Hey!
First off, awesome profile picture: I love One Piece.
Secondly, I’m not sure that what works for me would work for everyone else. It sounds maybe like you’re trying to write. I think maybe just try and say what you have to say, as in express rather than impress. And then just work, outside of your writing, on coming up with stand alone analogies. Once you’re ready to weave them in naturally it’ll happen on its own.
Anyways, this is my approach: I wish I had gotten this question a couple of weeks from now, since I have a post on what I consider to be the most essential aspect that I’ll be submitting for publication tomorrow. The most important thing to do is to read the work of genius authors. If I can’t spend at least an hour reading something by a master the day before, I won’t write the next day. Right now, I’m reading “The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson” and “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. This is very deliberate. Emerson is a genius, non-fiction writer; I am a non-fiction writer. Tolstoy paints vivid pictures of human psychology; I write on psychology. I feed myself genius everyday, and my writing is all the better because of it. And by genius I mean dead authors! Sure, there are some genius authors alive and writing now, but they’re the 1%. The classics are 99% genius, and 1% not.
I only write in the mornings because it’s when I’m most awake. When I had a different schedule and would nap during the day, I’d only write at night; it’s when I felt most creative. You should figure out when is your best time.
I never write when I don’t feel like it. If you don’t love, don’t do it. Chances are, unless you’ve gotten really good at writing on a process or are big into research, if your hearts not in it, it won’t be any good. Having said this, I almost never don’t feel like writing, especially since I only limit it to certain hours of the day. Maybe not everyone is the same in this regard.
It took me years and years of writing before I felt like, wow, I’ve actually gotten decent at this. Well, that’s not true: When I first started I thought I was God’s gift to the world, but I really sucked. It took a long time for me to be honest with myself and then actually demonstrate some real talent. If you practice a lot, you will get better, but it will take time. I think the most important thing for anyone pursuing a dream is to remember this quote by Bill Gates: “Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years.” A year sounds like a long time, but it’s 5 or 10 that you need to be looking at. That’s why you have to do what you love; you’ll never put up with it for that long otherwise.
The key to good non-fiction writing, and I’d recommend reading “Self-Reliance” (an essay by Emerson) to have this same message said in a better way is this: Remember that everyone is exactly the same as you. Any experience of heartbreak or insecurity, or sadness or courage, or wanting or fear, or any other aspect of that stuff of life, if you share that and how it made you feel, it will resonate with others. I’d play with trying to sound pretty in your personal writings, or putting in a little bit here and there, but for the most part, I would just say what I really feel as plainly and undramatized as possible. It often takes a long time before we can say something beautifully, but we can something beautiful right now.
As for Medium, if you want more people to read your posts, I’d recommend reading this:
I hope this proves helpful! If you have any more questions, I’d be happy to answer them. All the best!
