Six tiny adjustments that transformed my mediocre writing

I remember writing online over a decade ago, wondering how to get more people to read my stuff.

I knew writing was my thing. I wasn’t a big talker. Writing felt like me.

But I wasn’t connecting.

It took me several years to collect enough information to get a better sense for the little things that had the greatest impact on my words:

1. I prioritised making sense.

You need to see your writing from the point of view of someone who doesn’t know you and is sitting in a different world in a different context.

Do not pine after the loss of ‘looking impressive’ to make way for simplicity.

2. Figured out how to say things in ways people had never heard before.

People are attuned to breaks in the expected patterns.

For example, take a standard solution to a problem and write a compelling argument for its opposite (while still being right).

3. I stopped taking up people’s time.

On X, people write long-form posts just because this feature is available.