Write Like an Author, Think Like A Reader, and Work Like an Accountant
Creativity isn’t enough. End of story.
I used to write whatever I thought was interesting and wondered why my posts weren’t doing very well.
But why not? After all, I was writing whatever had been floating around in my mind and I’d spend ages crafting clever similies, flowing prose, and plenty of backstories when required. If I find a subject interesting, surely readers will?
The point of writing is to write whatever you feel is interesting, right?
No. That’s not how it works. Readers arrive on the Internet armed with questions, problems, and dilemmas — and it’s our job to help solve them. Every piece of good content has status not necessarily because it’s brilliantly written, but because it makes the lightbulb in readers’ heads go off. The fancy word for this is anagnorisis, but I’m not pretentious enough to start banding around words like that. Yet.
If you can consistently turn on mental lightbulbs, then you’ll be well on your way to becoming a kick-ass blogger. This is true no matter what niche you’re in. You can keep your rambling prose and your big words — that’s not what readers want. Necessarily. The more you think of your work as a public service, the more readers you’ll have. End of story.
I’ve mentioned the word necessarily more than once here, not because I’m a lazy writer (ok, maybe that’s part of it) but because there is, of course, nuance to everything and I’m sure you understand that. Express yourself by all means, as long as your posts have a structure and a sense of direction. We’re lucky to have such great writers on Medium, and we can’t all become robotic husks churning out drab articles with no personality. Let your personality shine, but make sure your posts are built on a framework.
Write like an author, Think like a reader, and work like an accountant
Writers are just readers with more time on their hands. Successful writers are fully aware of this and will, in a sense, view their content from the third-person and gauge whether, if they were in their readers’ shoes, their product is interesting or not.
This is gonna sound paradoxical, but the one thing writers must avoid is trying too hard to be…well, a writer. The truth is, there’s absolutely no difference between them and readers, and the more you think like a reader, the easier you’ll find the writing process. It’s just one of the many ass-backward rules in life. You never shop when you’re hungry. You’ll be uncool if you try to be cool. And so on.
Just because a piece interests you doesn’t mean that your audience — your bread and butter — will think the same thing. Take a look at which posts tend to make waves on Medium and you’ll find that they:
- Provide solid writing and overall Medium advice
- Offer unique takes on trending topics
- Have catchy titles that spark readers’ attention
Once you break down the science behind successful posts, you’ll find yourself operating more like an accountant than an artist. Good writers only do the latter, but great ones combine both. Creativity and inspiration are great, but make sure you show your mind who’s boss and develop a craftsman-like approach to writing rather than being a slave to motivation and inspiration.
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