog post here and there, and writing notes to myself on my phone. I wasn’t very consistent, but I kept at it until I reached a point in my life where I could do it more regularly.

The important thing is that I’ve had some form of writing routine for the last ten years. That’s added up to over a million words and a personal transformation I couldn’t have dreamed of in a million years.

My writing routine continues to change depending on my work, time constraints, and goals. I’ll go stretches of daily journaling, then months of journaling just once or twice. When I’m in the “messy middle” of a major project (a term coined by Scott Belsky), I’m constantly writing lists and notes for myself. When I’m in a more reflective mood, I enjoy writing exercises like freewriting and vision letters (more on those later). In my down time, I dabble in science fiction.

I will not try to prescribe a writing routine for you. It’s one of those things that you need to figure out for yourself. But here’s some advice for getting started:

Find the fastest path to writing. Get started as quickly as you can. Don’t go searching for the perfect journal or the perfect time to write. Just write. It could be in an empty notebook, a sheet of paper, a Google Doc, your phone notes, or a journal with prompts. Experiment with different formats until you find one that feels easy for you.

Optimize for simplicity. You don’t need a complex system to start writing. Just start somewhere—anywhere—and build a system over time.

Collect ideas. Start a running list of writing ideas so that you always have something to dive into. I keep a list in Notion, but you can do this in your project management tool or even just your phone notes.

Block out writing time. Even if it’s just fifteen minutes a day. If you try to write “when you have time,” you’ll never do it. Use your calendar to protect your writing time from work and other distractions.

Eliminate distractions. When writing, I hide my phone and use a website blocker that only gives me access to Google Docs. Fight the urge to check your email when you get stuck. If you don’t know what to write, take a few deep breaths and then write whatever comes to mind next. I also highly recommend reading Nir Eyal’s book Indistractable to learn how to fight distraction.

Set a timer. Setting a timer will help you stay focused on the task at hand. I became obsessed with using timers while writing this book. My writing sessions would be two or four blocks of fifty-three minutes with five minutes in between (Why fifty-three minutes? Fifty minutes felt too short and Fifty-five minutes too intimidating. Fifty-three minutes just felt right.) My timer reminds me I don’t need to write forever, but I do need to do it for the next sixteen minutes (or however long I have left). If you’re new to using a timer, start with just twenty-five minutes. You’ll be amazed how much writing you can get done in that time.

Set a ridiculously low goal for yourself. The first habit you must build is the habit of achievement. Set a writing goal so small that you can hit it no matter what. It could be writing for five minutes or writing one hundred words, or something even lower. The purpose is to build a writing streak. Once you start it, you won’t want to stop. You’ll begin to push yourself beyond your small goal to higher and higher achievements.

Hit publish. If you want to see exponential benefits from your writing, share it with the public. Hit send on a newsletter, blog post, or Twitter thread. You don’t need to share everything you write, but sharing regularly will help you build an audience and solidify your ideas.

Wherever you are as a writer, just know this: If you’re putting words on a page, that is enough. But if you want to improve the quality and quantity of your writing, next are several exercises for you to try.