Sometimes the Best Stories Are the Ones You Didn't Plan

Some of the best stories aren't the ones you sit down and plan to write.

Sometimes they're just memories.

This morning, with the first cool weather we've had since May, I found myself thinking about a house I worked on back in 1980.

I had just been laid off from a house builder. "Laid off" is a nice way of saying, "You're fired." 😂

I went to work on my own (for the next 25 years.) The first house I taped, bedded and textured was being built with students from a high-school trades class.

The night before, I had mixed up my texture in a 55-gallon drum. The next morning I poured it into my hopper and started spraying.

Except it wouldn't spray.

The hopper was stopped up.

After checking everything, I discovered the problem.

There were sheet-rock nails in my texture!

Apparently, after I had left, some of the students had decided to contribute a few ingredients of their own.

I wasn't laughing then.

I was pretty upset.

But nearly half a century later, I can look back at it and laugh.

And that is where the writing lesson comes in.

Details Make a Story

I could have simply written:

"When I was doing drywall work in 1980, some students put nails in my texture and stopped up my hopper."

That's what happened, but it's not much of a story.

The details make the difference.

A 55-gallon drum gives you something to picture.

A hopper that suddenly won't spray creates a little mystery.

Then you discover sheet-rock nails in the texture.

Now the reader wants to know how they got there.

Those little details turn an event into a story.

You Don't Have to Invent a Story

One of the easiest mistakes a writer can make is thinking every story has to be invented or dramatic.

It doesn't.

Look through your own memories.

Think about the jobs you've had, the people you've met, the mistakes you've made, the things that made you angry at the time but make you laugh now.

There are probably stories hiding in those memories.

You just have to find them.

And sometimes the best stories are the ones you never intended to tell.

That house in 1980 wasn't supposed to become a story.

It was just supposed to get textured.

But 46 years later, it gave me something worth writing about.

That's one of the things I like about writing.

You never know where the next story is going to come from.

 

How to Turn an Idea Into an Article

Every article starts with an idea.

Sometimes it's a great idea.

Sometimes it's just a sentence that pops into your head while you're doing something completely unrelated to writing.

The problem isn't usually coming up with an idea.

The problem is knowing what to do with it.

How do you take that little thought and turn it into an article someone actually wants to read?

Let's take a look.

Start With One Idea

Don't try to write the whole article at once.

Start with one thought.

For example:

“Writing online is harder than it looks.”

That's not an article yet.

It's just an idea.

But it raises questions.

Why is writing online difficult?

What makes it different from other writing?

What mistakes do people make?

What can a new writer do about it?

Now you have somewhere to go.

Ask Questions About the Idea

Questions are one of the easiest ways to develop an idea.

Take your original thought and start asking:

• Why is this true?

• Is it always true?

• What causes the problem?

• What mistakes do people make?

• What have I learned from experience?

• What can the reader do about it?

You don't have to use every answer.

You're simply giving yourself material to work with.

One question can lead to another.

Before long, that little idea has become several possible paragraphs.

Find the Main Point

This is where you have to be careful.

An idea can easily turn into five different articles.

That's not necessarily bad. It may mean you've found several good topics.

But choose one main point for the article you're writing now.

If your main idea is that writing online is harder than it looks, perhaps your article is really about the difference between writing something and writing something people will actually read.

Now you've got a direction.

Make a Simple Outline

You don't need a complicated outline.

Three or four points may be enough.

For example:

Introduction: Why online writing looks easy.

Point 1: Getting someone's attention.

Point 2: Keeping the reader interested.

Point 3: Giving the reader something useful.

Conclusion: Good writing requires more than putting words on a page.

That's already the skeleton of an article.

You haven't written the article yet.

But you know where you're going.

Add Your Experience

This is where your article starts becoming yours.

Anyone can repeat information they found somewhere else.

Your own experiences, observations, mistakes, and lessons give the article personality.

Maybe you've written something that you thought was good, only to discover that people weren't reading it.

That's worth mentioning.

Maybe you discovered that a simple article performed better than something you spent hours making complicated.

That's worth mentioning too.

Your experience gives the reader something they can't get from a generic list of facts.

Write the First Draft

Now write.

Don't worry about making every sentence perfect.

That's what editing is for.

Get the ideas out of your head and onto the page.

You may discover that the article changes while you're writing it.

That's perfectly normal.

Sometimes you don't really know what you think about an idea until you start writing about it.

The first draft is where you discover the article.

Edit After You Write

Once you've finished the first draft, step away from it for a little while if you can.

Then come back and read it as a reader.

Look for anything that doesn't belong.

Look for places where you've said the same thing twice.

Look for sentences that are harder to understand than they need to be.

And especially look for anything that doesn't support the main idea.

Remember, you aren't trying to prove how much you know.

You're trying to help someone understand something.

Give It a Good Ending

Don't just stop writing because you've reached the end of your notes.

Bring the article back to the main idea.

Give the reader something to think about.

Sometimes the best ending is a simple question.

Sometimes it's a final observation.

Sometimes it's one sentence that ties everything together.

The ending should feel like you've arrived somewhere—not like you simply ran out of words.

One Idea Can Become Many Articles

Here's the really interesting part.

That original idea doesn't have to produce just one article.

One idea can lead to another.

You might write about why online writing is difficult.

Then you might write about getting attention.

Then keeping attention.

Then writing useful content.

Then finding your own writing voice.

