20 Questions Every Writer Must Ask Themselves
The Flagship Newsletter
Hello, and welcome back to Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s Sitting in Silence. The newsletter about writing, craft, worry, and joy.
Instead of a post for paid subscribers, as I usually do midweek, I’ve decided to share something with you. Years ago, I earned a psych degree. I didn’t get it from the sort of prestigious university the president has threatened to pull funding from. No, my degree came from humble Grand Canyon University. It was an online situation, which, honestly, is probably where the world of education is heading. (Holographic AI instructors anyone?) Still, I learned a lot. My experience delving into the human psyche helped my writing tremendously and made me a better person. Probably. You’d have to ask my loved ones.
But one thing I’m sure about is this: I created a questionnaire for myself. My purpose was to be honest about how my life and writing were going. I never really thought of it as a kind of mirror therapy, but that’s what it is. You look at yourself unflinchingly. Take away from it what you will.
Today, I share with you my Questionnaire for Writers, free of charge. All I ask is that when you share it, let folks know where you got it from. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me.
Disclaimer: I’m not a clinical psychologist, therapist, etc. This exercise should be taken in the spirit of self-actualized discovery rather than treatment.
Twenty Questions About Your Writing Life
1. What do you enjoy about your writing?
2. What do you enjoy about writing?
3. How does a lack of confidence make your writing less enjoyable?
4. How does that lack of confidence reflect some way you identify or characterize yourself?
5. How can you change that?
6. What do you want to change about your writing?
7. What do you want to change about your writing process?
8. How do you define yourself as a writer?
9. How would you like to change your sense of yourself as a writer?
10. What do you see as holding you back as a writer?
11. How can you overcome those limits or blocks?
12. How do I react to criticism of my work?
13. How could I employ criticism of my work in a more useful way?
14. How is your writing limited by the ways you say, "I can't do that" or "that's not me"?
15. What are your goals for this course?
16. What are your goals for the next few years as a writer?
17. What is your image of the writer you want to become?
18. What are the subjects or themes you want to explore next as a writer?
19. How will writing about these things change your life?
20. What topics or themes do you want to explore with your writing in the future?
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So helpful and generous of you! Self-awareness generates confidence it seems. Self-reflection helps us get to the heart of the matter, the place we begin from, our launch point each time we sit down to write. We might ask “Where am I inside this moment” “What is my body awakening me to?”
Helpful, thank you. I think another question might be, what’s one change you can make today in response to these questions. For me, these questions confirm I don’t want a lot of plans for my weekends- I want the flexibility to have writing time.