This one small change massively improved the engagement with my writing
If you ask the best writers what one thing improved their
writing the most, many would tell you to simply write more.
You absolutely do, and you must ideally write every day to
be a better writer. But this idea has been done to death (because it’s so
true), and I’d love to point you to another idea that will help you as it
helped me.
For years, my writing was stunted and ignored because of one
thing:
I wanted to impress the reader.
I would write to look good.
I would write about things I thought would inspire people
and make them want to follow me.
Thus my writing was a very self-conscious process. Because
my mental model around writing was to impress people, I wrote with the
intention to avoid making mistakes and avoid looking bad.
I equated growing an audience with looking impressive.
But then I wondered why few people responded to my work. I
couldn’t figure out why my writing flopped.
Eventually, I made a shift, which had a huge impact on my
words:
I started telling the truth.
I began to share ideas that risked criticism.
I wrote more about my flaws and my doubts.
I wrote about my struggles and the struggles of others.
People began to respond. My articles blew up. People reached
out to me and thanked me for my words.
Why does this work?
This works mainly because the reader is seeing themselves in
your concepts. It’s never about you. It’s about demonstrating yourself as another
human on this planet — one who is not perfect.
This is the kind of character the reader can relate to
because they know their own struggles. They need hope. They don’t want to see
someone living life without struggle.
Seeing transformation in the context of conflict and
struggle is why stories work so well — there is always challenge. You need to
show this in your writing as much as possible.
Writing is incomplete without incorporating the idea that
life is about overcoming hurdles, and that you were able to do so, even if you
were scared.
So, be willing to share more about how you came face to face
with conflict.
Show your human side, and be ok with not always appearing
cool, or perfect.
When I let go and didn’t try so hard to avoid making
mistakes and looking bad, my words came to life.
This will make your writing authentic.
And authenticity will bring loyal followers to you
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