You Are Not a Bad Writer. You [& I] Just Need to Unleash Your [Our] Personality.

If it was all about words, ChatGPT would have killed us all.

Your writing sucks. Polish it. Write better.

Oh yeah? Like how?

Stupidly useless advice is plastered all over the internet. You suck. He sucks. She sucks. Write more. Take time to improve this and that.

Yeah, I know that. And? What can you offer to help?

It is easy to diss and piss.

Practical help?

That’s rare.

To Write Better Today and Tomorrow — Focus on You.

Because you are the one writing, silly twit!

How are you supposed to write better when you forget about you? That’s not going to work, gals and pals. In fact, many of us read this article because that person wrote it.

Have you tried rewriting what this or that top writer wrote? I imagined you did. What are your results?

• Good? Good for you.
• Dismal? Hey, life goes on.
• Near-zero views? Haha, hey man, let’s dine in Writer’s Hell tonight.

And well, you might say I tried.

Of course. No one said you didn’t.

But what is the point of rewriting other people’s lives and experiences? It is not your story. Those words will not ooze authenticity.

And that is what you want.

You want people to read your story and have your life experience enrich theirs.

What You Go Through Shapes You. And You Shape Your Thinking. Your Thinking Shapes Your Words.

How do you describe yourself?

• Are you an introvert? Extrovert?
• Are you bookish? Or do you prefer to hit the streets?
• What do you do at work? Are you in sales? Are you in the business of capturing eyeballs?
• How many crazy friends do you have?
• What do you hate? And why?

This is what I mean when I say capturing your personality.

Everyone has stories to tell. Sure.

But think about it this way.

• Every writer is going to write about writing.
• Every sales professional knows someone, somewhere, at some time [today] will say no to him. Or her.
• Every mum gets annoyed by a messy room littered with toy cars and teddy bears.

No matter what your chosen category or genre of writing is, you are going to compete with millions of people spitting out billions of words to suck away every single ounce of attention from the internet.

Look. No one remembers bland writing. Or person. No one.

When was the last time you [actually] recalled what a boring person in your office did? I doubt you remember any.

You are more likely to remember how a comment from a controversial character resonated with you even though it sounded preposterous.

He is one of a kind.

She is special.

So are you.

Let’s Start

2 questions for starters.

• Who are your natural enemies at work?
• Why do you hate them?

Everyone has enemies at work.

I don’t mean your personal vendetta, although that makes a juicy story, too.

I am referring to your natural adversaries in your domain of expertise. Let me explain.

I work in sales. My job is to sell, close, and bring home the cash bacon. That is how the company feeds the operational folks, and that is how I earn my commissions.

So far, so good.

And because my job requires hitting the streets and a heavy sense of practicality, I have zero to little tolerance for domains that are all talk and no close.

If your gut suggests I am snipping at the Marketing domain, yup. You got it.

They do great work, of course. But I don’t understand why they do what they do. Their metrics for performance made no sense to me.

Impressions, views, likes, comments, engagement.

All that good… but where is the beef? I mean, what good is 2 million impressions on one Instagram post or LinkedIn content when there is no 1 sale?

Marketers see it as brand promotion.

We must promote the company!

Sales professionals wonder how that increases their closing rate.

Where are my leads from this campaign? Oh, there are 100 name cards. Great. But hey, none of them want to buy anything!

All the unnecessary leg work for no beef.

Then, pay attention during the next budget meeting. This is where a minefield of suppressed emotions and visceral hatred gets magnified.

• “Hey, my campaigns are perfect. You are the problem if you cannot close the deal!”
• “We spent $10,000 on this campaign AND~D~ we attracted cheapskates.”
• “Your salespeople need to work harder, man.”
• “Your campaigns are a waste of money.”

You want to capture such experiences on paper and then put your spin on this story.

• Are you the sales folk?
• Are you the marketing folk?

Make it a one-up.

• Are you the sales folk that agree with the marketing director?
• Are you the marketing guy who feels guilty about generating 0 sales leads?

Make it a one-two.

• Are you the marketing director who disagreed with the salespeople but agreed with them because you needed their support for the budget?
• Are you the sales director who agreed with the marketing folks not because you agree but because you [simply] want to leave the room?

Invite aliens to visit. Bring in a third party.

• Forget about marketers and salespeople. What would you do if you attended this meeting as the business owner? Have you thought of firing these incompetent buffoons? Write that.
• If you are a Venture Capitalist, would you invest in the business after witnessing the chaos in the meeting room? Write that.

Color your stories vividly. Nothing else is more interesting than human beings. We fight, parley, make peace, and drink coffee with our adversaries on the same day.

Hippos and rhinos cannot do that.

So, no.

You are not a bad writer.

You [just] lack some color.

The Close

Are you a writer? Do you aspire to be one?

If so, focus on the writer, not the words. Put yourself under the spotlight.

Our words can become [more] interesting. And that has nothing to do with grammar, expression, or vocabulary. It has to do with our character.

Capture your character with your words.

Your writing will improve.

All stats will go up.

You will enjoy writing.

After all, what is better than sharing your stories your way?

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Oh, oh, you can buy me a cup of black too! Thank you!