The 5 Lessons I Derived From Writing 500 Stories You Can Take And Apply Without Paying A Cent
What a long journey!
By the time this story gets published, I would be celebrating my 500th writing on digital print. I never imagined that I have this stamina for writing.
This journey started with an innocuous experiment on making a viable living on the internet through social publishing platforms. While I have not arrived where I intended, I have amassed a cookie jar of lessons from writing, social publishing, and others.
I want to take some time to pen what I have learned, and hopefully, what I have learned will be of value to readers of this story. If you happen to be reading till this point — Thank you, thank you, and thank you.
Before we begin, I would like to present the context where I formulate my thought processes: -
- I have gotten 499 stories published, dated April 5th, 7 am, SGT.
- The reading duration of my writings spans from 1-minute short forms to 10-minute long reads.
- I have been writing for 8 months, starting from August 2020.
This is my writing journey in a nutshell. There is one recurring theme that I will repeat throughout this story, and that is: -
Experimentation Trumps Results-Oriented Mindset.
The stage is set. Let us begin.
Lesson # 1 — Start This Journey Knowing That You Cannot Fail.
How do you fail here? If you have one that guarantees failure on this platform, please let me learn from you.
Writing is not one thing. It is a function of many variables packaged into written form. It includes the following: -
- Ideas.
- Perspectives.
- Writing style.
- Linguistic prowess.
You might have the same inhibition as I did at the very beginning.
You may believe that you should not write because you cannot.
However, there is a difference between CAN WRITE and CAN write.
Some people CAN WRITE, given the flair for the language. Reading their work is like admiring art in alphabets.
And then, some CAN write. These are experimental alchemists who convert their thought bubbles into words through the act of writing. They have ideas to share, and they share them. I love reading work from this group of experimental alchemists.
That is because their ideas are as good as anyone else.
Merit does not apply to the democracy of ideas and perspectives. Chances are, you are a human if you happen to read this story. And you will formulate your unique ideas and perspectives from this story as you read.
They represent you. Your ideas and perspectives are as valid as your existence. If you want to share them, share them.
One note on rejections — If your work has been continuously rejected by publications, go ahead and self-publish it. Your ideas and perspectives deserve to see the light of the day.
And that brings me to the second lesson.
Lesson # 2 — You Have To Do You. Copying Can Only Go That Far.
Do you watch reality television such as The Voice?
Some contestants are blessed with a brilliant vocal, and oh my gosh, they can really sing.
Now, have you ever wondered why they never got famous when they cut their own album? Pause and think about it. It applies to what I am going to say in this segment.
Copying can only go that far. Make it this far if you are particular over the use of this and that.
Copying allows us to jumpstart any initiatives we want to embark on because the path of success is laid right in front of us. The blueprint is ready-made and immediately downloadable. All we have to do is to copy.
You can copy to start. You cannot copy to find success.
Maybe you like to write about money. Maybe, you have been reading a lot about Tom Handy’s writing about investing in cryptocurrencies. And maybe, you want to take a crack at copying his writing because you also invest in cryptocurrencies.
You are Tom Handy number 2 at best if you simply copy what he writes and how he writes the topic. Why would anyone read your work when they can read from the original author?
This is my perspective.
Go ahead and sing I Want It That Way because it is way easier to sing existing songs than to start composing new songs and writing new lyrics.
You have to make sure that you sing your own style. You can pause your breath at different points. You can go higher on original high notes, lower on low notes.
It applies to writing. You can write the topics Tom Handy does and writing them in your style. Weave in your investment thought processes into your stories. That way, you avoid becoming Tom Handy # 2, and people get to know you for who you are.
Lesson # 3 — Write To Your Lifestyle, Not Trending Topics.
You have to take your lifestyle into consideration if you want to write consistently.
Some comparisons are meaningless, and this is what I mean.
Full-time writers such as Matt Lillywhite can bang out 4–5 stories in a day and have them all accepted by various publications. I have a lot of respect for him. Now, tell me if you can do the same?
