Better Writing

Write Less, Read More

The secret to my peaceful and happy writing life.

‘Oh, I am finally gonna blow up.’ I said to myself, with a smile as wide as Joker. Teeth all shinning and glittering — eyes glowing. I was elated.

This was how I felt when I first joined Medium. The idea of making cool bucks by simply writing from the comfort of my home sounded like music to my ears.

And lucky me, I still have my MacBook from my first failed attempt at working from home. I am just gonna repurpose it and start writing.

And write I did! I read every article published under tips for writing. How to make it on the platform and earn X amount of dollar monthly. How to create curated-worthy content and go viral.

I wasn’t gonna be left out. So I welcomed every advice. I wrote every day for two months, publishing over 60 articles. The only thing that changed was, I got better and found it easier to churn average words in my notepad and flood publications with average contents. Oh, poor publications.

This is not to bash or say the writing advice we have online are craps and useless. Not at all. But understanding that every writer isn’t the same, is key. We all may write for a monetary purpose, but what makes our writing flow and more relatable might be fuelled by a different incentive.

On average I wasn’t making enough as compared to the work I was putting in. It began to feel like the proverbial working like an elephant and eating like an ant. But that wasn’t what ended it for me.

At the end of the day, there was a disconnect between me and my works. Reading through some of my articles didn’t feel like I was the one talking.

If I can’t see myself within my own work, how do I expect others to see me?

I wanted to be a writer who touches the hearts. A writer who readers say, ‘I love this dude.’

I know that’s what I say when I read certain unique writers like Michael Thompson, Melanie J., Dean K Miller, Spyder. You know that feeling you get as a writer when you read someone’s work, and it connects with you?

Inside your heart, you hear yourself say; ‘this is how I speak and feel inside’. Why then don’t I express myself in my work this way?

Because just like me, you’ve missed the mark.

A month ago, I changed my strategy. I decided to throw away every practice that hasn’t served me. Though it may serve others, if it hasn’t served me, with regards to who I am, I threw it away.

I was gonna read every day and write every two days. Publish thrice every week and focus on other areas of my life so I don’t chock the writer part of me. While this may work fine for me and my mental health, I acknowledge it may be different for others. So what you want to do, is to experiment and find out what works for you.

So far it’s been wonderful. No pressure. No thinking up craps that might sell online. No more writing contents that do not reflect the writer. No more feeling like a fraud and trying to cheat the system.

Funny enough, I finally learned the secret to good writing, and it was not in those how-to-be-a-better-writer articles online, but by reading articles where the writer simply expressed themselves and told their stories.

It is back to the old traditions of writing. Back to the core of my message. Back to being happy and writing with peace and fun.