Stop Trying To Provide Value In Your Writing
Just be yourself, you’ll be fine
Too much value creates dry, boring writing.
Many advise to “provide value” to your readers. For new writers, focusing on the reader’s perspective is essential. Writing just for yourself doesn’t create engaging content, so it helps to consider what a reader would want from your words. Growing your writing skills requires intentional practice to know what is valuable and what is not.
But at a certain point, that focus needs to be scaled back. It can’t be the only important element of our writing. Completely value-focused writing starts looking like AI-written drivel. The life and personality drain from the words, leaving only the data behind. People generally don’t read pure data, as it’s hard to relate to statistics and methods.
People do, however, relate to stories.
The other day, I was struggling to write. We’ve all been there, staring at the screen, fingers poised on the keyboard. Sometimes I tap the keys without pressing the sensors to urge the words to flow. The blinking line taunts me, daring me to find the next sentence to connect my thoughts in a meaningful way.
Eventually, I had to give up. Not forever, just for that day. I can only beat my head against the concepts for so long…
