The Most Surefire Way to Write Something Unique

How I got accepted into a top publication my first few weeks on Medium.

Let’s face it, most ideas we have as humans are conventional. Someone somewhere has already provided the “novel” advice you had rushed to get down on paper.

I got that kind of feedback from publication editors my first dozen articles on Medium-

“Thanks, but we’ve heard that before.”

I was discouraged. I was pumping out so many articles and I thought they were GOOD, and none of them were catching.

Apparently, all of my ideas appeared to have been discussed before. The advice I was giving was common knowledge, and I was in a rut.

How is One Supposed to be Unique?

There’s only so many ways to explain that success requires commitment and that you need to take breaks for your mental health. One piece of slightly more unique advice isn’t going to make your article sell.

What I’ve found is that the most surefire way to share something unique is to share your own personal experiences along with your advice, even if the advice itself is conventional. After all, no one on this earth has had the exact same life experiences that you have- not even if you have a twin sibling. That is what you need to leverage to your advantage.

We learn from others’ mistakes and successes, but only if these individuals are willing to share, and we are willing to listen.

My Success

I recently had an article accepted to Better Humans that discussed how I’ve saved over 10k negotiating with contractors as a young, and non-intimidating female.

Tips on negotiation can be found all around the internet. I think what lead to my article’s publication was that I shared detailed descriptions of how I did what I did in a way that was relatable to readers.

It all begins by thinking about what you as a reader like to read.

Think of Videos

What do I like to watch? Thinking about this question helped me improve my writing dramatically.

Think about YouTube videos where someone sits and talks to their screen. It can be a little boring. They may be sharing great advice, but there’s nothing to visually draw in the person watching.

The best creators tend to show you around their day as opposed to just telling you about it. They don’t say- I went to the grocery store, and then made spaghetti for dinner. Instead they show you a brief clip in the store aisle, a grocery haul, and some camera footage of them straining the pasta.

These visuals are all simple tasks anyone can demonstrate, and yet somehow, we find them interesting as an audience.

Now Translate that to Writing

Let’s reference my article on negotiation. I first explained that you want to get multiple bids. I think this is pretty straightforward advice, and advice that many have likely heard before. However, my article received a decent amount of views because I shared vividly regarding my personal experience of getting multiple quotes, and why It was so important to my personal negotiation journey.

A common writing tip I see floating about on Medium is to share personal examples within your articles. But I think it’s about more than that.

It’s about bringing the reader in so closely that they feel as though they are experiencing exactly what you did. You shouldn’t write an article on why people should buy a used car over a new one, and just mention that you got a used car yourself. You need to emphasize why you don’t just recommend this to others, but how it became so influential for you that you decided you HAD to share the idea with your audience.

I felt I needed to share my experience on negotiating because I found it so intimidating at the beginning. I was also told that I wasn’t intimidating, and it was insinuated by some that people would take advantage of the fact that I didn’t come across that way and therefore not lower their price.

Well, I proved that idea wrong.

I was passionate about sharing with others how they could find confidence in negotiating skills, regardless of their age, gender, or past experience.

To accomplish this, I had to share details.

Don’t Neglect Detail

I shared my experiences of having booked two contractors “too close” together and how the fact that they witnessed each other changed my interaction with the second contractor completely. He was practically throwing discounts at my face like they were candy and I was a kid trick or treating. I explained how this same gentleman then conveniently “forgot” about all of his generosity and claimed he had never spoken the words he had said. Finally, I shared how I ensured he came back to his senses and I got what I was promised.

People don’t want to read one sentence stories. They want to read full anecdotes explaining the trials, tribulations, or benefits, behind what you are telling them they should do.

Have other people had similar experiences negotiating? Sure. Have other people written about these experiences? Of course. But has anyone had the exact same experience that I had which played out in the exact same way? I doubt it.

The Takeaway

The thing is, we don’t just learn from others mistakes. We learn from others experiences, advice, suggestions, and successes. The more of these journeys we can share, the happier our audiences will be, and the more success we’ll have as writers.

Don’t be afraid to discuss the nitty gritty, and be vivid about the things you are discussing. If you do this, you shouldn’t have to worry about writing on a topic that is more common. Your personal experience itself is what makes your article unique.