‘How did you learn to write so well?’
That question arrived in my inbox after I’d given my opinion on a Reddit post (a risky endeavour in itself) and as well as being somewhat embarrassed by the praise, I was also stumped by it.
Many queries get put to me of course, but they’re usually more specific.
‘How do I improve sentence flow?’
‘What’s the best way to practise headlines?’
‘Should I cut down on adjectives?’ – the answer is almost always ‘yes’ by the way.
I enjoy sinking my teeth into these meaty subjects – it’s therapeutic in a way, and helps me reaffirm my own knowledge – dealing with the intricacies of particular questions is an absolute delight.
I’m somewhat used to receiving praise too. Writing is a passion after all, so I inject considerable effort into producing answers or content I’m putting out online.
Reluctant though I am to accept them, I’ve become content with embracing compliments sourced from my literary exploits.
Having said that.
Never have I received such an eclipsing and direct question as, ‘How did you learn to write so well?’
I know the things that have helped me learn to write throughout my life and try to reflect them as best I can when teaching others, but I know this person wanted a quick summary.
A straight answer.
A single line of wisdom, unparalleled by a thousand blogs from a thousand copywriting gurus.
My mind stirred, attempting to extract this golden nugget from the depths of my hard-set banks of writing knowledge.
I tried to channel the essence of Confucius, or Socrates, or some other wiseman of history, in hope of satisfying this online traveller with a short, impactful phrase that would one day be on the wall of a museum.
But no.
It was difficult to sum up.
And similarly, I didn’t want to type out an entire essay recounting each and every lesson I’d learnt and how I’d gone about learning them.
So, I settled on something a little less poetic.
I invited him to call me for a 1-on-1 instead. Since he’d accompanied his message with his goals, ambitions, and story so far, I thought I’d repay the effort as best I could.
I remember the desire to question as many authors, copywriters, and bloggers as possible when starting out. I have a soft spot for novices, so we talked for an hour about the path I took and what kinds of things he wanted to achieve.
I rambled, waffled, and riffed on about how I’d got to where I am today. My improvisational speaking isn’t as succinct or refined as my writing.
We parted ways when he was satisfied that he’d received at least a shot glass of value from our chat, and I went on with my day, feeling happy for giving advice (no matter how insignificant) to a new-starter.
But I continued to think about his first question for a while, since it had been so difficult to answer:
‘How did you learn to write so well?’
That question inspired this post.
Because after some deep thought and self-reflection, I think I’ve finally come up with the greatest reason for my aptitude with words.
It’s a ‘secret’ I’m sure you’ve heard before, probably because there’s nothing secret about it. And that’s precisely the reason it’s so effective.
Too many people look for a fast-track shortcut or miracle method when it comes to the art of writing. What I’m about to ‘reveal’ is the number 1 thing I attribute my skill and success to.
And rather excitingly, this works for every type of writing. Copywriting, content writing, fiction, essays – you name it.
Here it is:
Read and write every single day.
There is plenty more you need to do of course – you need to learn the theory step-by-step; you need to source feedback from those with experience; you need to do all sorts of things to become successful.
But without a doubt, you NEED to read and write.
Every.
Single.
Day.
Read examples of the type and standard of work that you want to reproduce. Read lots and read often.
Read more than you write. My split over the years has been about 80/20.
Some suggest copying out examples by hand, especially in copywriting circles (See the Gary Halbert Letters for more) and there’s major merit in that.
By continuously consuming top-tier examples of the industry you want to join, you will begin to ingrain their ways of writing into your head.
You’re right to think it’s obvious. It’s the most obvious advice of all. That’s why it’s the most overlooked and also the most important.
So many of us are obsessed with finding THE secret that cuts out 90% of the hard work, but it simply doesn’t exist. Gurus will tell you it exists because they want to sell you on it, but the truth is – outside of helpful tips, there is no substitute for consumption and practise.
As you read the best of the best, write too.
Write every day, even if it’s just a paragraph. For all the advice articles out there, you’d be surprised how many people spend all their time reading them instead of implementing what they preach (or maybe you wouldn’t – you’re reading this right now after all).
When you find credible advice, implement it.
There are plenty of ways to set exercises for yourself – far too many to list here – but the most crucial thing is that you set time out to sit down and just write.
Do it every day. Write for a quarter of the time that you read, and within months, you will have improved remarkably.
Beyond that, growth becomes exponential. As long as you keep the reading and writing up, you will only ever improve faster than before.
When the progress starts to level out – you’ll know you’re writing at a good level.
That is the number 1 piece of advice I’d give to ANYONE wanting to improve ANY type of writing.
Be one of the few who actually takes the first piece of advice any aspiring writer receives.
Implement the not so secret ‘secret’ today.
Go find examples of great writing. Read them without stopping to think about them. Read them again. Then go back and annotate what you liked, even if you’re not an analyst. Spare what time you can to read as much as you’re able.
Then write. It doesn’t have to be much, but do it.
Repeat every day – miss as few days as possible.
There’s no reason to stop. I do it, even now. And will continue to for the rest of my career and beyond. By reading and writing every day, you’ll start to notice patterns and styles, both actively and passively, which will bleed through into your own work.
You can search for shortcuts and secrets all you want, but without the basic actions of reading and writing consistently, all the advanced tips may as well not exist.
If you really want the big ‘secret’, then it’s this.
There’s no worthy alternative to directly studying what you wish to achieve and implementing the lessons it teaches.
Go on then.
Talk to you later.
Alex.
