You Can Become A Better Writer By Stealing From Others
It’s one of the best ways to improve your craft.
I started writing online in 2020 and never stopped. There have been different phases in my writing journey that have taught me to become better at it.
Joining Medium was a game-changer. Reading other writers’ work allowed me to learn so much about writing. I don’t think any book or course would have taught me those things.
A few days ago, I was thinking about how I improved my writing. My friends ask me that quite often. So, after giving it a deep thought, I found the answer.
My writing got better by stealing from others.
If you want to become a better writer, you have to steal.
But wait.
Don’t steal someone’s work; don’t copy. That’s unacceptable. Instead, steal their process; steal their style.
How I stole my way to become a better writer
I started writing about books, personal development, finance, and health on my blog. But nobody read them except one or two of my close friends.
I was writing for myself back then. So, I didn’t care much about building an audience or making money.
Then, Medium happened. I found writers who wrote so well that I wanted to delete all my blog posts and start over. But I didn’t do that. I understood that it was a learning process.
I read articles from writers like Tim Denning, Darius Foroux, Jessica Lynn, Anthony Moore, Ayodeji Awosika, and Nicolas Cole. They inspired me so much to write better.
I did what they were doing. I copied their writing style and their process of building an audience and making money online.
It wasn’t easy. I hardly got 10 views on my articles. But I kept going. I kept learning from more writers and experimented with different styles and processes.
Eventually, that brought me to where I am today. But I’m still learning.
Stealing from others has allowed me to:
- write 200+ articles online,
- make money writing e-books,
- achieve 3x top writer’s badge on Medium,
- gain 1.7k followers,
- grow my email list, and
- land multiple freelance writing gigs.
How to steal from others?
If you struggle to improve your writing, grow your audience, and make money online, I suggest you start doing what successful writers do.
First, find someone that inspires you — someone you want to become like. Read their work, join their email list, and follow them everywhere.
Then, do what they are doing. If they publish an article every day, you do the same. If they have an email sign-up page, create one for yourself. And if they make money writing e-books/selling courses, you should do that too.
But don’t expect good results right away. You can’t get to their level immediately because they are already successful at what they do. You are just starting.
Growth takes time. Learning and being consistent is the only way to get where you want.
Have some patience.
Experiment with different styles from multiple writers. You never know which one works for you.
Don’t miss this.
I steal from others every day. But I have become a lot better at it now. I know what to steal and from whom to do it.
Your job is to read and read a lot. Learn from as many writers as you can. Read stories that have a high number of claps. Click on the writer’s profile and check their work. Start reading their stories.
Read and implement.
Mix things up. Don’t steal from a single person; steal from many. Use their processes and create your own piece of work.
And when you steal a piece of someone’s work, always give credit.
If you want to learn more about stealing, I recommend reading Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon.
Thanks for reading.
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