Summary

The article discusses the "Dirty Faucet" method of writing, advocating for producing a high volume of content to filter out unoriginal ideas and reach a level of originality and quality.

Abstract

The "Dirty Faucet" method, inspired by Ed Sheeran's approach to songwriting, suggests that writers must push through a phase of producing subpar work to uncover unique and original ideas. Comparing the mind to a dirty faucet, the article emphasizes that initial thoughts are often generic, influenced by recent consumption of mainstream media. To access truly original ideas, one must write consistently, allowing the "dirty water" of mediocre content to flow out until the "clean water" of quality work emerges. The article recommends practices such as daily journaling, generating multiple ideas, and employing lateral thinking techniques to facilitate this creative process. It encourages writers to persevere through the initial phase of creating substandard work, as this is a necessary step towards developing a distinctive voice and producing exceptional content.

Opinions

Ed Sheeran's success is attributed to his willingness to produce a large quantity of work, including subpar songs, to refine his craft.
The initial ideas that come to mind when writing are often unoriginal, as they are influenced by recent and popular media consumption.
Writers should not be discouraged by poor initial output, as it is a natural part of the creative process.
Consistent writing and idea generation are key to eventually producing high-quality, original content.
The article suggests that a relaxed mind is more conducive to creativity than one that is forcefully trying to generate ideas.
Utilizing various idea-generation methods, such as random word association, can help in uncovering unique connections and topics.
Persistence in writing, despite early mediocrity, is crucial for improvement and for reaching a "sweet spot" of creativity.
The article implies that many writers give up too soon, not allowing enough time for their creative "faucet" to run clear of unoriginal ideas.

The “Dirty Faucet” Method: Why You Need to Write More Bad Articles

A lesson in writing from Ed Sheeran

As of today, Ed Sheeran has sold more than 26 million albums and 100 million singles worldwide, making him one of the world’s best-selling music artists.

What’s his secret?

I recently came across an interview where Sheeran gave an excellent piece of advice that stuck with me because it could easily help any writer.

In the interview, Ed Sheeran suggests thinking of your writing and creativity as a dirty faucet. The idea is that sometimes you have to let the water run for a while before it flows clear.

In other words, you have to remove all the guck before you can get to the good stuff.

Why your mind works like a dirty faucet

When you switch on the dirty tap, shit water is going to flow out for a substantial amount of time. Then clean water will start to flow out.” — Ed Sheeran

When you see murky water pouring out of a faucet the best thing to do is let the water run for a while.

The same is true when it comes to writing:

When you sit down to write, the first few ideas to jump out at you will be surface-level thoughts and ideas collected over the past days, weeks and months.

That’s why so many articles on the internet (and on Medium) cover the same topics, rehash the same advice, and talk about the same book recommendations.

Because we’re all consuming more or less the same “mainstream” books, blogs, TV shows, podcasts and news.

You might think your interests are unique and that your thoughts are original, but the harsh truth is that they’re much more common than you realize.

Why is this so?

Simply put, most people generate ideas based on the information you consumed within the last few days or weeks.

As a result, if you go with your first few ideas you’ll likely end up with a topic that’s too generic or overused.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe that’s what you love writing about.

But if your goal is to get to the truly original ideas, then you’ll have to dig a little deeper.

You have to access the parts of your creativity where your life experiences, thoughts, and memories have had time to “brew” into connections and associations that are unique to you.

How to clear the way for your best writing

“You’re going to write shit songs at the beginning. You are. My songs were terrible. But I got it out of me.

The more you write, the better your songs will get.” — Ed Sheeran

It all comes down to this:

Let your work start out shitty.

Shitty first songs.

Shitty first books.

Shitty first blog posts.

Because the more shitty stuff you create, the faster you’ll hone your craft and find original ideas that were hiding under all the crap.

And it’s not a one-time job either — every day requires some degree of “faucet clearing”. Here are four other methods I’ve found work well for me:

Journal before sitting down to write. For 5–10 minutes write down anything that pops into your consciousness. Could be your shopping list, the annoying thing your boss did, or whatever else is floating through your mind.
Write down no less than 10 ideas per day. I’ve written more than 2,000 article ideas, and most of them are total crap, but some (I dare say) are pretty darn good.
Creativity doesn’t like to be forced. Ideas prefer visiting a relaxed mind.
Explore different idea-generation methods. For example, try using a random word generator tool and let your brain dig up associations and information for each word, then see how you can connect them.

After a while, you’ll get to the “sweet spot” where your writing and ideas blend together seamlessly into a unique voice no one else can copy.

Final thoughts

The hardest part of becoming a good writer is getting through the phase where you kinda… suck.

If you’re lucky, you’ll look back on your work a year from now and think “wow, that was really shitty writing”.

But most people quit before that happens.

Why?

Because when you turn on the dirty faucet, you never know how long it’ll take before the clean water starts flowing.

And yet it always does — but only as long as you keep the tap running.

So give yourself permission to come up with terrible ideas and write awful articles.

The sooner you get them out of your system, the sooner you’ll get to the really really good stuff.

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