How Do You Get Started Writing?

Taking various writing classes does not only improve the quality of your writing, if you are just silent. Become a connoisseur, without the slightest interest in moving.

Me too, without any effort and coercion then laziness will still be Tuan. Uh, but, that doesn't mean I write forcibly huh. I just need a little lash that encourages me to keep crawling forward.

It's been 5 months since the beginning I threw myself into the world of literacy. More or less I feel a change, which is not just talking about writing. Even though it's not very significant, but I feel that there is a change.

In almost every writing class I visit, one member always asks, “ Sis, how do you start writing? "Certainly, I can confirm that it is definitely questionable. On a scale of 1-10 the question is at the 8th level from which to be asked.

Then, what about the Mentor Brother's answer? All of their answers, when juxtaposed, point to the same thing. Namely, writing.

Just write whatever you want to write! Simple language like that. Coupled with various frills of the argument that an activity will not work if it does not start now.

If it's like that, I can only listen silently. Because what Mentor said was true. To be able to write, you have to start writing. That's not wrong!

But, have you ever been in a state of confusion and then asked what to do. And, the answer actually makes you more confused.

That's me, right now. In the middle of thinking hard over the answer that never came as expected. Instead of getting advice, it only adds to the confusion.

The problem is this, seen from the point of view of a writing. Is it only for oneself, or is it specially made for public consumption? Of course, the styles of delivery used by the two writings are very different. Unless, you do allow your private writing to be exposed by many people. Like, me hehe.

Why is this my biggest problem? Because, the opening sentence has a very big influence in a writing. Your readers will give you one to two minutes to decide whether or not to continue reading. Especially for people who have ' lazy reading ' disease , this will be highly respected by him.

If it feels unattractive, complicated, wordy, not important, then at that very moment he will choose to stop. Maybe not yet got to the point of writing, but he was lazy to continue.

So, with this myriad of confusion I carried out a small research. Namely, studying every piece of writing I read and then writing down the types of opening sentences. As an illustration or reference, if later I'm confused about how to start writing.

The author who begins with the description

Typical people who are diligent in searching before writing. Not just looking for information for writing material. However, to find the meaning and meaning of the keywords to be discussed. Usually, he's most familiar with the Wikipedia site. In essence, the reader must know what the meaning and definition of the topic he will bring up.

Writers who start with vent

For this one, it seems like I use it the most. Because it is quite easy, for me. Starting with experiences that are relevant to the topic to be presented. It's like telling a story, but the information that is the main purpose of the writing is inserted.

Authors who start out with pleasantries and pleasantries

Small talk is necessary, but if it gets too long it will make you bored. Yes or not? Several times I have come across the opening sentence which contains the description of the author's state when he started his writing. For example, he told me that he missed breakfast, came late to the office and is now writing after being angry with a senior. So, the next paragraph that contains the main topic flows but begins with a writing that in my opinion is not really important for others to know. Or, other kind of pleasantries.

Authors who start with quotes

One of the tricks that may be spectacular. Attract readers using beautiful quotes that are relevant to the content of the writing. Who doesn't like to read quotes? At a minimum, if the contents of the writing are not promising, there are quotes that the reader can steal. Hehehe, right? If like this, a lot of time will be wasted just looking for or even writing a quote. So, writers must be ready with savings quotes in their little notes.

Writers who start with gripping questions or sentences

The author will present seasonings at the beginning of his writing so that readers feel at home for long. This method is also quite effective in raising the reader's curiosity. Because, like it or not he had to continue reading until the end to complete his curiosity.

Writers who start with the point of conversation

People with this type of writing like this, usually have a greater chance to be able to penetrate into the selection in writing activity generally produces Cuan . The opening sentence of the writing must be relevant to the content of the writing. Not too long, not complicated, not wordy. Short, dense and clear.

Now, that's all the opening sentence category I've found so far. My message, keep writing without bothering to think about the opening sentence.

Remember that each writer has his own characteristics. And every reader has different tastes. So, we cannot force it to fulfill both.

Be yourself when writing. Don't worry about thinking ' Is my writing good, or not? 'All great things need a process that is not instantaneous. There is a bloody struggle background without you knowing.

