Become a Better Writer by Honing You Inner Detective

Elisha Montgomery
Aug 24, 2017 · 3 min read
Photo by Joao Silas on Unsplash

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

— Sherlock Holmes

What makes a detective better than the rest? A great detective isn’t satisfied with the obvious, they look into what’s missing. They look for what’s not being said, seen, or heard.

Why you need to be a detective

Do a quick google search asking the question: Can staring at the sun for one second make you go blind? You’ll notice that almost every article points to the exact same quote. I wanted more.

Sadly, I gave up my search after running into the same info time after time. Being a detective can make you stand out and avoid making readers give up on your content. When you look for the unseen details in a story, you’ll have the tools to give readers an emotional response.

In his book Contagious, Jonah Berger talks about how emotion is one of the keys in making things go viral. What does something new and interesting make you want to do? Share it with your friends, because as Jonah talks about, it makes you look good.

Honing your inner detective

Where do you start? There are 3 areas of focus that will improve your writing.

  1. Research
  2. Questions
  3. Connect the dots

Research

“We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work”
― Thomas A. Edison

Most writing on the internet is fluff. Your biggest competitive advantage is writing well-researched content. Bad writing costs corporations billions of dollars each year.

A detective isn’t satisfied after interviewing one suspect. Imagine if they tried to present a case with just that. The jury would find the lack of proof laughable.

Your audience isn’t dumb.

They won’t be content with an article based off of the top results of one Google search. In fact they’ll just end up reading the article you used as a source.

So dig, dig, and dig some more. Find the facts that make a topic interesting or useful for your audience. Be honest with yourself. If you wouldn’t be satisfied reading what you’re writing, your audience won’t be either.

Questions

Photo by Evan Dennis on Unsplash

For a detective, one of the most used tools are well constructed questions. They are just as important for a writer.

When someone is reading your article questions will come to mind. For example:

  • Why is this important for me?
  • How can I use this info?
  • Where is the proof?

If you ask these questions as you write you’ll read your audience’s mind and leave them satisfied.

Connect the dots

A great detective doesn’t stop at collecting information and asking questions. They connect the dots so that everything makes sense.

Why do you read an article? You expect to understand the answer once you’re done. Your writing should be logical and connect all the research that you’ve done forming an easy to digest answer.

When your readers have that aha moment you’ve done your job as a writer. Just remember, be a detective and research, ask questions, and connect the dots. It’s a simple mental process, but it will help you crack the case of attracting interested readers.

If you want me to write for you, schedule a quick chat here.

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Elisha Montgomery

Written by

Chief Strategy Officer @ The Content Reactor Inc | sci-fi & tech enthusiast | lover of books made of paper | coffee addict. Find me at the thecontentreactor.com

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