6 Things Mamma Never Taught Me about Writing

Eric Pangburn is a freelance writer focusing on helping others through Snitch Blogger. 

We all owe our mammas a ton, but most don’t teach everything.  Most of us, if you are like me, learn a lot of what we learn on the street.  What we know about life, relationships, and even writing comes from several different sources.  Following are 6 things mamma never taught me about writing.

Curves are Sexy

We all admire curves.  They make things exciting.  Going fast around the curves in a road, admiring the curves on a beautiful person, and holding on tight for the twists and turns in a great story are all great examples.  Curves take you in a new, often unexpected direction, and the human race as a whole thrives on that.  Embrace that in writing and your audience will adore you. 

Never Assume

Do not make the mistake of assuming anything about your audience.  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!  It can be easy to think you have written about a topic too much or not enough, or that you need to shake things up a bit.  You might, but wait on clues from your readers.  Has traffic slowed, are comments few and far between, or are you getting complaints?  If not, it is probably safe to say you are okay.  By the same token, it is fine to throw them something new now and then.   They’ll let you know what they think if by no other means than a drop in traffic.  Follow their lead and don’t assume anything.

Sometimes, when we are lonely, we may fall prey to the wrong thoughts of people who like to harm others. 

This relates to reader feedback.  If you haven’t had any for a while you may be feeling a little “reader lonely.”  Then, when you do get feedback and it is negative, it can be easy to take it way too seriously and personally.  Don’t do it, no matter how tempting.  Just take it for what it is, make adjustments if necessary, and move on.

There is no disagreement that was ever resolved by sleeping on the couch.

If your readers are giving you the “silent treatment,” the worst thing you can do is sleep on the proverbial couch and stop writing.  Work harder, reach out to them, and find out what they are looking for.  Write something new and exciting, and spice things up a bit, but do not give up and go sleep on the couch.  Do not ignore them, romance them.

Being with someone doesn’t require losing yourself. 

Pleasing your readers doesn’t mean selling out.  If you have to change to please your audience, you are reaching the wrong audience.  Be yourself, and the readers you want will come. Either they will read for what you have to offer all on your own, or they are in the wrong place.

Sometimes you need time to warm up.

Anyone who has ever been successful at writing online knows that success, as measured in terms of audience and traffic, doesn’t come overnight.  You have to warm up, get a feel for what you are doing, and then get the readers there.  It will be slow at first, but the warmer you get the easier it will come.

These are common issues that are rarely taught formerly when it comes to writing.  Hopefully these tips will help fill in the gaps.

 

Matt Brennan is a Chicago-area marketing writer and copy editor. He is also the author of Write Right-Sell Now.