Have you ever thought about how to start writing as a hobby? 

Of course I’m going to be biased here since I love writing stories. But in my experience, writing is actually a fun way to pass the time and gradually helps you in life. 

If you’ve been a writer for some time and life has gotten you sidetracked, this blog post will help you get back into the groove. This also applies to anyone who has never written anything, and you’re thinking of writing more just for fun. 

It’s always great to try something new and see if you like it.

As a kid, I never expected to write for fun. I was forced to do so because of school, whether they were from reports or essays. My earlier assignments sparked my love since we got to write whatever stories we want in class. 

I’ve done this and became motivated to do this outside of school. I learned to enjoy the process. 

I’ve taken this skill a lot more seriously now. However, I want to show that writing as a hobby is something many people can enjoy. Even if it’s for a while.

While you scroll down, you’ll see 3 tips below that will show you how to get started.

Write daily journal entries

One way you can get started today is to write daily journal entries. Everyday would be ideal because repetition is the key to building good habits. But I do understand that it takes time to write consistently.

By journal entries, I’m not talking about detailed diary logs where you write about every single thing that happened in your day. It may be overwhelming and cause unnecessary pressure at first if you try this approach.

These kinds of excerpts make me think of video games where a side character is recording or writing about how they’ve been stranded on an island.

Oh it’s 1873, Day 15, I’ve finally made it inside the magic mountain. There’s an oasis of water and fruits, but it’s guarded by the gorilla king and his lackeys. I must create wooden shields and banana leaf armor to defend myself before trespassing. 

I played some video games where you can find notes or recordings that other characters left behind. Reading those notes would activate quests and whatnot.

So yeah, I’m not talking about those.

To make this simple, you can just write a number at the top of your page and date. Honestly, that’s literally what I do if I can’t think of a title.

Let’s say I write the number 1 at the top and today’s date. Then in the blank spaces below, you could start making bullet points and write whatever comes to mind. This seems like you’re making a list, which is true, but I think of this as logging.

I’ve done this before, and it’s so simple to do. Just write until you fill the need to stop. I try to fill up at least one page.

When you finish, whatever you’ve written down is most likely going to be random and that’s okay. 

I feel like people in general often think of the most random things in life. The neurons in our brain rapidly fire so many different thoughts. We’re not methodical and organized like robots and machines.

The reason why I like to do this is because it teaches you how to write without hesitation. I’ve talked to people who say they have ideas about this amazing story in their head or how they want to write more often. But they either don’t do it, or they don’t get very far since they’re afraid of writing the wrong thing.

I don’t even know what the wrong thing is. I’ve thought about what they said until I realized the fear of failing prevents them from even trying to write.

So if you’re having trouble with writing, just get a journal, write a number (which indicates your journal entry), write the date, and below it, just start writing whatever comes to mind. They don’t even have to be complete sentences.

Watch movies and TV for inspiration

A second way on how to start writing as a hobby is to watch movies and TV for inspiration. If you were to ask other people on how to write as your new hobby, they will probably tell you to read more. They will say this to you whether or not they’re writers themselves.

Reading books to get better at writing is very solid but common advice. I hear this from school, established authors, and writing programs. It makes sense. If you want to become a great writer or write as a hobby, then you’ve gotta read to see how it works.

It’s like if you want to invent a new machine, you’ve gotta take apart an existing model and examine the inside. Once you figure out how it works, then you can implement your own twist and try to create something more efficient.

Since I can be very lazy, there’s times when I watch tons of TV or movies. Mainly TV though. What I’ve learned is that video can be so much more powerful than reading a book. Even watching one TV show already tells you a story you can see with your eyes. You can hear the story come to life. It’s much more literal. 

One of my favorite shows is the Orville. It’s a sci-fi comedy by Seth McFarland which they need to renew for another season. I think it’s a parody of Star Trek. 

I’ve never seen Star Trek so that is just a guess.

In that show, one of my favorite episodes is called “A Happy Refrain”. Which is Season 2, Episode 6. 

I won’t say too much about it since not everyone has seen the show. But feel free to skip like a minute ahead if you don’t want to hear the spoilers.

Start of Spoiler

In the beginning of that episode, Claire, the ship’s doctor . . . and by ship, I’m talking about an advanced technological spaceship which travels light years. The name of the spaceship the cast is on is called the Orville. That’s where the name of the show comes from.

Anyways, Claire is writing a paper on nano-synthesis or something like that. Then she contacts Isaac to ask for her help on the paper. By the way, Isaac is an advanced artificial being who has superior intelligence than humans. So Isaac walks in, and he and Claire make small talk.

Claire notices that Isaac is holding a banana and asks why he’s holding it. Isaac says that he got it for her since he notices that Claire gets cranky if she doesn’t eat anything after a while. Claire is kinda surprised at the weird but thoughtful gesture.

Afterwards Isaac helps Claire correct the paper. They’re about to go their separate ways until Isaac stops and tells Claire that she changed her hair. Claire finds it flattering since Isaac is the only one to notice it. This causes Claire to look at Isaac differently, even though he’s a lifelike robot being, and the episode goes more into detail about Isaac and Claire’s budding relationship.

End of spoiler 

So far, I’ve only talked about the opening scene, but even this particular scene already tells me a story. To me, an episode of TV is like watching a series of mini-stories together.

If you’re feeling stuck, feel free to watch some TV or a movie. Then come back to the writing board and try again. I usually get new ideas after doing this. 

Although you can do whatever you want, I think it’s best to moderate how long you watch TV and movies. Sometimes I end up watching a whole show and by the time I finish, I see that it’s dark outside.

Look at writing prompts online

My third tip on how to start writing as a hobby is to look at writing prompts online. We’re in an age where we are blessed to have the internet. I’m sure you were surfing the net until you found my lovely blog post.

When I was a kid, I was not exposed often to the internet until my family got a computer. It was an old-fashioned desktop. The monitor was freakishly heavy and looked like a box TV. We also had a box TV too. 

Because I did not use the internet for more than half of my childhood, I went to the library and checked out books. I went to the library for my book reports, homework issues, and new ideas for my stories.

Today, I still check out books when I feel like analog would be better at times. But it’s also amazing to read and do research on my laptop. 

Since many households have phones, computers, and tablets now, it’s easy to go online and google writing prompts. When I’ve done this, the top blog posts target general writing. 

If you want to be more specific, you could type something like “writing prompts for poets” or “story ideas”. It really depends on you and what you want to explore.

You can even combine this tip and the first one together. If you find a prompt you like, feel free to add it as an entry in your journal and write whatever comes to mind. 

This can lead to some really amazing stories, poems, and ideas. Happy writing!

Thank you for reading my blog post!

💜 Comment down below if you have any other suggestions on how to write as a hobby. Or anything about starting a new hobby in general. That would be very helpful.

If you’ve read all of this and are interested in joining the Nikkaflora fam for this journey, get started by subscribing to my email list and social media below. You’ll stay updated and receive additional content. Let’s create, appreciate, and f*** that hate!

💜 Nicole 💜