Don’t Leave Your Best Content Unpublished

Ignoring your Fears and Trusting your Creative Intuition

Inspiration strikes and you set out on an idea. It sounds brilliant in your head; your audience will love it! Prose flows through the keyboard with easy excitement as the previously blank page takes shape. Raw creativity and narration are quickly captured on canvas. But as you near completion, you are met with self-doubt.

What will my audience think? Would anyone read this?

You seek out automated critics providing edits on demand like Grammarly and Hemingway to bolster your unsteady confidence. You allow them to edit away your distinctive narrative finding the result no longer sounds like you. And perhaps you think, “I’ll sleep on it. I’ll look at it another day.” And you leave the publish button untouched.

The Dangers of the Drafts Section

Articles in drafts are like fashion models in various states of hair and makeup waiting for their chance to step on stage. Not every audience member will like what you’ve created, there will be critics but you hope the piece you’ve created in private transcends and delights your audience as a whole.

Are there works of art trapped in your Drafts section?

I encourage you to take a look at your drafts and ask yourself, “What am I leaving on the cutting room floor?” Are there numerous pieces that have fallen victim to your inner critic and your fear of your audience's tastes? Are you afraid to be seen and stand out opting to sound like the top X writer? Do you allow your voice to be edited away for fear of making waves? Then that’s a shame; your voice matters and your audience deserves to read your work.

As a reader, I want unique content. I’ve already read numerous listicles and the top best authors in my genre. They have their place, and among them are works to admire and learn from. But most readers are seeking to find the undiscovered gem: a new author who is unapologetically expressing themselves while still delivering value.

I’m looking for writing that makes me think and view the world differently. The articles that stick out in my mind are not the articles that rigidly follow some successful narrative template. If it has made it to the top, it’s already stale. Copycats will come in droves, so that, what originally worked for that top author who took a risk, will not work for the aspiring new ones following the trend.

There is a narrative structure that can be borrowed from these kinds of works. Fiction writers, for example, often have a beginning, middle, and end, but this is like the wooden frame of a house. It’s empty and unlivable until it is completed and filled with the things that make a house a home. Likewise, no reader is looking for an empty husk of a story without unique insights and vivid narration to become invested in.

There is certainly a place for technical writing, tutorials, and lists that give the reader information they need in the shortest amount of words. And I read those as well! But when I think of the authors I remember, they provide unique value that breaks the established mold. This uniqueness is what creates a narrative connection with me as a reader, instead of providing pure utility.

How to retain your voice

Increase the frequency you click publish

My mantra since starting on Medium has been “just get started and keep publishing”. The best way I’ve avoided over-editing or leaving my work in drafts is to create a goal to write frequently. I write nearly every day and put my work out into the world. Good or bad, at the end of the day, I have to press the submit button. And my only goal is to consistently write, so not every article comes out perfectly. In fact, none of them ever will, but it does not give me time to edit my voice out of my work.

Accept the risk of being yourself

I personally have resigned myself to the risk of being myself. I haven’t yet found any authors who sound like me. You should be in a similar position. Your background, your talents, and your strengths create a subtle alchemy that results in writing that is unique to you. But this also requires vulnerability and opens you up to being judged or criticized by your audience.

There is a risk in allowing your creative voice to flow, but there is also a risk in sounding like the crowd. It’s simply harder for your audience to find and love your work in a sea of articles that look exactly like you. If you are imperfectly unique and write frequently, you’ll stick out in the audience's mind and have fans who support your work in no time. The internet is a vast place and you will find those who appreciate what you uniquely offer, but it’s up to you to take the risk of being seen.

Avoid too many tools

There are automated editors like Grammarly, Hemingway, Jasper, or ChatGPT that can check for grammar and sentence structure offering rewrites. But keep in mind they are just following the crowd. If you want to offer a fresh perspective and original work, simply use those tools with the goal to fix errors. Do not try to sound like everyone else. Ask yourself, “What do I lose if I remove this adverb or unusual word choice? Does this add clarity for the reader or is it simply what the AI expects?” Ignore edits that don’t provide clarity.

Write what you enjoy reading

You have completed an article that you can be proud of if you are satisfied with your work. This is the only bar that matters. One helpful litmus test I use is:

If I had come across the article not knowing the author, would I enjoy it?

I know I’ve written something I am proud of if I have written it for a reader like me. I see my readers as dear friends who have similar (read: good) tastes in writing. And are excited to support me. If you can put yourself in the shoes of your readers and write things that are helpful and entertaining to them, then do not hesitate and press the publish button.

Want more? Need the Motivation to get started writing? Check out: