What should you write about?

Take the Writing Motivation Audit™ and find out

Hey, it’s Harrison 👋 Welcome to my publication about creativity as a tool for personal and professional growth.

If you're writing nonfiction that needs to connect with readers, I can help you sharpen your ideas and strengthen your voice. Learn more about my editorial support for writers.

And if you're a high-achiever ready to make a major life or career shift through a creative project, I offer 1:1 coaching to help you navigate that transformation. If you’re interested in how I can support you, learn more about me and then send me an email and we’ll set up a call to chat.

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Dear writers,

I’ve just been rolling around on the floor (as you do when you're stuck), trying to decide what to write.

As I closed me eyes, I remembered something one of the writers at my recent focus group said: he experiences the same type of paralysis I do when faced with unlimited writing possibilities, and he would love there to be some sort of “flow chart” where he could identify where he is in the process and follow steps to move from paralysis to productivity.

It got me thinking. What if the most upstream starting point in that flow chart isn't about what to write, but why you want to write in the first place?

The tyranny of freedom

I’ve been noticing something among the writers I mentor and interview: many of them (me included) are suffering from a kind of creative vacillation brought about by too much freedom.

The internet has given us unlimited topics and infinite audiences to write for. And every time I open my laptop I’m blessed and plagued with new ideas, new possibilities, and new directions I could go in.

I sit down to write about constraints and wonder where to begin. Maybe I’ll start with a problem. No, maybe I’ll open with a compelling story.

Or, maybe it’s finally time to start on that personal essay about my dad.

Or, actually, I need to make more income with my coaching business—and for that I need to write more promotional stuff. Maybe that’s today’s priority.

As you can probably tell, as I rolled around the floor this morning, I was struggling with the very problem I’m setting out to solve with my research into constraints.

The irony isn’t lost on me. But it only makes me more determined to create something helpful for me and other writers.

The hypothesis: start with why

Rather than diving straight into what to write about, I suspect it could be helpful to step back and understand why we feel called to write in the first place.

Not in some vague, fist-pumping way, but through some kind of audit. A systematic identification (and celebration!) of our core incentives.

I remember feeling vindicated the first time I read George Orwell’s classic “Why I Write.” He laid out five motives he believed compelled all of us writers to pick up the pen. And when people have asked me why I write, I’ve always recited Orwell’s five:

1. Making a living (I score high on this one, getting paid for my art is the dream)

2. Sheer egoism (I’m high on this too, I’m so preoccupied with being known for good writing it’s sometimes embarrassing)

3. Historical impulse to preserve information (not so high on this, I probably should read more history books)

4. Aesthetic pleasure in words (100%)

5. Social or political impact on readers (yeah I’m quite high on this too, I want to help shape how people think and what they do)

To Orwell’s five, I have added four more motives that I feel strongly at different times (and I suspect others do too):

6. Curiosity (writing is literally like travel to me, both create a delicious sense of anticipation for what I might find and who I’ll be when I get there)

7. Rebellion (writing is so often about escaping expectations and conventional thinking)

8. Connection (thanks to Write of Passage and the internet more broadly, writing is now a legit way i can build a community of friends and peers)

9. Wellbeing (the psychological benefits of writing are off the charts: expression, flow, freedom, fun, catharsis, etc)

The idea is simple enough: if you can honestly score yourself on these nine dimensions—say, out of 5—then I think you'll have a much clearer sense of your proper orientation as a writer.

And that clarity could help you choose what to work on. Or at the very least, choose what to say no to.

For instance, if curiosity and rebellion are most important to you, then you'll probably want to chase different topics and formats than someone who’s motivated primarily by money or impact.

Can you feel ALL of the motives? Very possibly.

Can you honour all of them at the same time? That remains to be seen.

The experiment

So, here's where it gets interesting from a constraints perspective. I’ve designed an audit that combines these nine motives and three different types of creative constraints that I discovered in my research:

• Temporal constraints ⏳ Fixed time limits that create good pressure

• Format constraints 📋 A prescribed structural template for the audit

• Feedback loop constraints 🗣️ Built-in external input and collaboration

And if you’ve been reading carefully, you’ll notice of course that those nine writing motives are themselves a set of perspectival constraints.

Anyway, my hypothesis is that by applying these constraints in this particular way, we can drastically reduce the overwhelm and get signposted in the right direction.

But here's the thing: I don't know if this actually works yet. That's where YOU come in.

The invitation: become a research partner

I'm looking for 1-2 volunteer writers to test this Writing Motivation Audit with me in a 60-min video call. You don't need to prepare anything; I'll guide you through the entire process step by step.

By the end of the session, I’m aiming for you to walk away with:

• a clear breakdown of your core writing motivations

• insights into which motivations are most important to you right now

• and practical direction for choosing what to write about next

What I'm hoping to learn is:

• whether this constraint-based approach actually helps writers gain clarity

• how different motivation profiles lead to different creative choices

• and if this could become the first step in a larger decision-making flow chart

This is genuine research for my (potential) book on constraints and creativity. You'll be helping me test whether this upstream approach of understanding why before tackling what actually moves writers from scratching their heads to beating that blinkin’ cursor.

If you’re interested in doing this with me, hit reply or send me an email, telling me a bit about your current writing challenges.

I'm particularly keen to work with writers who feel highly motivated but stuck choosing between multiple interests or directions.

I can’t wait to work with you!

Harrison 👨‍🎨

“You can do anything, but not everything.” — David Allen

⬥

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