How Turning Words Into Coffee Can Make Writing Unbelievably Easy

As you open the jar filled with those dark brown beans, their aroma entices you, begging you to place them in a grinder. Broken down to dust and poured in a filter, all that’s left is to add water and wait. Soon, the essence of those beans will seep through and down into the pot below. Your eyes fixate on the final product — a beautiful and delicious drink, ready to be consumed. Here’s how you can turn words into coffee and make writing unbelievably easy.

Opening the Jar

You’ve decided you want to write something but aren’t quite sure what. The first thing you do is open that jar of beans. There’s a lot of ideas in there. Grabbing a handful of them and figuring out how to bring it together is the cornerstone of creating engaging content.

When taking beans out of the jar, you want the best ones you can find. The most important thing is to find the one you know will work. There aren’t many perfect beans, but there are a whole lot of good ones. When you put them in the grinder, it won’t matter anyway.

Putting the Beans in the Grinder

Once you know what to write about, it’s time to put the beans in the grinder. You break everything down and mix it until all that’s left is the essentials. Instead of some noisy buzzing as blades whirl around, it is the clacking of keys as you delve into the topic. Researching and finding your angle will blend ideas from the jar together.

While beans tend to turn to dust in moments, figuring out how to approach your topic may take more time. This process involves making sure that everything will fit together. If it doesn’t, then that bean doesn’t belong in the story you are telling. It can be hard to throw out ideas you thought were incredible, but people can tell when something feels forced in. One wrong bean in the grinder can ruin the taste of the coffee.

Adding the Water

Now that your beans are all ground up and ready to go, it’s time to add water. In the case of writing, water is everything that supports your idea. It will take what you’ve broken down and fill the page.

Just like coffee and water, you can’t use too much or too little detail. Doing so can leave the story too concentrated or too weak. No one likes watered down coffee, and writing is the same. The focus gets lost by adding too much detail and fails to deliver the message you worked so hard on crafting.

On the other hand, if you don’t have enough to support your ideas, it comes across as too direct. Not fleshing out the details makes writing dry and uninteresting. That’s a surefire way to get readers to click away before they pass out on their keyboards.

Passing it Through the Filter

Everything you’ve written so far gets passed through the filter. Great editing is how you polish your story. If something doesn’t sound right or look right, this is where you cut it. One of the best ways to find the weak points is going line by line. When you read each one, ask:

· Does it make sense?

· Does it add to the point?

· Is it too wordy or complex?

· Does it have the right tone?

And most importantly, is it necessary?

If you aren’t satisfied after that, then it doesn’t make it through the filter.

When you finish the first pass of editing, go back and do it again. It can be easy to miss small things, like if you changed something and left the evidence behind. Make sure you find any typos and grammar mistakes. Missing even the smallest one could ruin your credibility when a reader comes across it.

The Coffee

Now that everything is through the filter and in the pot, it’s time to publish it. Whether that’s on a personal blog or here on Medium, finding a home for your work is essential.

You may have something newsworthy, or maybe a killer essay that will change how we see the world around us. It might be worth pitching it to an actual publication instead of publishing it on your own. While that can be difficult, many freelance writers started their careers with a simple pitch to the right place at the right time.

Many publications have their specific submission guidelines. Failing to follow their rules will leave your hard work in the trashcan. You can also find details about the editors of wherever you are trying to get published and tailor it to that specific person. There are plenty of locations out there, so there’s no need to limit yourself. Just look at this list of 200+ places to pitch your writing.

Writing doesn’t have to be a hassle, and you don’t have to be the best writer out there. All that matters at the end of the day is that your coffee tastes good.