Blog May 7, 2021

100 Writing Tips That Don’t Suck

In the last 2 years I’ve written 100+ articles [some published and some trashed] and tapped out a million+ words and here’s the deal: I still don’t consider myself a very good writer.

However, I’m a hell of a lot better than I was in the beginning [I think] and I like to believe I’m continuing to improve, hone my craft, or whatever other stale phrase you want to call it.

Now, a million words may sound impressive but to be honest, it’s not that many compared to more prolific writers, and any veteran wordsmith reading this has probably already laughed and cranked the back button on their browser.

But, it’s a milestone, and a decent opportunity to reflect — so here we are.

These are the things I’ve learned in the last couple of years. Maybe I’ll write a much more informative piece when I achieve the ten million mark or — perhaps not — we’ll see.

Anyway, let’s get into it.

Not Boring Tips for Better Writing

Write every day — Write something daily. I can’t stress this enough. It doesn’t have to be a novel. It can be an email or even a Tweet but write something. This is how you exercise your writing muscle and keep yourself sharp. Failing to write is like failing to go to the gym. The longer you stay away, the harder it is to return.

Forget what you learned in school — Minimum word counts and multi-sentence paragraphs are bullshit. On the internet, none of those things matter. In fact, they’ll make your writing stink. Well, I shouldn’t say stink but, no one will read your work. Writing online is a different animal and it’s important to unlearn most of the things you thought you knew about writing.

Make it skimmable — People don’t read on the internet. They skim. They read the headlines along with the bold text. Make your important parts bold and catchy. Avoid using large walls of text that are difficult for the reader to digest. Highlighting the main takeaways is the best way to get people to take the time and read the whole article.

Forget word count — Use just enough words to get your ideas across. No more and no less. If you can convey your idea in 300 words — great. If it takes 10, 000 words that’s fine too but don’t fool yourself into thinking that you need a minimum number of words per article.

Forget grammar — I don’t even know what’s considered good grammar versus bad. Who cares. Just write.

Punctuation — Writing on the internet is like living in the wild west. There aren’t many rules. The same goes for punctuation. My advice is to [create your own style] and ‘run with it.’ See what I did there??!!

Ideas > Writing — Ideas are more important than writing skills. Once you learn basic internet writing ideas become the problem. Anyone can sit down and peck away on the keyboard but the hard part becomes writing things people want to read which leads me to my next tip…

Get drunk — The best ideas tend to come after a couple of drinks. I don’t know why but I suspect alcohol slows down the thought process a bit. Have a couple of beers and keep a notepad handy. You might be surprised what pops into your head.

Take a walk — Get out in nature and take a walk. This is extremely helpful when coming up with ideas.

Don’t read — Every writer thinks they need to read a ton of stuff to be a good writer but this is a bunch of crap. If you want to be a good writer, write. Reading won’t help you as much as you think it will.

Be yourself — Show some personality and don’t be afraid to let your quirkiness shine through. People like shit that’s relatable and it makes your writing more interesting. Share things with your readers that makes them think — “me too!”

Piss people off — You’re supposed to have an opinion. If you don’t, then why are you writing? Some people won’t agree with you and that’s okay. If you’re upsetting people, that’s okay too. The point is to express your opinion and make the reader feel something. And if they don’t agree? fuck’em. For every hater I’ve drawn criticism from, there have been just as many [if not more] people who have said they like my ideas. The point is, not everyone is going to like what you have to say but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t say it.

Go to the bathroom — Take care of business so you can focus more easily.

Remove that — In 90 percent of cases, the word ‘that’ isn’t necessary. Example: “The problem is, that you need to get better at editing.” versus “The problem is, you need to get better at editing.” See how the second sentence is much more clear and concise?

Remove adverbs — Don’t use words that end in ‘ly’ and if you do, use them ‘sparingly.’ Adverbs like actually, really, truly, and so forth are unnecessary and muddy up your sentences. Get rid of them for clearer writing.

Mix your sentence length — Short sentences are quick. Punchy. And to the point. Long sentences are flowy and allow the reader to soak up your words and the ideas you are trying to convey. To make your writing more interesting, use a mixture of the two. But also, do what comes naturally. Write. Like. You. Talk.

Smoke a cigarette — The legal way to get your thoughts in order when writing.

