For many writers, writing is the thing we love most. However, having other interests, or being multi-passionate, will make you a better writer. And if writing isn’t your favorite thing in the world, having other passions can make writing fun, interesting, and empowering.
These interests could be anything, from barbecuing to bowling, from growing orchids to giving back to your community. And you don’t have to stop at one! Not sure where to start? As the old saying goes, you should have three hobbies: one to stay creative, one to keep you fit, and one to make you money.
Let’s take a deeper dive into why being multi-passionate will make you a better writer.
Reason #1 Being Multi-Passionate Will Make You a Better Writer: More Inspiration
Writing is difficult when you don’t have anything to write about. Where do you find inspiration to write? From living life! Having multiple passions means trying new things, setting goals in areas other than writing, learning new skills, and using different parts of your brain. You have the opportunity to observe things and people in different settings. Also, you learn important lessons and practice setting goals, which of course can roll over into writing.
Storytelling can take place in many forms, from that youth soccer league you help coach to trying all the food trucks in town to going to the symphony. Inspiration strikes in the most unexpected of places.
So, next time you have writer’s block or you’re procrastinating with your writing, remember that being multi-passionate will make you a better writer. Switch gears, try doing something else you love, and then come back to your word count.
Reason #2 Being Multi-Passionate Will Make You a Better Writer: More Motivation
As this article from Fast Company notes, having hobbies can make you more productive. Doing something else that you love can be therapeutic, even when it challenges you. Setting goals and achieving successes — from perfecting a pushup to knitting a scarf — boosts morale and raises your energy levels. When you celebrate your wins in other areas of your life, you can carry that sense of accomplishment and motivation into your writing, too.
A great way to start is by keeping a “Wins List” alongside your regular to-do list. Being multi-passionate will make you a better writer, wrack up items on your wins list, and make you feel superhuman. It also has the added bonus of helping level you up as a well-rounded individual and building your confidence. One success leads to another, across all areas of your life, inviting even more positive energy and opportunities into every day. And that means more writing inspiration, too!
Writing With a Purpose
Art for art’s sake is wonderful, but art with a purpose is powerful. Want your writing to change the world? Identify the purpose behind your writing. Who are you trying to help? What message are you trying to get across? What action do you want your reader to take? Go beyond the writing and look at the bigger picture.
Being a part of something bigger can stem from one of your other passions. Perhaps your writing shines a light on an underserved community. Perhaps it brings awareness to an important cause. The big question is, what are you passionate about? It could be anything from ridding the ocean of plastic waste to teaching others about financial literacy.
As a multi-passionate person, you will have important insights into these passions that are shared by others, too, and can speak directly to those groups. This puts you in a unique position with this audience. As a writer, you can effectively communicate ideas to them in a way others might not be able to get across.
Does anyone ever ask you for advice about something that’s not writing-related? If so, next time, tell them you’ll follow up with some ideas over email. Practice writing about the subject and see where it leads!
Being multi-passionate will make you a better writer because it gets you out of the writer bubble, expands your world, leads to inspiration and motivation, and allows you to be a part of something that’s bigger than yourself. Writers are not meant to slave away at a computer all day, every day — writers are storytellers. So go out, don’t be afraid to throw yourself into your other hobbies, and find that unique story to tell.
