Learning From Other Writers Pays More Than Plagiarizing — Top Reads

And it is not only legal but also a compliment to their skill.

The best part about reading other’s work is that you’re able to learn about their thought process more than you likely would if you spoke to them for the same length of time.

If you’re a writer, it also allows you to learn from their style and way of writing, and you’re free to incorporate some of your favorite styles into your own and no one will question you for it. The only trouble is when you try and cut corners and just copy their whole work, you’re trying to take the short-cut to someone else’s success, and unfortunately, that doesn’t exist.

Writing is a difficult trade which must be learned slowly by reading great authors; by trying at the outset to imitate them; by daring then to be original and by destroying one’s first productions. — André Maurois

In my endeavor to be a semblance of a writer, I spent the week reading some great pieces that each helped me become a better writer, or at least will, if I can implement some of the learnings.

When Can You Even Call Yourself A Writer? — Ikram Al Mouaswas

Let us first start with the basics. The whole “aspiring writer” vs. “writer” tussle — to me, anyone that writes anything, should call themselves a writer.

But without getting so vague, my dear friend and writer Ikram tells us the signs of when you can truly call yourself a writer, drawing from her own experiences as well as some of her other writer friends. As an example, she writes,

When you listen to a good story, is sharing it the first thing you want to do? When you share by publishing an article rather than only texting a message to a friend, you might have your first hint.

Set Yourself Some Goals — No Matter How Small — Scott Hughey (TheWriteScott)

If you’ve ever done anything competitive in your life, you’ll know the importance of having a goal or a target in mind. I can run everyday all I like, but the motivation is a whole different level when I am in a competitive marathon or event.

In the same way, whatever you do, having a goal that you set for yourselves is super important. You can look to set small goals and then gradually level them up as you get better.

Scott, for example, set a super simple goal of earning at least non-zero earnings on all his stories — i.e. even a minute of member read time — not a huge goal but one that gets you going.

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” — Earl Nightingale

As Scott writes, he constantly assesses his targets and readjusts them, because life is a moving goalpost and hence you need to constantly adapt.

I write articles. I get to see how they perform, both short and long-term. Armed with that data and seeing how other successful writers operate, I adjust and refine.

Mental Health Is More Important Than You Think — Linda Kowalchek

One of the strongest writers, in my humble opinion, that I have read is Linda. If she hadn’t told me about her struggles with a bipolar disorder, I wouldn’t have guessed that it hindered her writing in a significant way.

However, mental health issues — big and small, are more common than we think and increasing every day. What is important is to recognize, acknowledge and seek help — because if there is a problem, there is most often a solution.

It has long been taboo to seek a psychiatrist and isn’t something people are open to, but Linda says it can be of tremendous help, and you must address an issue with your brain to keep yourself efficient and productive:

Writing requires your brain to be in good shape. If it needs some tweaking, there are ways to improve your situation. Never underestimate the help of a psychiatrist or neurologist to get your brain in better shape. I think of them as fitness trainers for the brain. Caring for your brain is as important as caring for your heart.

Having A Thick Skin Is A Blessing — Don’t Be Afraid to Share Your Work — Khadejah Jones

I’ve written in the past about how I feel having a thick skin is a virtue, but Khadejah beautifully explains why you need to be a bit shameless as a writer, not afraid to tell your story and then share it.

Be open to criticism — positive and negative, because that is how you will learn. I’ve gone through the same “shyness” with sharing my story with people, but the reality is you can’t rely on your audience to find you — you have to find them yourself.

As Khadejah summarizes,

You can’t be insecure in this industry. Well, I mean, you can but you should write about it instead of thinking about it. This industry is about putting yourself out there and taking harsh writing advice when you need it.

You Need to Balance the Passion With the Popular — Holly Kellums

As most writers will tell you, often their best work falls flat while their average work (in their own assessment) goes viral and the whole world loves it.

The reality is as much as you may analyze your work and your audience, you will never know the human mind perfectly.

