Crafting better stories.
// The Introduction
18 months ago, I started writing with an aspiration to make it to the following week - the only goal was to write something and make sure it was published before the following Tuesday to ‘hit’ a mark.
I wanted to be consistent and I wanted to deliver to the handful of people who supported me - even now, I set myself a goal of writing for those handful of people and I continue to deliver on what I’ve promised.
I was also writing in the same style I would have always done - short, to the point and ‘snackable’.
Snackable content is easily achievable - it’s the short form, separate lines, quick to read content which dominates on social media - I naively thought that it would easily translate into ‘long-form’ content if I just wrote a bit more and with less lines but thats not the case. Telling stories which matter and which have a coherent and structured writing style is much harder than just writing a bit more and it’s something I’ve learned over the last 12 months.
The last 18 months have been pivotal for me - I’ve really noticed how my writing has led to a clearer thought process, how I’ve managed to connect with other people through my writing and how that’s inspired a whole different audience for myself.
I have previously had no problem connecting with people through social media - generating cool looking design work will often allow you to get some admirers but it definitely repels anyone who want’s to ‘think’ about your content - I wasn’t attracting the ‘thinking’ people, the people who want to really digest my content, discuss it and understand how, on a human level, it affects them but my writing has unlocked that perspective.
I want to share with you how my writing over the last 18 months has improved - how it’s evolved and what processes and lessons I’ve learned so it can help you.
// A Clearer Voice
Despite writing for the last 18 months, I’ve only really found my voice in the last 12 months - The Clique has gone through a process of refinement (as have I) and it’s allowed me to become more confident in how I structure my writing.
This sounds mental and honestly, when I first started writing I would have laughed at you and told you that you’re crazy but I can genuinely point to my newsletter and blog and say that it’s made me a better writer and a better storyteller.
The process of evolving wasn’t straightforward either - it’s why you can start now and when you actually have readers who pay attention, it will have already gone through that process of finding your voice.
I must admit that I started from a place where I had a ‘writing style’ - I have always had a conversational tone in my writing, I’ve honed that through commenting on people’s social media and always being in my own voice.
Whenever I comment on social media - I write exactly how I talk, whether thats a short comedic quip or a longer, more insightful comment - I do just let the words fall out onto the screen in the same way that I’d speak them.
Whenever I get feedback on my writing, I always hear the same thing - I know it’s you writing because it ‘sounds’ like you - which I guess is a compliment because I wouldn’t want my writing to sound like anyone else?!
So finding my voice wasn’t really a difficult thing to do but refining that and applying it to longer form content was a hard thing to do.
The easiest and most honest feedback I can give you so that you can find your voice is to do one thing - type how you speak. Again (and I’m sure I’ll say this again in a minute) - it sounds super simple to do but when you’re about to type something - say it out loud first and if it doesn’t ‘sound’ like you would speak - don’t type it.
// Depth
One of the first blogs which resonated was 12 months ago and I really f*cking enjoyed writing it - it was an article I wrote about a concert I attended at the Hammersmith Apollo and how I felt connected to everyone in the room without really knowing anyone.
The story of that concert was told by me, in my voice and it really hit home (the article) - I was proud of that piece of writing.
The difference between that piece of writing and the writing before it was that I wove in a personal story at the start - the depth of the story and the foundations of why the concert mattered was set out clearly and it allowed me to focus on the emotional resonance and the human centered narrative.
This was a turning point in my writing - people who read the article actually responded and came back to me to tell me how good it was.
I don’t want this to turn into a self-congratulatory extract for me as I know you’ll likely roll your eyes and flick that thumb up your screen to close the window and go about your day but the writing I stumbled upon meant I wasn’t writing any old guff which could have been written by anyone, it was written by me and I was sharing how the unique backstory and the unique perspective of how that concert meant something actually unlocked a different experience than those who attended with me.
If you’re wanting to add depth to your own storytelling then you have to focus on those things - the way something made you feel, the experience you had which could have been relatable to anyone or how you’d react in a particular situation because by doing that, you’re adding your own perspective.
I did it in this small paragraph - I wrote how if I was reading this extract, I would have swiped my thumb up and clearly closed the article because I was starting to hear a narrative of ‘how good am I’ at this writing stuff and I don’t want you to think that - so I called it out.
It’s about bringing forward your own thoughts, feelings and experiences and relating them to the article.
Every article I write now has an element of depth because I try to find a feeling, an experience or a personal reason for every article and weave that through the narrative of the article.
// Honing it
It’s at this point that I should feel like I should call out the ‘elephant in the room’ and tell you that despite some of my articles feeling like they are planned - they are sometimes written with very little preparation or thought. (You thought I was going to mention ChatGPT but that’s further down the article)
Wait? What?
Yep - most of my writing is written on the fly.
I can’t therefore tell you about a formal structure, a strict process I follow or a planning process on how I refine my editing, enhance my storytelling or improve my flow by using a special method.
The only method I use is one of ‘just do it’.
I always show up and I always write - this is nearly always at 4:45-6am on the Tuesday morning that you’re reading the article because I always leave it late. That’s entirely intentional because creativity will always flourish with a strict boundary - restrictions and tight timeframes will always conjure up a creative result and my writing is no different.
