Good Writing

Good Writing

Good writing is not the bullshit taught in school.

I made my own guide to good writing because I was confused why the real world didn’t care about “proper” writing techniques.

Now writing helps in every part of my life. I rarely update this page (only if I learn and apply something new).

This is 90% of the info required to be top 10% good writer.

My view on writing in 6 short reads.

The Day You Became A Better Writter.

Use Words, Get People To Do what You Want

What you’ll wish you’d known

We Don’t Sell Saddles Here

Amp It Up

The Boron Letters

Why I write.

  1. Clear thinking is good writing. I write to perfect my thoughts. This makes me better in all parts of my life.
  2. Better leaders write great. It’s necessity for me. Without it I cannot do my job well.
  3. Sales & Marketing is the life blood of business. Without great writing nobody will understand what I’m selling.

How to write.

  1. Read he Roman-Raphaelson boon on writing. Read it three times.
  2. Write the way you talk.
  3. Never use jagon words.
  4. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
  5. Check your sources. Then check again.
  6. Write on a different day then you edit.
  7. If it’s something important. Get some to check it.
  8. Clear CTA.
  9. If you want. ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

It’s this simple.

People experience 1 or many of these 4 things when reading. Write for the outcome.

  1. Educate. Teach me something (i.e. - skill, subject, lesson, history)
  2. Entertain. Make me feel (i.e. - music, comedy, drama, romance, action)
  3. Challenge. Make me think (i.e. - technical papers, scienctific studies, op-eds)
  4. Empathize. Show me you care (i.e. - self help, religion, politics)

A Writing OS

Trying to be original all the time is torture. Build your writing garage, stoke it full of tools and use them all the time.

  1. Content OS. An operating system (templates) for all writing (i.e. - memo’s, cold emails, sales, marketing)
  2. Use Swipe Files. The more you see it, the more you’ll think about it, the better you’ll do.
  3. Write for a result. Start with what outcome do I want (i.e. - action, views, meetings, conversion)
  4. Weapons. Don’t be a boxer. Be a MMA fighter - know punches, kicks, wrestling, and jiu jitsu.
  5. Time Allocation. 20% goes to headline, last line, and formating. Punch it up !

Pro Habits

No one learns to play guitar by studying a music text book. They play their favorite song over and over. Wonderwall around a campfire?

  1. Copy Work. Practice what others have done. Go to “the gym of writing frequently”
  2. Warm Up. Before writing do 5 minutes of Copy Work.
  3. Amp it up. Get stoked, get motivated, get hyped. However you need to, just do it.
  4. Write like you talk. Ignore your english class. Don’t write like writers, write like a you talk.
  5. Short and Sweet. Writing should be interesting first. As interesting as it is long.
  6. Write at a 5th - 8th Grade level. People need to get what you are writing. Everyone hates looking up words.
  7. Don’t use adverbs. Anything that ends in a -ly is a waste of space. It complicates the writing.
  8. Subject is first in a sentence. “The boy hit the ball” not “The ball was hit by the boy”
  9. Usual visual words as a form of persuasion. Most people visualize everything. Write like people think and talk.
  10. Aliteration is a powerful tool. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Coca-Cola.
  11. Rhyme & Repition. Time after time this will work. Seriously.
  12. Don’t major in minor things. Major in Major things. Detailed oriented is great, it’s also an advanced form of procrastination.
  13. Keep it personal. Use “I” or “you” not “we” or “one”

The Best Writing

  1. It’s not a result. It’s a byproduct.
    1. Daily consistency.
    2. Blocking distractions.
    3. Capturing Ideas.
    4. Reading from quality sources.
    5. Device free time.
  2. Write about 2 things.
    1. Things that are confusing to you now, but you want to better understand in 2 years.
    2. Things that are obvious to you now, but weren’t 2 years ago.
  3. When writing, stop trying to write something to everyone.
    1. Write for a specific person, on ideal reader.
      1. Use specific examples
      2. Solve a specific problem
      3. Unlock a specific benefit
      4. Create a specific emotion
      5. Encourage a specific action
  4. No perfect time to write.
    1. “Once” doesn’t exist.
    2. Start today.
  5. Be Clear, Not Clever.
  6. Clear Writing is Clear Thinking.
  7. Copywriting is simple.
    1. Point out a specific problem
    2. Point out a specific benefit
    3. Position your writing as obvious.
  8. It’s not writing, it’s a startup.
    1. Ship something
    2. Talk to your users
    3. Focus on distribution
    4. Make daily upgrades
    5. Solve a problem
    6. Say something different, not better
  9. Writing and editing are different processes.
  10. You don’t have to be an expert to write.
  11. Consistency comes from idea capture.