On Writing Well

Yet it’s also the most overlooked, often thought of as “unhelpful”, and sadly not even considered to be “good advice” by most people.

Sucks to be them I’d say because there truly isn’t a better way to become a better writer—or a better anything for that matter.

See, this piece of writing advice isn’t just applicable to becoming a better writer.

No, no.

It’s applicable to every single thing you’ve ever done, everything you do, and everything else you will do in both the near and distant future alike.

This is the closest to a “Theory of everything” we’ll ever get.

Now, that I’ve got the preliminary pieces of warning out of the way, it’s finally time to share with you the best piece of advice you could ever get which, once again, can be applied to everything you can ever think of.

Yet, it’ll also be the most obvious and boring thing you’ll ever hear me say—probably to the point where many people will dismiss it altogether, only to go chasing newer, shinier, and cooler (yet a whole lot less effective) ways of improving at their craft; only to end up asking themselves why they’re barely making any progress after putting in, what they claim to be, "tons and tons” of effort.

The golden piece of advice?

Here it is, exactly as it was written in the gem of a book, “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser:

“You learn to write by writing. It’s a truism, but what makes it a truism is that it’s true. The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis.”

I told you it was boring.

Yet I’ve never heard better advice than this, nor do I think I’ll ever hear something better in the future.

But so it goes for everything else you do in life.

For example.

It’s been the exact same for me recently when I got into the world of creating and running ads online.

My first ad was shit. My second one was shit. And my third one was shyte.

But the fourth one?

Also shit.

It wasn’t until I got enough practice in. Learned what makes people click, what makes an ad demand attention, how to get people to finish reading the ad, click through on the offer, match the landing page to the ad, make sure there’s enough hurdles for the customer to jump through (to pre-qualify them so you don’t end up wasting more money than necessary), but at the same time limit the amount of hurdles so you don’t scare away the good customers, and much much more.

Sure I devoured everything I could get my hands on when it came to creating ads.

But none of it would’ve mattered if I didn’t get my hands dirty and experimented dozens of ads to compare what worked (and what didn’t).

True knowledge can only ever come from practical hands-on experience.

Which is why I’m putting a heavy emphasis on practical experimentation in my upcoming course all about how to successfully run ads that get you paid, while making sure those “practice ads” remain as cheap as possible so you’re not punished simply because you want to learn.

But more about my course in the future.

For now, if you’d like to learn how to write daily emails that get you paid and keep your readers reading day after day, a practice that’s invaluable if you combine it with the power of running online ads to sell your products and grow your list at the same time, then consider checking out my flagship course Email Valhalla.

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

If you’ve ever seen Pirates of the Caribbean (which you should—shame on you if you haven’t), then you came across a wonderful quote (one of many) by Captain Barbossa when Elizabeth Swann demanded him to release her (and bring her back to shore).

The famous quote goes as follows:

“The code is more of what you call guidelines than actual rules.”

In case you truly haven’t seen the film, the [Pirate] code refers to a set of ‘rules’ every pirate is expected to uphold, no matter how foul, devious, or unethical their plans or desires are.

After all, a society without rules is nothing but pure chaos—even one ruled by pirates, rule breakers, and miscreants.

Now, I’m no pirate. And I’m guessing you aren’t either.

So what does this have to do with either of us?

Well, the same principle of the pirate code being more guidelines than actual rules applies to almost everything we do.

As a beginner learning a new skill, you’ll be taught to adhere to and follow certain rules. Rules such as “Always follow the rule of one” for persuasive writing, “Show, don’t tell” for storytelling, or even the instrument pallet you should use to evoke certain emotions while creating music.

All of these serve a purpose, they will help you develop your skills and ability.

But as you grow, you’ll start to realize that every single rule you’ve been taught, isn’t really a “rule” as much as it is a “guideline”.

Many great copywriters have broken the rule of one on occasion.

Many great authors bombarded their readers with exposition being told to them instead of it being shown.

Many world-class composers have completely gone against common expectations when it came to instrument choice for certain musical styles—just look at Hans Zimmer using the organ as a device for the science fiction hit Interstellar.

William Zinsser said it best when he wrote, “Writing is no respecter of blueprints” in his book "On Writing Well” (a must-read).

And so it goes for email marketing as well.

While I do focus on teaching you a few basic “rules” to keep in mind in my flagship offer, Email Valhalla, I’ll also show you when to apply these and, more importantly, when not to apply them—after all, they’re only guidelines.

Click this link to find out more: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

One of the best books about writing I’ve read has to be “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser.

One of the chapters, for example, talks about the mistake many new (and sometimes even veteran) writers make regarding their writing style.

They try to write in such a way people instantly recognize their writing.

But what’ll end up happening is that these writers will artificially inflate their texts, add meaningless words, sentences, and even entire paragraphs which not only confuse the reader but also end up boring him.

They throw out the fundamentals of clear and simple writing (if they’ve even learned it in the first place) all to chase some imaginary goal of “building a style”.

First of all, you don’t build a style, you develop it through many, many years of writing. Writing for which the author had to work for, sweat for, and sometimes even bleed for.

Ask any experienced writer about their first experiences with getting a 10-page first draft of some project down to 5 pages—only to have to reduce it down again to 3 pages the following week.

It’s hard and painful work. Often, it even seems impossible.

But that’s the only way for an author to learn how to actually improve their writing.

Then, and only then, when they mastered the fundamentals of clear and simple writing, can the author truly focus on adding their personality, their beliefs, and their “voice” into the words.

Nobody becomes a best-selling author overnight.

Not even best-selling authors.

Will it take a long time? Undoubtedly.

Is it worth it? Well, that’s for you to decide.

I know it is for me.

Even more.

I’ve developed a whole system to make writing just a bit easier, a bit simpler, and a bit more fulfilling, in other words, a system to truly come to love the art of writing as a whole so you’re not forced to bleed behind the typewriter (or whatever modern replacement you’re using).

If you’d like to learn more about my system then check out the following link: https://alexvandromme.com/loving