WRITING TIPS FOR TIM DENNING
These 12 Truths Taught Me More Than 17 Years of Living My Life
Or how to write a life lesson article
Contrary to popular belief, to write a life lesson article, you don’t need a life. You need vision, strategy, and execution. In other words, you need framework, template, and listicles.
To write a life lesson article that will blow the mind of your readers, do this:
#1 Play the social status game
Name-dropping famous people makes your ideas look smarter. It’s known as the hello effect.
#2 Use random numbers
Non-round numbers — 12 or 17 as opposed to 10 — appear more trustworthy. They imply you did some serious thinking/research/calculations.
#3 Forget about the survival bias
There are likely many ‘unsuccessful’ people that applied the same ‘life lessons.’ The difference? No one is interviewing them.
#4 Throw in some unbacked affirmations
I would insert some scientific sources if I had enough space to do so. Unfortunately, I don’t. See point #7 below.
#5 Don’t be afraid of platitudes
We can all agree that banalities are commonplace clichés in our world.
#6 Don’t be afraid of repeating yourself
Just use different words.
We can all agree that truisms are middle-of-the-road stock phrases in our world.
#7 Write whatever you want
Most people skim after the sixth point in a listicle. They become attentive again at the penultimate heading.
#8 Be bold, be one-sided
We’re not here for detailed and balanced opinions.
#9 Trust your gut, or data, or both
Always include one, or two, or all of these points in whatever article you’re writing. Trust me on this. I read 137 articles.
#11 Skip a number
With luck, people will point out your mistake in the comments. Alternatively, make intentional blunders in the vocabulary used. See point #1.
#12 Forget about the systemic inequities in our society
Being born in place C instead of place B has a significant impact on our potential career and success paths.
The Most Effective Life Lesson I See Almost No One Using
Smillew is a writer, a tweeter, a runner, and a follower of Tim Denning. He also enjoys tagging Hogan Torah in his articles. Some he does well, some not so well, but he still tries them all. You can follow him on Instagram if you can find him.
