How to Make Your Writing Shine In an Oversaturated Market
Have you ever wondered why so few people are reading and sharing your articles?
Ever been disheartened looking at how many other writers there are in the (internet) world, and wondered how in the name of Dickens you are ever supposed to stand out?
Medium (and other blogging platforms) is a watering hole for people who write on certain topics: such as personal development, travel, technology, etc. Which is great for those of us interested in those topics (pick me! Pick me!)
But we writers have to admit that sometimes the sheer mass of writers and articles in our preferred topic area is daunting.
How are we supposed to make our mark in an area where every topic has been done to death — and often by writers more experienced than us?
Well, there’s a way to do that. Actually, three.
Remember these principles, and you can make your writing stand out like an orchid among the dandelions:
1. Offer Real Value
There are lots of copycat marketers out there. Nothing wrong with copying, at least when you are still learning the ropes of your craft. But you can’t copy others forever.
The best creative minds add value.
But the question is, how?
Find something new
Technically, there’s really nothing new. But there are old truths that have been forgotten and you might be just the person to rediscover them and reveal them to your generation.
J.S. Bach is one of the greatest composers in the Classical music world. But he almot didn’t make it into the Classical Music Hall of Fame. After his death, his music was quietly hidden away for years, until a talented young musician named Felix Mendelssohn rediscovered these gems and brought them back to the public eye.
Bach’s music hasn’t disappeared since.
Be contrary
Going against the grain piques people’s curiosity. That’s why, for instance, within the nutrition world, people are periodically shaken by new research about how even a moderate amount of wine isn’t good for you after all, or how some popular diet doesn’t work, etc., etc.
We all know that there are things we don’t know, that there are aspects of our worldview that might not be quite right (otherwise why would we have so many problems?). So it is your job as a writer to say: “Indeed, you have some mistaken ideas. Allow me to point them out, and your life will be better.”
That will definitely catch people’s attention — and hold it, if you do a good job explaining your case.
But one caveat: When you are challenging people’s long-held ideas, make sure that you back up your point with strong research, evidence, and data.
Don’t be contrary just for the sake of being contrary. Test your ideas as rigorously as you test your opponents’. Good writing requires truthfulness, so be honest. Brutally so, if you must.
Collate information
A lot of people don’t have the time or inclination to sift through vast amounts of information (research papers, books, and the like) to find the answer to their questions.
So if you can make their lives easier by crunching through the data yourself and summarizing it in a relevant and easily-digestible way, then congratulations — you have just added real value!
2. Use Your Unique Voice
There is nothing new under the sun. Every article I’ve ever written or will ever write will be on some topic that someone else has written on before. Same with you.
So how do we stand out and avoid writing useless articles on tired cliches like “be optimistic,” “stick to it and things will get better,” blah, blah, blah?
Use your unique voice.
You have a voice, I have a voice — an audible one, as well as a written one. And our voices are different.
The only difference between our written and spoken voices is that the written one usually takes a bit of work. You need to learn the basic rules of your language (in this case, English), your local slang perhaps, and how to use words to create different effects.
Youo know how you can call your best friend and say “Hey, what’s up?” and they instantly know it’s you (even without caller ID)? That’s the kind of effect you want to achieve with your writing voice.
Once you get to the point where someone reads your work and knows its you without looking at your name, that’s when you’ve honed your unique voice.
How do you hone your unique voice?
Now, be careful that you don’t confuse “unique voice” with “rudeness.” Sure, rudeness will get people to pay attention to you.
Sometimes people attract a lot of readers with dirty jokes, foul language, and a dark, cynical attitude. But honestly, what good is that? You’re just attracting more negative minds to reinforce your pessimistic spiral into darkness.
No, the person interested in developing their unique voice won’t resort to cheap tricks like that. Instead, they will use things like rhythm, vocabulary choice, senses (auditory or visual writers), and humor.
