What to Write About
julian.com
Saved by Lauren Crichton and
What to Write About
My favorite writing trick is to only write my introduction then ask friends who represent my audience this question:
I pick and choose the responses that resonate with me. This is how I de-risk my post from lacking novelty: Am I headed... See more
"After reading only this intro, what are the most interesting ideas I could possibly cover in the rest of the post?"
I pick and choose the responses that resonate with me. This is how I de-risk my post from lacking novelty: Am I headed... See more
What to Write About
Writing tips - Intro
Anything can be interesting when framed by an intriguing question.
Your questions don’t have to be jaw-droppingly interesting either. They just have to be good enough for your target audience to think, "This post won't be boring."
Your questions don’t have to be jaw-droppingly interesting either. They just have to be good enough for your target audience to think, "This post won't be boring."
What to Write About
Writing tips - Intro
How to generate hooks
You create hooks by finding questions you want answers to then posing those questions in your introduction:
You create hooks by finding questions you want answers to then posing those questions in your introduction:
- Ask yourself, “If someone else wrote my intro, what are the most captivating questions they could pose to make me excited to read this?”
- Write those questions down. Even if you lack the answers.
- Rank your questions by how
What to Write About
Writing tips - Intro
Asking a question isn't enough
For a hook to resonate, readers must be given enough context to care about the rest of the story.
Therefore, our intro must accomplish two things:
For a hook to resonate, readers must be given enough context to care about the rest of the story.
Therefore, our intro must accomplish two things:
- Give readers a reason to care about our hook. Connect it to meaningful problems they face. (Failing to do this is where most intros go wrong.)
- Hook readers with half of an in
What to Write About
Writing tips - Intro
A hook is a half -told story. You raise a question then tease only part of the answer:
- Questions —Pose an intriguing question, but don’t give the full answer.
- Narratives — Share the start of a narrative, but withhold the conclusion.
- Research —Highlight research findings, but only a small portion.
- Arguments — Make an unexpected claim, but don't explain
What to Write About
Writing tips - Intro
Step one is choosing an objective for your post, such as:
- Open people’s eyes by proving the status quo wrong. Example.
- Share a solution to a tough problem. Example.
- Distill an overwhelming topic into something approachable. Example.
- Tell a suspenseful and emotional story that imparts a lesson. Example.
- Articulate something everyone’s thinking about but
What to Write About
Writing tips - Ideation
Writing Quality = Novelty x Resonance
What to Write About
In drafts two and beyond, I then rewrite these novel ideas to make them resonate . Resonance is when ideas take root in readers' minds. It's the art of capturing their imaginations and relating to their life experiences so that they feel .
Ideas resonate when they're wrapped in:
Ideas resonate when they're wrapped in:
- Stories
- Analogies
- Examples
- Authentic voice
What to Write About
Writing tips - Ideation
People read nonfiction to learn and to feel. My framework for ensuring a blog post accomplishes both is to start with a first draft that focuses on "novel" ideas.
A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:
A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:
- Counter-intuitive —
What to Write About
Writing tips - Ideation