23 Real Lessons I Learned After Dumping 300,000 Words Online in 2023

Writing = Thinking = Life = Experience

God damn it.

I have written 300,000 words in 2023.

But… no. I am not done. I have 23 real lessons on writing to share before I wrap it up for 2023.

Here goes.

1. Write what you enjoy thinking about, and you will enjoy writing what you are writing about.
2. For a start, forget about 5 views, 2 reads, 0 boost, and $0.01 earnings. Let results come.
3. The biggest writing mistake is to write about everything. No one knows you for anything.
4. Writing what you know beats writing what you want anytime.
5. Write less. You win admiration by saying what you need in 2 words. You lose attention when you use 200 words instead of you. Chew on it.
6. The 80/20 rule applies in writing. Your storyline(s) and headline(s) make up 80% of the work. The others? A whopping 20%. Invest your time wisely.
7. Don’t dwell on providing value. That is for your readers to decide, not you. Focus. Write.
8. Writing is like running. Daily running makes you slower. Daily writing creates an unnecessary grind. Rest. Read. Talk to others. Absorb, absorb, absorb.
9. Your introduction and conclusion are like fats. Trim them.
10. The introduction is an appetizer. Use it to slide your readers to the main body. That’s it.
11. The conclusion is like a period. End it. End it fast.
12. Listicles are your friends when you are short on time. Go 3, 5, 7, or 10.
13. You can win this online writing game. Just hang on. People drop out faster than you can scream murder.
14. You don’t have to abandon this platform because other good writers are. Someone else must fill the void they created. Let it be you.
15. You won’t die because your articles aren’t boosted. Chill. Quit whining. Continue writing.
16. It will take you 2, 3, 4 years to build an audience. 89 articles in 3 months is nothing. 890 articles in 2 years? That is something.
17. No one died after reading your articles. Write away.
18. Complexity expressed simplistically leaves a deep impression.
19. Use simple words. Readers understand you.
20. Trash complex words. The real reason you use them is to prove [to yourself] that you are good. Your reader thinks otherwise. They feel stupid not knowing what that word is. Avoid offending your readers.
21. Your reader base grows painfully during the 1st 24 months. It scales exponentially after that. Be patient.
22. Look nowhere else. Inspiration comes from your stats page. Dig it. Re-write your best-performing articles. They do even better.
23. Have peers to push you. Matt | Financial Imagineer and Denis Gorbunov are my pals. Sarina Chiu is my gal. Collectively, they throw my work under the bus, push me off the cliff, and shred my articles into nothing. They squeeze a 1% improvement from me each time I type.

Made it through that word forest of 23 bullet points?

Great. Let me focus on a few.

On # 7 — What it means by providing value to our readers

By and large, the value of online writing refers to,

• Education,
• Entertainment,
• Experience elicitation.

Teach your readers something.

Make them laugh so their fatigue evaporates.

Share a story. Share one that opens your readers’ minds.

Don’t overthink it.

On # 9 — The introduction and conclusion are like fats. Trim them.

I am still adjusting to this.

Go read articles from top writers. They understand something we don’t. Their introductions are barebone minimum.

Examples include,

• 2 sentences,
• Bullet points,
• Or skipped it altogether.

You don’t have to follow what they do. Just know that they found success this way.

There are many other writers with gigantic following writing proper introductions.

Experiment. Find out what works for you.

On Point # 14 — Don’t Abandon This Platform Because Some Top Writers Did

Stay clear-headed.

People come and go. Think about your relationships and workplace. The only constant is the Medium.

When top writers leave,

• They create a void,
• Readers are desperate to find other good writers to read from,
• You might be the next in line.

Stay at the party for a little longer. You will benefit from it.

I know what you will tell me, as all top writers do.

“Haven’t they taken all their readers with them?”

My question is… how?

Sure. Some top writers have megastar effects. They have mature audiences following them wherever they go.

But let’s not forget.

• We are humans.
• We need variety.
• We read from Top Writer A, Writer B, C, and selectively from D, E, and F.

I don’t only read from 1 top writer.

I bet it is the same for you.

We [still] have a shot.

Hang on.

Write.

On # 17 — No one has ever died reading your articles. Write away.

Do you have unkind commentators?

Maybe trolls are lurking around your article neighborhood, waiting to piss and diss on your freshly published articles?

Gals and pals.

Come on. Sh!t happens.

But ask yourself this question.

Have you killed anyone?

Like, literally. Did you?

If that answer is no, why are you so bothered by comments contributed by keyword warriors?

Focus on your writing goals. Forget about the rest.

No one has ever risen to the top without inviting critiques, assh0les, and inhuman commentators.

Remember J.K. Rowling?

Harry Potter sold more than 600 million copies worldwide. Rowling sets the record for the best-selling book series in history.

Go google critiques on Harry Potter.

You will find 7,790,000 links in 0.47 seconds. Maybe more.

I don’t have to tell you about Robert Kiyosaki and Rich Dad Poor Dad.

The close

Writing is a lifetime craft.

We must work it [consistently] to get better.

And when you do, you will find nuggets of improvement within your forest of words.

I know I did.

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