I wrote 1,000,000 words on my laptop in 6 months — so what’s next?
Grammarly just let me know I hit this milestone
I write. I wake up in the morning and tap out some notes on my phone for things to do today. I then sit with my paper notebook and a pen and my morning coffee. I write whatever is on my mind and rough out my priorities for the day including any appointments. I then fire up my computer and memorialize my tasks. If I am really motivated I go to my various project management pages and update them too. I make notes in my notepad and send texts and emails from my phone, so the 1,000,000 words on my laptop are only a portion of the words I wrote since May.
Going Back to School
Part of what mandated the writing of a lot of words was starting graduate school. I am getting my Master's in Urban Planning at USC Price School of Public Policy. The many individuals and group projects over two semesters that started in the Summer gave me a reason to deliver a lot of words. What it also gave me was a new discipline around writing. I brought this into my work as well and found myself writing more blogs, courses, emails, and plans. Six months later it added up to over a million words.
If the average book is 80,000–100,000 words I could have written the equivalent of 10 books. But I didn’t do that — there is less of a valuable final product in there but a lot of papers, plans, ideas, resources, and communications. As I cross this milestone, I am starting to think a bit more about creating more valuable final products. The idea knocking around my brain since the summer has been starting a podcast. In general, I am looking for ways to now be more disciplined with my content creation.
I remember reading about conditions and how to maximize them. For the state, they referred to as non-existence was to find a communication line and find out what is needed and wanted. From there produce and deliver. I feel a bit the same way right now. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of output is going to be the most valuable. This is from a creative point of view in terms of finding my voice, connecting with an audience, packaging it so it is easily findable and consumable, and amplifying it across media channels to build demonstrate value and build awareness.
Setting a Challenge
At the start of November, I took on a simple writing challenge for MRB Compliance Group. I wrote one blog with 21 Tips and then throughout the following weeks expanded on each tip with its own blog. Although my intention was to write one a day, life got the better of me (as did a trip to the emergency room which took me out for some time to recover), but I did continue on. I’ve now completed 16 of the 21 days and look forward to finishing up that series this week. It was a good exercise in making sure I was writing consistently. Even when I wasn’t consistent, I was aware of the desire to be consistent and do my best to get back to it.
I then took to writing an online course on Teachable. I have a few ideas about things that would make good courses and look forward to continuing to develop those. I have ideas about leaning into YouTube and TikTok but I haven’t get found my so-called vein of gold in terms of what I want to do there. A creator shared his monetization and he said YouTube pays much better than TikTok per view. Another woman mentioned she yielded an even higher rate of pay with her blogging.
The Content Circle (or Maze)
Then there are basic social media posts. I think they can be a good place to promote the longer form content I create. I’ve gotten into the habit of making much of my Twitter feed about sharing my blogs. However, I am also realizing there is a lot of other great content written about the subjects which interest me, which I should also be sharing. Therefore, the task of curating other people’s content can become content. And down the rabbit hole, or around the merry-go-round we go. I can conclude this point by saying there is a lot of great content to be made, found, consumed, and shared.
My next idea is that I want to float ideas through blogging and social media. I think if I can find ideas I think are of interest, then I can follow them up by investing the time in creating a video or audio script around it. I notice when I listen to my favorite creators they talk about scripting. I took think that before I enter the world of audio and video production, I too should start with scripting. So here we are — at the beginning of a content journey.
What’s The Best Topic?
What things should I talk about? It will be about either the things I know best or the things that I am learning. My life encompasses three careers. My first was in Los Angeles in entertainment and media. My second was in Colorado in the cannabis and CBD industry. I am now back in the New York area and in the middle of my urban planning studies. On a personal note, I have a dedication to my martial arts training and an interest in the cities I’ve lived in, New York City, Los Angeles, and Denver. I love content marketing, the arts, and am new to stocks and investments. I tend to attract and be a catalyst for creatives, entrepreneurs, and builders.
My next 1,000,000 words are still going to be somewhat exploratory but with the intention of finding my audience. I want feedback to lead me to the ideas that I can turn into content pieces that have value to others. I mostly want to find my authentic voice that most deeply resonates with others. This is the discovery of what part of my experience, perspective, truth, and curiosity can I bring to my writing for the greatest impact on others.
I always like the analogy that when you are creating content it is like creating a sweater. You are essentially starting with the sheep. You need to sheer the sheep. I will equate that to my first million words. Then you clean the wool. I am entering that stage right now. I want to put my best ideas out there. Then the carding is stretching the wool out with fine metal teeth. This equates to teasing out the ideas with the most traction. Then spinning the wool into yarn. That would be my pre-production stage. Then the dying, weaving, and knitting of the wool would be parallel to production, distribution, and marketing.
Only at Step 2
All that said, I am only at step two of a multi-step process. I will write another 1,000,000 words, and in the time it takes me to do so, perhaps gain some reads, followers, and fans. I also hope to improve my writing and my impact. What’s next? I am going to dig through my archives and see what’s collected some dust that might be prime for revisiting. I will also look at some of the ideas we’ve looked at in my urban planning classes and research which have sparked my interest, and perhaps will be of some interest to others.
So now I am embarking on my next million words. Grammarly is counting. And much like when I was a child at the swimming pool’s edge, or on the diving board, shouting “Watch me,” I am doing this again although now I stand at the edge of possibility to see where another 1,000,000 words with a bit more of a public plan and purpose behind them can take me.
Thanks for reading. I welcome you to join me as I work toward this next milestone and the opportunity it’s presenting. Your participation and feedback are welcome.
