Zibby Mag

By Jess Ekstrom

I first caught the writing bug in 6th grade. I became obsessed with the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and would read them on the bus to and from school. One day, I realized that real people can get published and submit their poems and stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul. From that moment on, I had one goal: get my words published in this series.

Every day after school, I’d put on my writing cap and submit my poems and short stories. I’d anxiously wait by the mailbox to see if I got a response. Every now and then, I’d get a small envelope saying “thanks, but no thanks,” and I’d go back to my room and try again.

Over the course of six months, I probably sent close to a hundred submissions. I’m not sure where that creativity came from at twelve years old! But I saw each submission as an opportunity to try something new and become a better writer.

Then one day, it happened. Instead of a small envelope with a rejection letter, I got a BIG envelope with an acceptance letter! They selected one of my poems to be published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teenage Edition. Being twelve years old and associated with teenagers was a huge win, and I got a $75 check which, in my mind, meant I could retire.

I’ll never forget the day I walked into the bookstore with my mom, found the book on the shelf, and flipped to my poem—by Jess Ekstrom. I’ve now published multiple books but none of them hold a candle to that first experience of seeing my name in print.

As I got older, I lost that optimism of cranking out a hundred submissions without judging myself or wondering what people would think.

In my most recent book for tweens and teens, Create Your Bright Ideas, I include writing exercises and encourage them to go after their ideas because oftentimes they haven’t developed those mental barriers yet. But as adults, we can second guess ourselves all day long. If there’s a single ingredient in writer’s block, it’s self-doubt. Self-doubt will crush creativity faster than I can crush a Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme on a road trip (which is lightning-fast, in case you were wondering).

Writing has too many mental and physical benefits to be put on the shelf (pun intended!), so I’ve compiled a list of four ways to bring out your inner writer—even for those people who say they can’t write!

Try the Moment to Meaning Exercise

Take a minute and close your eyes. Run through your day, past few days, or weeks as if it’s a film strip. Pause on any frame that means something to you: maybe it makes you happy or sad or it causes your heart to flutter a bit. Write down that moment as it happened. Where were you standing? What was the play-by-play?

Then write the meaning of that moment. What did it teach you? What could others learn from that moment?

In my course for women speakers, “Mic Drop Workshop,” I call this exercise Moment to Meaning. This is a great exercise for writers and speakers to digest their life through the lens of a teacher wanting to use real-life experiences to teach to others.

Don’t Edit as You Go

When I was writing my books Chasing the Bright Side and Create Your Bright Ideas, I would write, then read what I just wrote, then edit, then delete, then do that all over again. It was exhausting.

Then I got a piece of advice that I now take with me into every writing session: don’t try to be the editor, the agent, and the writer at the same time. Just be the writer.

We can never produce good work if we’re constantly critiquing or wondering what people will think if they read it. Just be the writer!

Commit to a Small Daily Word Count

The quickest way to stop writing is to tell yourself that you need to write 5,000 words a day. If that feels manageable to you, then go for it! But for me that seems like running a marathon each morning. Instead, give yourself either a small daily word count (like 500 words) or a timer, like 15 minutes of uninterrupted writing. If I’m writing a book, I use Dabble Writer. But if I’m writing just to write or journal, I use my own platform that I created called Prompted.io. You can even get a series of prompts from an expert based on what you want to explore.

Write Like You Talk

I hear the term “find your voice” often. This may be controversial, but you already have a voice! I do my best to write like I would sound if I were talking to a friend. It takes the guessing and editing out of it because you can just let your stream of consciousness flow!

At the end of the day, having a writing practice is like cleaning your house when it gets messy. It puts our random thoughts and stories onto paper. Then we get to choose what’s fact, what’s fable, and what we want to take with us or leave on the page. Whether or not you want to write to publish or just write to reflect, try these steps to let your inner writer fly!

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Jess Ekstrom is the founder of Headbands of Hope, a company that donates headbands to kids with illnesses. Headbands of Hope has been featured on TODAY, Good Morning America, QVC, and The View and has been worn by celebrities like Kelsea Ballerini and Khloé Kardashian. More importantly, Headbands of Hope has donated over one million headbands, reaching every single children’s hospital in America and twenty-two countries.

In 2020, she started Prompted.io, a self-improvement platform. Jess is also the author of Chasing the Bright Side and creator of Mic Drop Workshop, an e-learning company that helps women tell and sell their stories as thought leaders. For three years Jess lived and traveled full time in her Airstream with her husband, Jake, and their seventy-pound dog, Ollie. Now they reside in Raleigh, North Carolina.