As time goes by, you are sure to find your own way. That characteristic is really ' you' without the need to be asked and asked. You just need to learn and enjoy the ups and downs process.

Mind Detox by Writing!

Mind Detox by Writing!

In his book entitled 'Opening up', Dr. Pennebaker recounts one of his stories with a graduate student named Sandra Beal. Sandy said he was ready to start working on his master thesis. After discussing, they finally agreed to form a group of volunteers for this experiment. They will be asked to write down the traumatic experiences they have had. This activity will be carried out for 15 minutes over a period of 4 consecutive days.

After that, another group was created as a comparison to the previous group. They will be asked to write down imaginary or irrelevant topics and are randomly selected for each session. For example, they were asked to reveal details about the dorm room / shoes. This group was created with the aim of observing whether writing down irrelevant and random topics could affect health.

Four months after the study, the volunteers were asked to fill out a questionnaire to measure their long-term feelings after the experiment. As it turned out, the results were much stronger than they had imagined. Some people claim to dream and keep thinking about their writing topic which lasts only 4 days.

And which is quite surprising and amazing, after being observed for 6 months, they experienced a decrease in visits to health centers of about 50% of the average monthly visits. In contrast to the comparison group which only wrote things randomly. However, what is most impressive about all of them is their courage to be willing to share and write down the many horrors and traumas they experienced.

From the brief description above, it can be concluded that writing down your innermost thoughts and feelings will provide an emotional release that creates a sense of satisfaction and relief. Apart from that, based on the above research, it can also be proven that writing which involves the deepest emotions in the human mind or traumatic experiences has a positive impact on the body. With improved immune function, improved mood, and provides a new, more positive outlook.

We all often feel stuffy with what's inside our heads. Everything that crosses the senses of sight and hearing simultaneously enters the brain without being controlled. Not to mention the problems of life, study materials, memorization, disputes with friends, flashbacks of former memories, boredom, wanting to go out, decisions, and much more. You call it overthinking. Overthinking things.

After reading Dr. Pennebaker, have we realized to immediately 'clean the mind' . Sorting out what to think about intensely and which should be discarded. Through writing, it will be easier for you to share the feelings that have been disturbing your mind, to find out more about what things should be minimized or even discarded at once. You can free yourself to explode emotions that have been pent up, squeeze, make hearts narrow. Without the need to think and care about the rules of linguistic order. That way, life will feel more spacious and free.

Writing about negative things will provide an emotional release that evokes a sense of satisfaction and relief.


Free your body from thoughts that may have been poison to your life. Make writing as a supplement for mental and mental health.

Writing! Solutions For Traumatic Experiences

This time, I want to discuss a little about the book "Writing for Therapy" by Naning Pranoto. Who the hell wants to have a bitter experience in life? Everyone will want fun days throughout their life. However, sometimes the gravel suddenly fell, blocking our steps, and even leaving a scar.

How many people do not realize that they are actually hurt. Emotional wounds that have been incised as far as life have taken, could come from the environment or close people accidentally. There's not much to do but try to let go, forget, and let go.

Even so, it takes prescription and effort to cure it. Because, the longer the wound is buried, the darker the darkness will make us drown.

In Islam, we know that getting closer to Allah is the only way. Likewise with psychology which discovered the existence of healing therapy by means of writing. There are many methods presented in this book, 2 of which are Expressive Writing and Free Writing .

Expressive Writing (EW) is a writing technique used to convert negative emotions into positive energy. By expressing feelings or traumatic experiences that have been latent. Including writing down what are the things that trigger us to be depressed, as well as who is involved in it.

EW's writing form is narrative / story, ignoring the structure of the writing starting from spelling, grammar and other writing rules. Write honestly, so that the pressure that has been clogging up can be carried away like a flood in every word we create.

Writing for therapy is an activity that can reduce a person's trauma naturally. And transforming the experience into a valuable positive value that is priceless.

In contrast to Expressvie Writing which is predominantly used to express feelings, Free Writing has a wider use than that. Besides being useful as a therapy, FW is commonly practiced by writers, both beginners and seniors.

The technique of writing FW and EW is equally simple, namely by continuously pouring out what's in the mind regardless of the grammar arrangement. The FW technique can also be used to treat writer's block , relax the brain nerves, relieve burnout, and cure therapy.