Learn to write everywhere — I’m not talking about platforms. I’m talking about where you *actually* write. [excuse the adverb] Most newbie writers think they need a quiet desk near a window with a cup of hot tea to write things and well, this is bullshit. The universe isn’t going to align with your perfect writing conditions. Learn to write wherever, whenever, and in whatever environment. If the kids are making noise, write. If you’re waiting in the doctor’s office, write. Stuck in an airport, fucking write. No excuses.

Publish everywhere — Answer questions on Quora, write on Medium, and Tweet on Twitter. All why publishing on your personal website. Each platform offers specific advantages, not to mention, the ability to gain reader feedback. Then, use your blog as an archive of all of your work. A central hub for people to discover you and your writing.

Publish a lot — In the beginning, no one is going to read your stuff and the best thing you can do is publish frequently. It doesn’t matter whether it’s good or not. The point is to get in the habit of putting yourself out there.

Experiment — Try out different voices and styles. Sometimes I write super-serious articles and sometimes I go off on rants. Sometimes I’m introspective and sometimes I’m motivational. The point is to play around and have some fun. See what works for you and what your readers enjoy.

Don’t write for money — Write because you want to write, not because of money. Let money be a bonus if you’re lucky enough to earn some. If you make money writing — great. And if you don’t? That will be fine too.

Write down your ideas — If you have an idea for an article, jot it down ASAP — even if it’s 3 in the morning. Carry a notepad with you when you’re out and about or use a note-taking app on your smartphone. Either way, don’t let an idea for a piece get forgotten by not writing it down immediately. It’s happened to me, too many times.

Expect criticism — Did I talk about this already? IDK, Expect people to be critical but also helpful. Not everyone is going to attack you and there are people who will love your work. Just understand that you will receive negative feedback along the way. Learn from it and you’ll be fine, which leads me to my next tip…

Ignore comments — Some people are assholes and in most cases, shitty comments are not worth your time. The best response is no response.

Find your sweet spot — Don’t write when you’re tired and don’t write when you first get out of bed. Figure out the optimal time for you. Mine is early to mid-afternoon and no later than 7-8 o’clock at night.

Learn to suck — You’re going to stink at first and that’s okay. The only way to get good is by being bad. Write enough bad things and you’ll start to write good things. Do it long enough and you’ll see noticeable improvement.

Learn to sell — Writing isn’t enough. You’re going to have to learn to promote yourself and your work. In the beginning, no one is going to care about you and no one is going to read your stuff. Learn how and where to promote your writing. Plan on putting as much work into the art of selling as you would into the craft of writing.

Don’t write for SEO — You can try to get ranked on the first page of Google and that’s fine but your writing probably won’t be very good. My advice is to concentrate on writing well and skip the search engine optimization. Once you master writing, sprinkle a little SEO into your work .

Copy others — You’re not going to have much of a writing voice at first and that’s okay. Copy the writing style of your favorite authors and your own writing voice will develop over time.

Eat — Don’t try to write when you’re hungry but don’t overeat either.

Drink coffee — Black coffee is the next best thing to Adderall. If black coffee isn’t your thing then go ahead and make a Frappuccino or whatever the hell it is people drink these days. Really, any caffeinated beverage would work I suppose.

Write a shitty first draft — The most difficult part of writing is the first draft. Don’t be afraid to fill a page with garbage — the important part is getting your ideas on paper. After that, you can rewrite the piece and clarify your thoughts. Remember, everything stinks at first.

The first 2 sentences are the most important — You need to hook the reader with your first couple of sentences. They need to be intriguing enough to make the reader want to read more. This is something I need to work on.

Trim your sentences — Good writing says the most with the fewest words. When editing, eliminate words that don’t need to be used. It will make your writing more clear.

Write good headlines — Learning to write catchy headlines is how you get people to read your articles. If the headline doesn’t stand out, no one is going to click on your piece. I titled this one 100 Writing Tips That Don’t Suck because it stands out even though I don’t have 100 tips which leads me to my next point…

Make your own rules — It’s your writing and your rules. Do what you think is right and the hell with anyone who doesn’t like it.

It’s okay to run out of ideas — No one has an unlimited supply of ideas and there are times you need to give your mind a rest which is why I’m going to end this piece here.

Thanks for reading.

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