Before long, one little idea has become an entire series.

And that's how many good blogs grow.

Final Thought

Don't wait until you have a brilliant idea before you start writing.

Take the ordinary ideas you already have.

Ask questions.

Find the main point.

Add what you've learned.

Write it down.

Then edit it until the idea becomes clear.

You may be surprised at how much an article just by breaking it down, and was hiding inside that little thought you had in the first place.

 

The Difference Between Being Interesting and Being Useful

Getting someone's attention is one thing.

Keeping it is another.

And there is an important difference between writing that is interesting and writing that is useful.

Interesting writing may get a reader to stop scrolling. Useful writing gives them a reason to stay.

Interesting Gets Attention

There is nothing wrong with being interesting.

In fact, you need some of it.

A good headline, an unusual idea, a surprising statement, or a good story can make someone curious enough to start reading.

But curiosity alone doesn't carry an article very far.

Think about the last time you clicked on something because the headline caught your attention, only to discover that the article didn't really tell you anything.

You probably didn't finish it.

You certainly didn't bookmark it.

And you probably won't go looking for another article from the same writer.

The writer got the click but lost the reader.

Useful Gives the Reader Something

Useful writing answers a question, solves a problem, explains something confusing, or gives the reader a new way to look at something.

It doesn't have to be complicated.

Sometimes the most useful articles are about things the writer considers obvious.

That's because what is obvious to you may not be obvious to someone else.

If you've spent years doing something, you probably know things that you don't even think about anymore.

Those ordinary things can be valuable to someone just starting out.

Don't Confuse Information With Help

Here's where many writers get into trouble.

They give the reader a lot of information but very little help.

Those aren't necessarily the same thing.

You can write 2,000 words about a subject and leave the reader wondering what they are supposed to do with all of it.

Good writing doesn't just dump information on people.

It helps them make sense of the information.

Instead of asking, “What else can I tell them?”

Try asking:

“What can I help them understand?”

That's a much better question.

Useful Doesn't Mean Boring

Some writers are afraid that if they make their writing practical, it will become boring.

It doesn't have to.

You can tell a story while teaching something.

You can use humor while explaining a problem.

You can share an experience and still give the reader something they can use.

In fact, some of the best writing does all three.

The reader enjoys the journey and arrives somewhere useful at the end.

Give the Reader a Small Victory

One of the best things you can do as a writer is give your reader a small victory.

Maybe they finally understand something that confused them.

Maybe they know what to do next.

Maybe they avoid a mistake.

Maybe they have a better question than they had before.

That is value.

And it doesn't require you to be the world's greatest expert.

You just need to help the reader move one step forward.

Write for the Person Who Needs It

You don't have to impress everybody.

That's an important lesson for any writer.

Trying to sound intelligent can actually make your writing harder to understand.

Write like you're helping one person sitting across the table from you.

Explain it the way you would explain it to a friend.

If you know something they don't know, don't talk down to them.

Bring them along.

That's what useful writing does.

The Goal Isn't Just Another Page View

A page view is nice.

A click is nice.

A new subscriber is even better.

But the real goal is to have the reader finish your article and think:

“That helped me.”

That's the kind of response that builds an audience.

Interesting writing may bring someone through the door.

Useful writing gives them a reason to come back.

And when you can combine the two, you have something worth building on.

Final Thought

Don't ask only, “Was this interesting?”

Ask a better question:

“Was this useful?”

If the answer is yes, you've given your reader something they can take with them.

And that's what good writing is supposed to do.

The First Few Sentences Matter More Than You Think

You can write a great article and still lose your reader before they get to the good part.

Why?

Because the reader has to decide whether to keep reading.

That decision often happens in the first few sentences.

Your Opening Has a Job

The opening doesn't have to explain everything.

Its job is to make the reader interested enough to continue.

Think about the television series we talked about in the last article.

The first episode has to give you enough to become interested—but it doesn't give you the whole story.

Your blog post can work the same way.

Start With the Reader

One of the easiest ways to create a stronger opening is to start with something your reader recognizes.

Ask a question.

Point out a problem.

Describe a situation they've experienced.

Make them think:

"That's me."

Once you've done that, you've earned another few seconds of their attention.

Don't Start With a Long Introduction

We've all seen articles that take several paragraphs before getting to the point.

By then, the reader may already be gone.

You don't need to explain why you're qualified to discuss the subject.

You don't need to tell the reader everything you're going to cover.

Get to the reason they clicked.

Curiosity Is Powerful

A good opening can create a question in the reader's mind.

You don't necessarily have to answer it immediately.

Give them enough information to understand the problem, then lead them toward the answer.

That's what keeps people reading.

Your Title Makes a Promise

The title and opening should work together.

If your title says:

Why Readers Don't Finish What You Write

the opening shouldn't spend three paragraphs discussing the history of blogging.

Start talking about why readers leave.

You've already made a promise with the title.

Keep it.

Write the Opening Last

Here's a trick that can make writing easier:

You don't have to write the opening first.

Write the article.

Figure out what you're really trying to say.

Then come back and write an opening that leads naturally into it.

Sometimes the best opening becomes obvious only after you've written the ending.

Final Thought

You don't have to grab your reader with tricks.

You simply need to give them a reason to stay.

Start with something that matters to them.

Create a little curiosity.

Then deliver what you promised.

The first few sentences open the door. Good writing gives the reader a reason to walk through it.