Say “Yes, and…” To Your Writing Before You Say “No.”

Give your writing a chance before you shut it down

With algorithm changes, AI text, and just plain laziness, it’s going to be harder to make it. That’s what they all say.

Your writing has to have more kick, passion, and authenticity.

Otherwise, it won’t get traction, it won’t get indexed.

How do you break through?

The main purpose of Alex Dobrenko’s writing is to entertain in a comedic, very relatable way.

As a writer and comedian, he has a way of disarming readers that comes across as both charming and haphazard like you can’t believe that he’s doing what he’s doing, but that he’s also getting it down in words.

If you’re going to start with Alex, I’d recommend this one about lying to his grandma:

His style is classically “write like you talk” except this time it works, because it’s about him and his personal stories, which makes his writing like he talks a lot more palatable than if you’re writing about insurance for example.

Alex recently shared an interview he did with something called Kurt Vonnegut Radio, even though it’s a podcast and I found it in a newsletter.

Why Writing Advice from Non-Writers is Usually Good

But Alex was asked that age-old question — “any writing advice?” — and honestly, the best answers to that question come from those who haven’t been formally trained in writing or have only been to one random writing workshop or they just read a bunch of good books and then started googling stuff on the Internet and then began writing.

They have the best advice because it’s usually *true* not something they heard or know is supposed to be good writing advice even if they don’t do it.

The type of writing advice that is valuable.

One of the things Alex said in this interview is that he likes to use improv rules for writing.

That includes the famous “yes, and…” element of improv where one troupe member builds on what another troupe member has said.

Here’s Alex in the interview:

Alex: It is the “yes, and” thing of improv. I just started saying “yes, and” to a lot more of what came out onto the page. I’ve always been such a critic of my own stuff. And so the hardest work for me is to minimize the gap between when I have an idea and when I put it out there.

Saying yes to a lot more that came out onto the page.

That doesn’t mean to never edit.

It means to say “yes” to yourself to at least write it down first before you make a decision.

That’s hard when you self-edit yourself before you do anything.

It’s a bad trap, one I fall into as well. I tell myself “no” before even allowing “yes” to be a possibility.

Drafts are the safe space for this. That should be the place where you tell yourself “yes” every. single. time., because no one will see it besides you.

Tell yourself “yes” at least once before you say “no.” You owe it to yourself and your ideas. Then edit.

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