It is important for you to ensure you try and reach the maximum audience by mixing up your content such that it targets a wide range of audiences. This will sometimes mean you will need to write about stuff you’re not as passionate about but know that it is popular. Well, think of it this way — if you get an audience for your popular stuff, you will have more eyes paying attention when you write things you’re passionate about. It is a delicate balancing act, and you need to do it right.

As my dear friend Holly puts it, mix the Cheetos with the Broccoli!

If you never serve the Cheetos and only serve broccoli, people who don’t eat broccoli might stop coming to your parties. They will never even get to see all your future extravagant broccoli dishes. But if you serve some Cheetos too, everyone can find something to snack on and the Cheeto lovers might stick around. And one day, they might finally smell a broccoli dish that makes their mouth water — and take a bite.

Don’t Be Selfish — Build A Community and A Network — Julia E Hubbel

Julia is one of the more accomplished writers on here that I can dare to tag without feeling like I tagged a celebrity who I might offend — she’s a celebrity who I know won’t be offended!

She makes a beautiful point about how sharing good work of other writers is a service you’re doing to your own audience by curating content for them, and it is also a bit of good Karma that will come back to you in ways you cannot imagine. The good thing about writing is that it is a great network effect that goes into it, and it is a community thing — not an individualistic thing.

In Julia’s words,

In a world of parasites, people so focused on MEMEMEMEMEMEME, so terrified of scarcity that hoarding has become a way of life for the uber rich, generosity of spirit is a fine way to redefine your presence in the world. You stand out like a beacon, a safe way station in an unfriendly, taking, bloodsucking world. When you are generous, you reinforce what is best in us all.

The Technical Stuff — Make Your Work Look Pretty — Audrey Malone

Have you ever tried to find a beautiful image or a video that enhances your content but have struggled with IP and getting the right message without legal conflict?

I have. I have often even gone to the extent that I’ve found a beautiful free image, and I’ve written a story just so I could use it!

This is why Audrey is a lifesaver in that she puts together a list of thirty — yes 30 sites to find free images and videos to use with your writing. Audrey also highlights some technical nuances that we all may not be aware of,

Images being free is very important because it is illegal to use copyright images unless the source grants the proper authorization. Free images include those in the Public Domain (PD) or certain Creative Commons (CC) images. Be careful with CC images because some of them are not authorized for you to use in works you’re earning money on, such as with Medium stories.

Lastly, It Takes Serial Brilliance to Achieve Greatness — DISHA GARG

We all love success stories, don’t we? Because they inspire us to strive for those same heights or at least give us hope that such greatness is also achievable.

However, what we often forget is that there is a lot of hard work, and continuous effort that goes into achieving that greatness.

As Elon Musk’s journey, like many other serial entrepreneurs, tells us — it is an iterative process of brilliance that eventually puts you on the pedestal of “greatness.”

Agatha Christie wasn’t the same legend that she is today after 75+ novels when she had only written her first. William Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays and 150 short and long poems before he was considered arguably the greatest writer the world has ever seen.

Elon Musk did a series of brilliant startups and inventions to get to the richest man in the world status that he enjoys today. As Disha writes,

In 1999, Musk co-founded a company called X.com, which focused on financial services and email payments. A year later, X.com merged with Confinity and adopted the name of that company’s best-known service, PayPal. The two technologies created a powerhouse that led the way in online payments, which was eventually bought by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Musk pocketed $165 million from that deal.

In Summary

There’s a ton you can learn from others in your own journey towards being a “great” writer — but these are only some of the lessons I learned only in the last few days:

1. Start calling yourself a writer today
2. Set goals for yourself — small and big
3. Pay attention to your mental health — the brain is the engine room
4. Have a thick skin and be confident in your own work
5. Balance your passion with the popular to gain an audience
6. Build a network and community and share others’ work
7. Make your work look pretty — legally
8. It takes many iterations before you strike gold — be persistent

If you missed it, here’s my last week’s collection: