For some reason - whether that is conscious or unconscious - I’ve never seen a single writer I look up to do this 1 thing:

Sharing their writing from the past & showing us the transformation.

And because being vulnerable is a part of building a trusty audience & and because people learn the best when you show them contrast & examples...

…it’s exactly what I’ll do today.

So...

Say Hi to Claudia from February.

At this point, she has >10 followers on Twitter, and a newsletter with 10 subscribers publishing random issues bi-weekly.

On a random day, she goes and writes this masterpiece (you don’t have to read it - if you do, the damage it will cause you is not my fault. I warned you.)

For no, let’s ignore the grammar errors.

We’ll rather rate the things that COUNT in the world of digital writing.

And to make this even more fun, we’ll add sin points (aka rating how much sh*tty the mistake is).

After finishing this issue, you’ll know the 7 non-negotiables of good writing, and if you apply them, you’ll level up your writing IMMEDIATELY.

Let’s get to it:

Mistake #1: Headline

Every single GOOD headline needs to tell the reader these things:

• WHAT exactly is the piece about

• WHY should people bother to read it

• WHAT makes it different from the ones that have been already written

In my headline, I don’t say what the reader will get. People don’t know whether it’s an actionable guide or a story, and they are too lazy to find out (especially when I don’t give them a strong reason to do so).

Here’s how I’d edit the headline:

1 Simple Technique To Beat Imposter Syndrome & Break Free From Your Limiting Beliefs (I’m Using As A 13-Year Old Writer)

It has the what. It has the why. It has something that makes it DIFFERENT.

Sin points: 3

Onward.

Mistake #2: Big, big, big walls of text.

I’m not Tim Ferris, people will get intimidated by that.

To make this better, I’d do a few things:

1. Cut out the unnecessary fluff (more on that later)

2. Divide the piece into more sections using subheads

3. Turn longer lists into bullet points

And in fact, I could even turn this whole essay into a single tweet. But let’s ignore that for now.

Remember this 1 hard truth in an online world:

People scroll more than they read.

People judge a book by its cover. If your writing is long, in big chunks of text, using the same formatting river and over again, they’ll think it’s boring and move on.

But if you apply the rules listed above, that won’t be the case.

In other words:

Simplify, simplify, simplify.

Sin points: 3

Mistake #3 Just me, myself, and I

Among the 300 words I’ve written here, I’ve used the word “You” and “your” only 2 times.

Almost every sentence starts with “I”.

Cliché alert:

Nobody cares about YOU. People care about what YOU can DO, for THEM.

Using the words You and Your is one of the most too-good-to-be-true hacks out there.

It does a few important things:

• It deepens the relationship with the reader

• It will make the reader feel less like he’s reading an article, and more like he’s talking to a friend

• It helps the reader remember the article better

So, you, my friend, use these 2 magic words more.

Sin points: 5

Mistake #4 Too much fluff

The amount of filler words I’m using makes me wanna throw up.

When you overuse them, the message you’re trying to provide in your writing gets messed up.

But how can you spot them?

A good rule of thumb is: Whenever you read a sentence, ask yourself: “Will removing the word change any way this message is understood?” If the answer is no, delete it.

Here are some more tips to get rid of filler words:

• avoid adverbs - you don’t need to abandon them altogether, but 90% of time you don’t need them

• for the word “that” applies the same rule

• fillers like “now, so, like, you know”

• use more contractions - don’t > do not

Sin points: 8

Mistake #5: Bad rhythm

When people read, they speak in their heads.

Your writing has to sing. It has to create a good melody in their minds. Otherwise, people will switch to Tiktok or that random Mr. best YouTube video.

In my piece, almost all sentences have the same length. When you read it, it sounds too monotonous & boring.

Instead, you should vary the length:

Combine shorter & longer paragraphs.

A few one-liners. Then a longer paragraph.

One-liners to hold attention & build up the tension.

Long paragraphs to explain things & release the tension.

It’s music, so play with it.

Sin points: 3

Mistake #6: Too boring

The introduction of this piece is wayyyyy too boring.

Hundreds of other people would have started an article about impostor syndrome this way.

As a writer, you need to master the art of surprise.

You gotta be a little bit unexpected.

There isn’t a direct tip you could apply to do this - you just need to break your limiting beliefs.

There’s no any set way to start talking about a topic - so create your own.

Sin point: 1

Mistake #7: No personality

My articles from the past are dry.

They look like a robot has written them. From the post above, nobody can tell about my values, my voice, my personality, or anything like that.

The tip, to “add your personality” is annoying and I guess you hate to hear it - but it is fucking important.

People just overthink it way too much. Once you write your first 100 posts, you’ll discover what makes your writing your writing.

Remember:

It’s not about “finding” your voice. It’s about creating it. And this one, my friend, takes time.

So to drive the last point home:

Write. Write a lot.

Sin points: 3

Total sin points: 26

Now I will let you paint the picture of whether it is good or bad.

That’s not the main thing. The main this is that I’ve made progress and that this issue helps you do the same.

That’s it for today.

Talk soon,

— Claudia “Fighting Imposter Syndrome” Stellner

P.S.: Don't forget to catch some sunlight today ;)

P.S.S.: Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Join my free community for accountability & friendly chat (170+ writers)

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