Good posture

The hardest thing about writing well

Mar 27, 2024

"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." - Thomas Mann

THE HARDEST THING about writing essays is rescuing yourself from the messy middle.

Buried beneath the complexity of the process, you find yourself severed from the buzz of your original idea. But now you’ve done hours of research and reams of writing. There’s a big sunk cost and you’re reluctant to go back. Chances are, you’ll give up and move onto the next idea, whilst harbouring that painful little voice that says, “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Take a chill pill because I’ve got an antidote. I’d like to introduce my growing list of Thinking Postures for Writers. And I’ll show you how they work in this essay.

A screenshot of the list of Thinking Postures

The Thinking Postures are a set of simple binary questions that help you get unstuck—or avoid getting stuck in the first place—by unravelling that most puzzling of puzzles, “What, specifically, are your motivations for the piece? And how are you going about writing it?”

Let’s look at some examples.

Maybe your motive is to teach your readers something new, like a system for renovating your home or a method for editing drafts. Alternatively, your motive might be to learn something new about yourself through the writing process. This is writing as excavation.

"I don't know what I think until I write it down." - Joan Didion

But those are two very different Postures. And unless you’ve got a good handle on which one you’re adopting, it’s easy to get wrongfooted mid-way through. You start out with the intent to learn but unwittingly slip into teacher mode—and now your piece feels tonally conflicted and you wanna throw your laptop at the wall.

When that happens, stand back and ask yourself what you’re really trying to do with the piece. Having a consistent Posture throughout helps you navigate the messy middle. So, are you learning? Or are you teaching? Choose one. You’ll feel better and so will your readers.

Here’s another Posture: are you remembering or are you imagining? Maybe your motive is to tell your family history like a memoirist would and allow the readers to identify themselves in your story. Or, maybe it’s to present fictional scenarios that help your readers make a decision. Again, think about what your deepest motivation is with your piece and don’t let the tone get muddled up.

When’s the best time to look at these Postures? They’re helpful at any stage. But they’re especially helpful at the start once you know your thesis/point:

Write your thesis at the top of the page (make it specific and surprising!)
Then go through the Postures, in no particular order, pause on each one and ask “Does this feel relevant?”
For those that do, feel your way into them. Imagine writing your piece from each side of the binary. Then choose the side that feels right and stick to it. (The other side of the binary could be a separate piece that doesn’t necessarily have to contradict the first).

I’ll give you two quick examples of how I chose certain Postures to write this very essay.

The first one that felt relevant to me was:

“Are you writing to please others or are you writing to please yourself?”

Now usually I prioritise myself, which means making myself laugh, surprising myself and pushing myself to try new things. But with this essay, I realised the Postures already had intrinsic value to me and I felt I didn’t need to embellish them further. My motive was ultimately to share them with you, so I prioritised pleasing you instead (hopefully I did).

The second Posture that resonated was:

“Are you standing out or are you fitting in?”

Usually I try and stand out (don’t we all?). But again, in this case, I knew the colourful Postures were distinctive on their own. So I chose to fit in by writing in a straightforward, logical and accessible way that you can relate to. Clear, not clever.

Choosing those two Postures, among others, was a massive relief because it took a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I didn’t need to worry so much, like I normally do, about pleasing myself or trying to be unique.

With each essay you write, relax and give yourself permission to choose Postures knowing you’ll get to choose others next time. Like a sweet shop lined wall-to-wall with jars of colourful candy, the Postures show just how many different flavours your writing can have.

And they’re a reliable compass when you find yourself off course. Use them to get back en route during that messy middle part of your piece.

There’s every chance your motives themselves change part-way through your piece, which is fine. Go ahead and change your Postures. Just make sure they’re consistent throughout.

Here’s the list of Thinking Postures which I add to regularly. If you think of any more, let me know, I’d like to add them. I can’t imagine there’s a limit on the number of possible Postures. Can you?