Issue #17: Writing Should Be Your Number #3 Skill
Read and find out which are the other two
Hello and welcome to Hell.
I am in Hell. Don’t believe me? Check it out ↓
Do you see the red “circle”? That’s where the fun starts :)
I believe Dante’s Inferno is missing a circle. That circle is Global Warming. In a couple of years, we’ll all be toast. In the cinders and ashes, nobody will be able to tell who was pro and who was against global warming.
I fear the same goes for writing. In a sea of sameness, of tricks and tips, templates and best practices, AIDAs and PASes, few people will be able to see the truth.
And the truth is that writing is not about writing. Never was. Never will.
If you can see that, and use it to your advantage, you still have a chance in marketing. Call it your own personal non-flammable protective coat.
Why is writing not about writing?
What do you think, Lewis?
Well, you don’t have to take Lewis’ statements at face value. If you have half a brain (and a piña colada) and since you’re reading this newsletter, I guess you do, you’ll have realized by now that from this false assumption, a lot of results oriented solutions have sprouted.
Missed the meaning?
People hustle and look for the fastest and easiest way to write. Because they think it’s writing that makes a writer :)).
Sorry, but I
‘M laughing so hrad my fingertips are missing the keyboard.
No, being a writer is not about writing, and I can prove it to you. No, for real. Just follow my lead, OK?
Right now, open a Google doc or a Word document (maaaa, it’s not 2010 anymore, upgrade already!) and type in a sentence. Any sentence.
Great… you’re a writer.
See, that wasn’t hard, was it?
Writing is not about writing because even a monkey can do it. And, from what I can see online, it does do it.
Writing is about actually having something to say. To share. To impart. And that happens only if you possess another set of skills.
Like…
Skill #1 - Thinking
I know, I know, evolution means we get to have the best results with the least amount of effort. Look down.
See that fat belly? That’s the product of evolution. We stopped hunting and foraging for nuts, but we kept the appetite.
The same thing will… sadly, happen to our mind. If we’ll stop using it — and judging solely based on the popularity of TikTok videos (not all of them, of course) we already stopped using it — we’ll grow a belly. On our brain. An idiot brain belly.
That’s what all these solutions for quick and easy writing promise: a quick result. No hunting for great ideas. No rummaging through the foliage for an insight. No process to burn your brain calories. Ergo, the idiot brain belly.
There’s good news, though!
The bar is set incredibly low. I worked with marketing agencies, and through my clients I have access to a lot of the inner workings and deliverables produced by said agencies. Let me tell you, there are a lot of idiot brain bellies hanging around, scarily protruding from shirts that are not quite flattering enough.
As such, if you just use your brain more than the average monkey, you’re already ahead of the pack.
Now, I can’t teach you how to think. If you missed that train, I have no tickets. But if you’re willing to push through the mental exercise, I have a few tips:
Start with the reason behind everything you do or read. Why did they do it or write it like that?
Most people never think about why before they start working on a piece. And yeah, it shows.
They’ll even go as far as camouflaging it into imposter syndrome :)). Or so does Daniel think.
Thinking or critical thinking comes from a desire to know more. A desire to make connections.
Now, I could rant for three 2500 words e-mails on why thinking is important, and we’d never see the end of it. But I can do you one better.
I can actually tell you the secret to how you can start thinking about… everything, really. It’s extremely hard, and it will require a lot of willpower.
You need to care.
Yup. You need to care about more than profit. About more than your own ass and your family’s asses. If we all applied this principle, of caring for the other, maybe we wouldn’t be in this fucking mess, and I wouldn’t have to blast my AC at 10 in the fucking morning.
But hey, profit is more importanter…
Skill #2 - Observation/Presence
Let’s assume you’re a thinker.
Again, if you’re reading this newsletter, and you didn’t drop it like it’s hot after one issue (tempting, I know, since I don’t actually provide you with any tips, just a respite from the 5-minutes-a-pop-content) it means your central processor is still up and running.
But thinking is not enough. You can only think about so much in isolation. That’s why the great minds in coaching tell you to go for a walk whenever you feel brain-dead.
Sure, exercise helps. Changing the scenery, helps. But, what these people mostly don’t tell you is how important presence and observation actually are. When you’re out of ideas, you just have to open your eyes.
Writing is about reporting. It’s saying “hey, I saw this cool thing when I was out and about, it made me feel and think about X. Does this ring a bell with you?”
That’s writing. But, you can’t really do it without being open to thinking and making connections. And without having a prompt.
To pick up on the prompt, you have to be open to it. You don’t have to look for it or push it — and write those God awful posts about coffee and what it taught you about marketing — but your receptors should be ON at all times.
Jay said it best in “Be a Noticer”. Ann Handley’s story about squirrels and nuts is a winner.
And yea, folks. That’s all there is to writing:
Think, really think about stuff and make connections
Observe and be present in your life, in order to have something to draw from for those connections
That’s it*
(I’d look for the “*” at the bottom of this e-mail if I were you ;P)
Going forward
This one was deceivingly short, wasn’t it? You know… the heat and whatnot. It was bound to get to me…
Now, if you loved this issue, you might be interested in:
Previously, on B00ls: Issue #16: The Fuck You Point and How To Get There
Do you live to work or work to live?
Next time, join MadVlad as he takes on…
Issue #18: The Justice League and Thought Leadership Bias
Opinionated Thinker (guerilla style) or Thought Leader? Batman or Superman? Can this subtitle be any longer?
You can get access to the full archive here if you missed any other issue.
In the meantime
If you liked my stuff, this is how we can work together:
I write for you. Check out the Experience section on my LinkedIn
I consult marketers and founders. I can show you how to acquire the other two skills (thinking and presence/observation)
I consult writers. I can show you how to write like a writer, not like a monkey
Are you a writer/marketer/founder who wants to think and be present?
Reply to this e-mail if you’re interested in the above.
Know somebody who’d also like that? Share my newsletter and point them in my direction. I’ll give you a beer if you’re ever in Bucharest. Not in this heat, though.
Offer 1 is detailed up on LinkedIn.
Offers 2 and 3 are detailed up on LinkedIn. But you can also find them here:
I’m still very open for consultancy services. Just reply to this e-mail if you’re interested.
Cheers
If this was the first, but also last time we meet: Thank you.
I write for myself, but you reading my writing gives it additional meaning. I literally could not resonate without you.
*Or is it?
See, I pulled a little sneaky on you. Of course, thinking and observation/presence are not enough for a writer.
So let’s talk bonus round:
Courage
Oh yeah, a writer needs to be willing to bleed on the page (Hemingway something, something) if he/she aims for true resonance.
The biggest problem I see with most writing and marketing is a total lack of balls and spine.
We want an authentic response but, in our writing and marketing efforts, are we really authentic?
Some writers call me unhinged. And I get it, they’re cool with surface writing, where nothing hurts. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
But here’s a thought:
I knew what my life was supposed to look like when I was 18. I had a group of… let’s call them friends, for lack of a better word, and we all sat down one evening, strong liquor in hand, and played a game.
(I can remember an event from 12 years ago because I was present and observant, and I’m willing to think about it and link it to a topic I’m exploring more than a decade later)
The game was Life Predictor:
We all sat in a circle and took turns at describing what would life look like for every other person at the table in 10 years. After you described the life of every other person, it was back to you – you had to describe your own life in 10 years.
I copped out a bit with the lives of almost everyone else. Mainly because I had nothing good to say about them. Some looked like total emotional failures, which they turned out to be (MadVlad just became JudgyVlad) and I didn’t want to say that. So I just used the plot for some popular movies to describe their life.
Still, when it came to my own life, I was honest. I saw myself as a consultant, a sort of life coach, running around the city, telling people how to live. I said it then, and forgot it for eternity. Or so it seemed.
What happened next? A little bit of this:
I was supposed to become a professor after college. Dropped it
I had a blog about what people did wrong in their lives. Dropped it
I worked in a call center, advising people on how to use services/products. Dropped it
I became a trainer/coach. Dropped it
And I’m now a consultant for writing and marketing. OK, OK, I’m also a copywriter and a part-time actor, but the point stands.
All our life is spent either running towards or away from something.
All your writing and marketing is a tug-of-war between what you want to say and what you’re supposed to be saying.
I think it’s time you said what you really mean. That’s just the best advice I can give you.
Oh yeah, it’s also why my newsletter is read as Balls.
Mum thought it was B-zero-zero-one-s. Ha, ha :P
Editing
Is editing in writing that important? Well, if you really think about what you need to write, and you make the right connections, editing is just this:
A process that helps you when your brain is faster than your hands.
It’s just a tool that helps you catch up with your train of thought. It helps you better represent what you think about. Don’t dwell too much on it.
Cheers again for scrolling this far!
May your brain always be faster than your hands