Remove These 5 Things To Make Your Writing Magical

Resonate with readers by making these 5 changes

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35% of your readers leave within the first 30 seconds.

It stings, doesn’t it? I’ve been there. My first six months of writing felt like trying to selling ice cream on a freezing day—no one was interested. But then, something shifted. I started removing a few things.

And like a wave, growth followed. Suddenly, people were eager for my words. Over 7000 subscribed to my weekly newsletter.

If it worked for me, think about what it could do for you.

Take these 5 things out of your writing, and watch the magic unfold.

1. Meh sentences

If you want people to love your writing. It needs to pop off the page.

Don’t fill the page with flat sentences. Words lacking colour or vibrancy dull your writing.

Which sentence do you prefer A or B?

A: start with a good sentence

B: start with a nuclear bomb

A: 3 writing tactics to engage your readers

B: 3 writing tactics to intoxicate your readers

See how B packs a punch.

It slaps the reader in the face and says listen to this. Inject your words with steroids. Fire up the imagination. Use visual imagery. Metaphors are so underrated. It’s an easy way to add fizz to your writing

2. Boring platitudes

Fresh insights delight readers. So stop serving stale platitudes.

You want readers salivating over your tasty content. No one gets excited reading yet another cliche. Share your experience and stop copying others. Before you hit send on that cliche. Turn it into something no one has said before.

I was coaching a writer last night who was struggling to stand out. Her niche is living longer. Sooo beige. But then I identified she loves Italy. Takes people to the Sardinan blue zone. And all her advice is Italian-based.

Her niche is now: Live longer the Italian way

Spice up a platitude by rewriting it:

Actions speak louder than words

What you do screams louder than what you say

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

Growth lives on the other side of surviving hard things

Follow your dreams

Let your vision lead you, even when it feels far off

3. Close that gap

Your writing is cursed.

The curse of knowledge is a thinking bias where people, once they know something, struggle to imagine not knowing it. This makes it hard to explain ideas. And causes a reader-writer gap.

A writer lectures from the top of mountain. But forgets what it’s like to be standing at the bottom. Overcome this disconnect with simple clear sentences. And give specific examples. Analogies or stories make abstract ideas tangible.

Think about your readers not just your ideas.

• How are they feeling?

• What are they thinking?

• What’s their main challenge

Then write to help them. Empathise with where they are. Be their cheerleader.

4. Mechanical writing

People follow people more than they follow words.

So stop hiding. Reveal your failures. Share your embarrassing emotions. Leak into your writing. But don’t overshare and make it about you. Show your scars, not your wounds.

Follow this strategy to make your writing dynamite:

• Find an idea

• Try it out

• Share the results.

This works for any niche.

Fitness, parenting, or mental health. Be their guide. They want to listen to someone who has been there. But has found a way to move forward. Tell your transformation story.

Being real makes you irresistible. It energizes your writing. The ideas are alive in you. And this leaks into your writing. Your insights from 5 years ago feel insipid. They lack vitality.

Loosen up and show yourself.

5. Stop preaching and start guiding

Readers are desperate for transformation.

They’re struggling with life. And want stuff that works. You fail your reader when you tell them what to do. But not how. Think deeply about the challenges they have. Nail the real problem. Then give a workable solution.

Take productivity. You write: ignore social media and focus on your work. Do people know this? Yes. Do they do it? No.

So don’t offer some banal advice — switch off your notifications. Show them how to do this. Share what’s worked for you.

Remove these 5 things from your writing. And something special will happen.

Derek

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