How to write anything, really well

I’ve got good news.

Writing anything is way easier than you think.

You don’t need to have perfect grammar. Or perfect ideas. Or a perfect concept.

You just need to start.

And everyone starts with one thing. The dreaded first draft. 

First drafts used to terrify me. As I sit here writing mine, I’m cool as a cucumber.

Let me show you why.

But first, let’s get the most important thing out of the way.

How to start.

Start with a punchy headline.

This is the most important part of your writing.

It needs to punch you in the face.

It needs to be so juicy, so downright seductive, that your reader can’t resist it.

Vomit your first draft out.

And I do mean vomit.

Write everything. The uhs. The ums. Sentences that don’t make sense. Sentences that do make sense. The sentences that you’ll think about later and ask yourself why you wrote it. Every thought. Everything that comes across your mind.

Just write it.

Write write write.

There, you did it. That’s your first draft. Congratulations. That wasn’t so hard, right?

Do something else. Anything else.

This is the easy part.

You see, your brain is smart. Even when you’re not working on something, it still is.

You ever spend some time in the shower and come up with a brand new perspective on your biggest problem? Out of the blue? That’s not a coincidence. Your brain is idly thinking about that, and coming up with solutions.

That’s why we’re going to step away from this little piece of writing. 

We need to let the word flavors get to know each other and marinate.

Don’t worry, we’ll be back.

Hack and slash edit.

Okay, we’re back.

Time to be merciless.

Take your words, and paste them into Hemingway App. Aim for a fifth grade reading level. Cut your word count in half, and then in half again. Shorten sentences. Combine thoughts. Remove fluff. 

Make that copy clear, concise, and focused.

Remove passive voice. Use power words.

You’re almost ready.

Write 25 of your headlines and pick the best one.

Your first headline probably sucks by now.

We’ll need a new one.

Write 25 of them. Just do it. Mix the wording up, try different things. Most will suck. Actually, they’ll all suck. Except the last one.

If that one still sucks, take your 25 headlines and ask a friend which one is the best. Pick that one.

And hit publish.

Congratulations. You did it. You wrote something beautiful.