Writing by Formula May Ruin the Pleasure Of Something Unique

Summary

The author, a writer, expresses concerns about the overuse of formulaic writing techniques and the pressure to adhere to SEO and reader engagement strategies, which may stifle originality and authenticity.

Abstract

The author reflects on the modern writing process, which is heavily influenced by the constant barrage of 'How To' guides and listicles aimed at improving article success and reader engagement. While acknowledging the importance of these strategies, the author admits to feeling conflicted about the time spent on such "dressing up" of writing, which detracts from the authenticity of the content and may exploit the reader's trust. The writer also worries about the potential loss of inspiration and serendipity in story creation due to the influx of advice on generating new ideas. Despite these concerns, the author plans to share a distilled list of essential and optional writing aspects to help balance authenticity with elegance, advocating for a return to Aristotle's Golden Mean to avoid overdoing it.

Opinions

The author feels that the emphasis on SEO, analytics, and 'How To' writing formulas is increasing and becoming a significant part of the writing process.
There is a concern that the writer's personal voice and unique content are being sacrificed for the sake of meeting the demands of curators, readers, and analytics engines.
The author experiences 'tipmissphobia'—the fear of missing out on a writing tip—and the pressure to ensure the writing checks all the boxes for success.
The author empathizes with other writers who face the same dilemma of balancing authenticity with the need to produce slick, polished content.
There is a sense of unease about the potential exploitation of readers through overly formulaic writing.
The author questions whether the effort to 'dress up' writing is akin to ensuring a savant is presentable at a party, wondering if it truly enhances the content or merely creates a superficial first impression.
The author suggests that the increasing effort to stand out in a sea of well-dressed content leads to a new form of tedium.
There is skepticism about the suggestions from do-gooders on generating new stories and blog ideas, fearing for the future of inspiration and serendipity in writing.
The author leans towards a more moderate approach to writing, invoking Arist

Incessant devices are too much of a good thing

Image courtesy unsplash.com

As a writer, I let myself be bombarded every day, often multiple times in a day, with ‘How To’s and Listicles teaching me new tricks to grab eyeballs, retain reader attention and inveigle SEO engines.

Sure, I want my article to be successful. And I certainly don’t want to allow typos and grammar errors to get out there. But the price I am paying in dressing things up is increasing steadily. I am trying to settle it down, but there’s a lot of it. One can easily get tipmissphobia — the fear of missing out on a tip — one on writing in this case. At a rough count, there would be about 30 things to take care of to make an article tick all the boxes that will make the curators, readers and analytics engines take the bait. It has become about 30% of my writing time, and I sure am champing at the bit.

I also worry I am taking advantage of the reader’s mind. Although I believe I have worthwhile things to say, it doesn’t stop me from feeling like a bit of a bounder.

As a reader, I can now spot from half a mile away when writing has gone through this pre and post-production work to create a slick package. I simultaneously empathise with the writer and feel a fraternal kinship and a sinking sense of being exploited.

The simile of cynical advertising came to mind for this situation. But do you aver it is not so bad? Do you say I should, on the contrary, think that dressing our writing is like taking a savant to a party, making sure he won’t look like a slouch? Do you posit it is aimed at creating an excellent first impression and civil interaction? That if our writing has the depth of character, we will be seen for who we truly are, and our unique voice will be heard.

Perhaps you are right. But if everyone is well dressed, it takes more and more effort to be best-dressed and stand out. And a new sort of tedium creeps in.

More worrying is the clear and growing danger of do-gooders suggesting ways to generate new stories and blog ideas! Where will inspiration go? And what about good old serendipity?

Maybe we should go back to Aristotle’s Golden Mean and not overdo it.

Do you know what I’ll do? I’ll distil the essential parts of the dressing-up versus the optional and post them in an article. It may be useful for you if you feel like I do.

Meanwhile, let’s keep it dapper and attractive, with a helpful heart and original thoughts under fashionable attire.

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Writing by Formula May Ruin the Pleasure Of Something Unique

Incessant devices are too much of a good thing

This is All You Need for Unique and Delightful Writing

4 essential and 15 optional aspects to balance the authentic and the elegant in your stories.