All Killer, No Filler: 3 Questions To Ask BEFORE You Start Writing Your Idea
“The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you’re walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That’s the moment you may be starting to get it right.”
- Neil Gaiman (author)
3 Guiding Questions
Regardless of the idea, regardless of niche, there are certain principles for publishing blog posts which, if followed, will vastly improve your chances of connecting with an audience.
Anytime I sit down with an idea, before I start writing, I ask myself three questions:
Can I tell a story?
Can I add value?
Can I tell the truth?
Can I Tell A Story?
The reason myths survive for centuries is because people relate to stories. Remember the Hero’s Journey? You have to give your audience the chance to plug themselves into the narrative and feel an emotion in order to learn.
The best documentaries and nonfiction books use narrative to make their information intriguing. Storytelling keeps people entertained while knowledge and value sneak into their brains.
If you’re going to become expert in anything, make it storytelling. Once you can do that, you can add value to any topic.
Can I add value?
The key to a good story is having something change by the end. What lesson was learned? What will someone take away from your work that’s going to stick with them and add value to their life?
Will it be a changed opinion? A solution to a common problem? Tales of misadventure that serve as a warning call?
Your readers need to feel the value in your work by the time they’re finished reading. You want them to walk away feeling like they are now better off for reading your work.
Can I tell the truth?
Reread the quote that started this section by Neil Gaiman. In order to tell a good a story you have to be ready to share a truth; you have to be willing to walk down the street naked and show yourself.
If you want to write a blog post titled, “How to Heal a Broken Heart,” then unless it’s for a medical journal, you had better give us the gory details on why we should be listening to you.
How was your heartbroken?
What did you do?
Weaving personal truths into your work is incredibly important because it helps your audience get to know YOU. People can get information anywhere. If you show them enough of yourself and become their friend through your work then they will choose to let YOU be the one to continue giving them the information.
Your audience should come for the value and stay for you.
Ready to get those rambling thoughts out of you head and onto the page? Take my FREE 7-Day writing course and “JUST GET IT WRITTEN.”