Plus, I am guessing that you might not be a full-time writer. It takes time and energy to write that volume of stories.
I cannot do that. If I try to write 3 stories a day, the following happens: -
- Writing quality across the board plunges.
- That means all submitted drafts run a higher risk of rejections.
- I have less time to work on my businesses.
- I may not have the time for my family.
You need to take your lifestyle into consideration. Be honest with the amount of time it takes for you to write a story of 3-minute reading duration, 4-minute, 5-minute.
Stick to what you can do, do it consistently to build a portfolio of content, and bulk up the writing muscles through practice.
I like to write 3-minute and 4-minute stories because it shortens the post-writing process, such as draft pruning and grammar checks.
I scale accordingly, based on the time I have.
And that brings me to the various time duration of stories.
Lesson # 4 — You Learn To Summarize When You Write Short. You Learn To Elaborate When You Go Long.
I am going against the conventional recommendation of an ideal writing duration. I believe that recommended story duration to write is between 5–8 minutes read.
First, there is equal merit in writing short duration stories and long. Writing short and keeping it concise helps us write straight to the point. If you are in a position at work writing executive summaries for a living, learning to write better in a concise manner reaps dividends.
Next, if you have trouble articulating your thoughts at length when you are due for dissertation defense, write longer stories for practice.
There are unique challenges at both ends. The idea is to get comfortable to elaborate when we need to and to be able to summarise when our counter-party has to drop off the call in 3-minutes.
And this ties in with Lesson #3.
When we get comfortable writing 3-minute, 8-minute stories, and any duration in between, we can continue to write daily no matter how busy we are.
And finally, the last point.
Lesson # 5 — You Know You Only When You Keep Writing.
Maria Rattray once said that I am a wellspring of content generation. No, I am not, and this is why.
I am starting to see the patterns and topics of what I write. I have a tendency to keep writing about money, business, self-improvement, thinking, reflection, writing.
I do not catch myself writing about Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Ethereum, song-writing, spiritual healing.
The above topics do not come naturally to me as much as the ones I write about. I believe it applies to everyone, and so we have to recognize that: -
- We have to continue writing what we write to refine how we think and present it into words.
- We have to read up on other topics we do not write about to grow our perspectives and allow new ideas to permeate the way we think and operate.
We grow as individuals when we do that.
And so, I would like to recommend the following people whom I learned from.
Melanie J. and Lanu Pitan — On the topic of spiritual healing.
Ashley Nicole — For a healthy living.
Esther George and Liam Ireland — Writing.
Maria Rattray — On championing good, natural living.
Mario López-Goicoechea — On documenting his life and perspectives.
Akis Apostolopoulos — On entrepreneurship and straight-talk.
Dr Mehmet Yildiz. — The business of publications (especially when he starts cursing!).
Terry L. Cooper — For cynical and hilarious writing.
Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) — For light-hearted reads.
I learned a hell lot by reading their stories because they write what I cannot. I try to steal the way they express themselves through words and apply them to my writings.
I try.
Summary.
Writing is a journey. We learned to write when we are young, and we will continue to write daily until the day we cease to exist.
It suggests that we will be continuously honing our writing skills for as long as we live.
Therefore, we have to reflect on our unique takeaways and improve on them. There are 5 lessons I have learned from writing for 8 months: -
- Lesson # 1 — Start This Journey Knowing That You Cannot Fail.
- Lesson # 2 — You Have To Do You. Copying Can Only Go That Far.
- Lesson # 3 — Write To Your Lifestyle, Not Trending Topics.
- Lesson # 4 — You Learn To Summary When You Write Short. You Learn To Elaborate When You Go Long.
- Lesson # 5 — You Know You Only When You Keep Writing.
Let me end this story by saying this.
Experimentation Trumps Results-Oriented Mindset.
Thank you for reading, and happy writing!
Aldric
About the Author:
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure.
Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