On a side note - I am genuinely writing this part of my article at 5:41am on a Tuesday morning and I am in a flow state.
I tend to always start my writing by trying to explain how I got to the idea of my article - the premise behind it and what triggered the thought process behind the article - it’s how I like to write and then I try to ‘map’ out a rough structure - writing down some heading titles which give me a structured view of the article as I begin writing it.
For example, I wanted to write this section as an homage to a ‘process’ - the idea behind the ‘Honing It’ title was one of outlining the specific techniques I use to continually improve my writing but when I got to it, it felt dishonest as I just write.
One thing I almost never do once I’ve clicked ‘Publish’ is re-read an article - it’s written and it’s done.
I don’t over analyse what I’ve written as I can be super critical of my own work and I don’t want to spoil the enjoyable process of writing.
If you came here looking for a structure - there isn’t one but what I can say is that allowing yourself to work under a theory of ‘heading’s will give you a limitation and I use those headings as a tool to enhance creativity - not a limitation on what I can write. Those headings will (and almost definitely do) change over the course of an article as I learn to refine the message as I write.
// Consistent Practice
I don’t know if it’s just because it doesn’t happen (but I’d welcome it if it did) but I’ve very rarely had negative feedback on my articles - I don’t really track the metrics behind each article and I know I probably should as it would give me insights into the performance of each one (mental note - I will do that and create an article or written piece around it).
The feedback has generally been good - I haven’t had to refine my work based on any criticism as my style of writing is ‘idea’ based or ‘experience’ based writing - where my mind is going with this is that whilst I write from my own experience, I don’t really get any abuse or kick back online.
I know other writers (JJ, looking at you kid) who have had social media comments, posts made about them and it’s been divisive for them but I don’t know whether that’s because of the subject matter or the audience?
I do have a feedback loop but it’s mainly from peers who I look up to and who I admire for their own consistency and I guess the fact that I write and then publish regularly allows me to see my improvements over a longer period.
I don’t see my writing as a short term gain thing - it’s far from it. My mindset when I wake up at 4:45 on a Tuesday morning is not centred around the people I am writing for - it’s around the self improvement piece of doing something with enough regularity that I will improve myself over time.
There is no short term gain to brushing your teeth every day - it’s only noticeable over a longer and more consistent period.
Thats what I aim for every week when I’m writing these little extracts from my life - I want to be there next week, and the week after.. it’s about improving incrementally over a longer period rather than a quick fix in writing.
// Finding a Purpose.
My storytelling and my writing has a purpose. I want to now be a better writer.
I am motivated every single week to create something worth reading and whether that inspires creativity, builds a community around my writing or gets me an email acknowledgement from a reader - its that purpose that guides me to write every week.
The problem with using ChatGPT to shortcut any blog is that it takes away your core identity and strips out the value you possess in your own personal storytelling journey. I very rarely use ChatGPT to write any part of my articles - I find that when I ask my little AI friend for suggestions on what I should write or how I should write something, it falls back into ‘corporate’ mode and want’s to please it’s company masters - it want’s my writing to sound like an email.
These extracts of writing from my life are not emails, they are effectively long form diary entries with context. They mean something to me and without that meaning, you’d be reading them thinking they were written by a soul-less human.
You’ll notice that I wrote ‘very rarely’ because in my day job, I use ChatGPT an awful lot - it helps refine and explain my ideas and it lays out my writing in a corporate way but that doesn’t work when you write something personal.
I have experimented with using ChatGPT to come up with ideas and those notes are still stored on my phone as backup ideas to the backup ideas - the formulaic ‘how to get more sales from content’ articles will come when I run out of life experiences to share with you.
The thing that separates my writing from ChatGPT is me.
I want to keep it that way.
// Conclusion - Your Path
Eighteen months ago, I set out on a journey to write consistently, aiming to publish something, anything, every week.
What started as a simple commitment to consistently write has quickly evolved into something deeper, as I’ve continually learned the nuances of storytelling, depth, and connecting on a human level.
My snackable, surface-level content has its place, but writing that resonates with stories that matter definitely needs a more personal approach. A human touch.
Over time, I’ve found my voice and started telling stories with more depth, sharing moments and emotions that truly connected. This process doesn’t follow a strict plan, I don’t write with any grand structure and you’re certainly not going to be buying my ‘how to write a newsletter’ course in a few months..
Everything has grown from simply showing up each week and allowing creativity to flow within tight timeframes.
Writing has become a process of self-discovery, showing me the power of continuous, consistent practice.
The journey has been about refining, experimenting, and embracing that there’s always room to grow.
In writing and in life, improvement is gradual, not an instant win, but a long-term commitment.
If there’s one takeaway from my experience, it’s this: don’t look for shortcuts.
Embrace the process, push yourself, and keep experimenting.
Whether you're just starting out or deep into your own journey, there’s always more to learn and room to grow.
So, keep honing your craft, telling stories that reflect who you are, and sharing pieces of yourself that only you can bring to life.
(Oh, and I’m conscious my last 8 lines were written as short, snackable sentences - thats the irony - ChatGPT can never deliver on irony and would never be able to deliver something as an inside joke - never use it)