- Rhythm: Words have rhythm. And I’m not just talking poems and songs. It’s easy to distinguish between Jane Austen and Ernest Hemingway’s writing, not just because their topics are different, but because when you read their works aloud (or in your head), they sound different. Austen has a lilting, rolling rhythm, like waves lapping the beach. Hemingway has a brisk, rapid rhythm, like a crackling woodfire. If you’re not sure what a certain writer’s rhythm is, try reading their works aloud and getting a feel for how fast you read, when you pause, etc. That’s rhythm.
- Vocabulary: Different sub communities use words slightly differently. British, Australian, and American speakers of English can all understand each other, but they have word-usage quirks that make them stand out. (“Bloody good” vs “Freaking good” for instance). So expand your lexicon and pay attention to the way different people use words — and use them in your own way.
- Physical senses: Most writers are more auditory or more visual. That is, their writing evokes either sounds or sight. Poets, lyricists rely strongly on auditory things like rhyme, rhythm, meter to make their writing sing. And visually-oriented writers use words to create mental images that are so real you could almost reach out and touch them. Figure out which your strength is, and enhance it. Alternatively, work on whichever one you are weaker at to level up your writing.
- Humor: A healthy sense of humor is one of mankind’s greatest gifts, one which we would all do well to nurture. Of course, everyone’s sense of humor is different. Some people like more subtle humor, like the way Jane Austen’s characters delightfully trade insults thinly veiled in polite-talk. Others prefer something more slapstick…think Charlie Chaplin. Either way, your sense of humor will resonate with others uniquely. Hone and use it!
3. Tell Your Story
Having a story about the meaning of life helps us to cope with hard times. Not only do we naturally see the world this way, but frankly, we can’t not tell stories. — Eric Barker, Barking Up the Wrong Tree
You have something totally unique to you that NO ONE ELSE IN THE WORLD can offer: your story.
Your story is the story God’s given you — the family you were born into, the time and era in which you grew up, the challenges you overcame, mistakes you made, people you met, victories you won, lessons you learned…and so on and so forth.
No one but YOU has the exact story you have, and it is the ONE thing you have to offer that is totally and uniquely yours. Which makes it very, very valuable.
Your story is one of, if not THE most powerful asset you have as a writer, because it is guaranteed to be one of a kind, and therefore, interesting. Of course, you have to tell it in an interesting way (see the above tips).
But there have been cases where a truly powerful story can overcome even bad writing skills. That is the power of story.
How do you share your story? Which stories should you share?
- Share your greatest victories: Readers want to know how to succeed to…and more importantly, they want encouragement that they CAN succeed. If you show them the impressive things you’ve done and how you got there, you will have done them a great service.
- Share your greatest challenges: People are more interested in hearing about the skeletons in your closet than about your day at the spa. The reason why is because we all have skeletons in our closets. Your vulnerability gives readers hope, and allows them to resonate with you on a deep, heart-level.
- Be willing to be vulnerable: It’s the most powerful way to connect with people, and writing, after all, is all about connection — connecting people with ideas, and people with people. If you are concerned about offending family and friends, you can be vulnerable in fiction, too. Look at To Kill a Mockingbird, for instance.
- Keep a journal: We forget a lot of things with the passage of time. A journal, if you keep one regularly, can help you remember. As they say: “The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.”
- Talk to family: Family and old friends remember things we may have forgotten. Or they remember things differently than we remembered them. Either way, they have a different perspective than you do, and that can add some variety and depth to your writing.
When you learn how to share the most resonant parts of your story with skill, you will have a ready audience eager to read what you write.
Conclusion
Just face it. You will never write anything truly “original” in the sense that it has LITERALLY never been done before, in any form.
But that doesn’t mean you should just throw your hands in the air, toss your laptop in the wastebasket, and decide to take up snail farming instead.
People are still reading because they hope that you can tell them something they haven’t heard before or tell it to them in a way that will MAKE AN IMPACT. Many of us know what we ought to do/believe, but we don’t do/believe it because we’re not convinced.
So, convince us.
Use your unique voice, perspective, and teach us something valuable. If you do that, and do it consistently, you’ll have our attention and our loyalty.
We’re counting on you.
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