How to create a writing culture

Writing matters. Whether you write internal strategies that ten people read, or social media captions that a million people read, the quality and clarity of your language is vital

Precise writing captures people’s attention and propels them to taking action. Clumsy writing leaves people cold.

If you want a team full of strong writers, you need to create a culture that supports, recognises, and celebrates great writing. Here’s how to do that.

Create space for writing

To become a better writer, you need to write more. But many of us struggle to find the time in between endless meetings and small but urgent tasks.

Writing is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.

We often think we need big blocks of time to make progress on our writing. We don’t.

“Research shows that [people] who write daily publish far more than those who write in big blocks of time,” says Robert Boice in How Writers Journey to Comfort and Fluency: A Psychological Adventure, a book that studies writing habits.

Make it regular 

Writing little and often is the best way to create a routine, build up confidence, and make writing a part of our identity. 

Boice’s study of leading academics found that the most productive writers made time for writing every single day.

If writing every day isn’t realistic for you, try once a week.

Write quick, edit slow

Write more words, write them faster, and – no matter what - don’t worry about how good they are. You can edit later.

Get into a state of flow. It helps keep your inner critic at bay.

John Swartzwlder, a legendary writer of the Simpsons, shares this tip:

“Since writing is very hard and rewriting is comparatively easy and rather fun, I always write my scripts all the way through as fast as I can, the first day, if possible, putting in crap jokes and pattern dialogue. Then the next day, when I get up, the script’s been written. It’s lousy, but it’s a script. The hard part is done. All I have to do from that point on is fix it. So I’ve taken a very hard job, writing, and turned it into an easy one, rewriting, overnight.”

Discuss good writing

“Talk out loud about writing,” says writer and founder of language strategy agency That Explains Things, Nick Parker. “Writing is such a solitary and personal act. Making it more communal and shareable is the essential thing. Create a “bring and share a thing” meeting, for thirty minutes every week.

“Staff can share examples of good stuff they’ve seen and say why they like them. It’s especially important to share good stuff, because writing is one of those things where it’s much easier to criticise than praise.”

You could also set up a dedicated group chat or Slack channel for people to share examples of great writing. Don’t just look at other charities, include brand copy, news articles, literary fiction… anything that shows the craft of writing.

Stoke imagination

Use writing prompts to stoke people’s imaginations.

Whether you’re writing together in a meeting room, or at home in your own time, encourage the whole team to respond to the same creative challenge.

• If your charity supports older people, you could ask everyone to write a speech in the tone of voice of a young child
• If you work for an environmental charity, you could write an appeal from the perspective of a peat bog, tree, or blade of grass
• If you work on justice reform, you could write a story about a world with no prisons

Flip the script so you’re writing outside of your usual topic, format, and tone of voice.

Creativity often strikes when you step outside your comfort zone.

Give people flexibility

To build a writing habit, you need to show up for regular practice. That means sitting down to write once a week, or once a day, and doing it whether you feel like it or not.

But when you’re delivering a piece of writing work – like writing copy for a new website, annual report or social media campaign – it pays to be flexible. Give yourself, and your team, permission to get the writing done in the way that suits them.  

“Writing doesn’t always happen near a pen or a keyboard,” says Lead Conceptual Copywriter Laura Sugden Clarke. “It’s just a fact. So taking a long shower to think, having a big noodly walk, or sitting with another writer and idly sifting through ideas over cake is all writing. It all counts. It’s all work. Just make sure to have some sort of device nearby so you can keep track of anything golden that comes up.”

Read, read, read

You won’t become a brilliant writer without being a reader.

Block out time for reading in your calendar. Whether you think of it as continuing professional development or as a break from your main work, reading widely is one of the best investments you can make in your own writing. 

Read within your own area of work, and way outside it.

Treat reading as food for your writing brain. You won’t produce great writing without it.    

“Read, read, read,” said William Faulkner. “Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.”