No Really...Who Will Read This?

The more you know...

Closing in on the end as I’m learning about great writing.

We’re discussing the sixth point today.

Every week, I’m going to keep this section up with links to the previous issues.

So here it is: 7 parts of great writing:

As I stated in previous issues, I hope this series will help shorten your timeframe on getting to "Rockstar Writer” status!

This point may be glaringly obvious, but it bears repeating and expanding on as most writers aren’t clear about this part of the process…

Image generated by the author using Leonardo.AI.

Word salad, anyone?

When it comes to writing, one of the most basic things that we must get over or get out of our system is our overwhelming need to write to EVERYONE at the beginning.

You know what they say: if you are writing for all, then you are writing to none.

This is not a repurposing of the famous slogan of the three musketeers.😁

The worst thing you could do to your writing after setting up all that effort to get the reader into your orbit is to deliver a big fat, bloated, nothing burger that has all the flavor of an old cardboard box.

You want to focus on providing details, examples, stories, and descriptions that paint a distinct mental image for your reader and bring them into your world.

Specific writing is achieved through precise prose.

Your writing might be bland…

Unless you are just naturally gifted with brevity and wit, you take your time to get your thoughts out of your head.

Conversations often meander, ebb and flow with all the extra filler words that we use to indicate that our hard drives are stalling out trying to find that exact word we want to convent why the lady across the street looks like a llama accidentally ran through a carwash…

No amount of AI prompting is going to provide the kind of writing you want to deliver when it comes to specificity.

This is the most important point I want to share with you in this issue: the more specific you can be in your own writing, the more you will stand out in the reader’s mind long after they’ve finished your piece.

You may be wonderful at nailing the previous five points, but if you’re making sweeping generalities in your writing, you’ll come off as bland and forgettable at the end.

The strategy for specificity

When it comes to writing, a good chunk of originality isn’t in the concept or the idea that you’re sharing…

It’s in the perspective that you’re sharing it FROM!

You are the one in charge of your own voice.

You have experience and wisdom that only you can come up with to resonate with your audience.

This is why knowing the reader is so important.

The more you know about your intended and ideal consumer, the more specific you can be in speaking directly to them!

If you don’t know anything about who you want to write to, your words will certainly show it. Vagueness and lack of description kill any interest in reading no matter how good the hook was or how well-structured and attractive your formatting is.

With specific writing, there’s nothing for the reader to latch on to…it’s all slippery like an eel on the deck of a fishing boat.

The best way to improve this portion of your writing is to brainstorm everything you can about the one person you are writing to and why.

  • Where do they live?

  • What do they enjoy doing?

  • What do they do for a living?

  • What is the family composition?

  • What is their daily schedule like?

  • What are their current struggles?

  • Where are they at in addressing their issues?

And on and on and on…the more detail you have about them, the easier it is to be specific

These are my references. At this point, I’m actively focusing on one aspect at a time to get better at every week:

All of these amazing people have advanced the quality of their teachings since I’ve started learning from them. I have no doubt that they’ll continue to improve on their content.

By the way, Kieran Drew will release the updated version of his course next week with a lot of streamlining and improvements…just in time to wrap this series up!

Closing thoughts

We’ve captured the reader’s attention, given them a reason to continue reading, provided a presentation that’s pleasant to follow with a clear and focused topic, discussed how we present the topic, kept in mind to focus on writing for them, and use specific language to deepen our connection to them…

Knowing what they want is half the battle!

We’ll be wrapping up this series next week!

Vince

P.S. Current working rebrand: “I’m the Night Writer…sailing by starlight on a journey across the ocean of my thoughts and experiences. I write about anything and everything surrounding sustainable presence and relevance of a 9–5/parent/content creator (i.e., tidbits on the life of a kiddy resort manager and exploring the multidimensionality of being a human). I write at least 5 days a week. Follow and subscribe for inspiration, entertainment, and tips on living your best life.”

It still feels a bit…clunky. Sigh.