Writing

James Cameron’s biggest blunder

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I’m a big fan of Avatar by James Cameron.

The film with the blue people. Not the series about the 4 types of benders, although I love that one as well.

I’ve been a big fan of the first film ever since it released in 2009. I still remember how hyped 9-year-old Alex was after first seeing the film. The whole film was set in such a lively world, the universe was constructed perfectly, and an insane amount of money went into production, mostly toward world-building.

It was mind-blowing how amazing of an experience it was to watch that movie for the first time on the big screen. It truly was a moment I could experience for a second time.

So when the second film Avatar: The Way of Water released late 2022, I just I had to see it. And so I did. It was a good and entertaining film, don’t get me wrong. But it wasn’t a masterpiece.

Far from it.

The visuals were there. The world was, once again, amazing. The music, oh don’t get me started on the music. If you know me, then you already know how much I can geek out over film music. I truly love the music. They did a great job with that.

But it’s the story that felt flat for me. The writing could’ve been a lot better.

And there are a lot of improvements to be made. From pacing to consistency, plotholes, and overall dialogue. But that’s not what I’ll be talking about today.

Let me also add how it wasn’t all bad. There was a lot of good writing as well. Wordbuilding, especially creating a believable world, takes good writing, and they nailed that one.

But the thing that troubles me is this.

You should know that James Cameron made the series into a political commentary.

The argument Cameron makes is how bad greed and consumerism have gotten in today’s day and age, as represented by the humans in the film. And how we should reconnect and live in harmony with nature like the Na’vi are doing.

The human faction wants to destroy everything that lives and breathes on Pandora (the planet where the Na’vi lives) so that they can mine a rare and valuable ore that’s suitably called ‘unobtanium’. And they’re doing all of this purely for profit.

Now. here’s the thing. Consumerism is having an enormous effect on the planet. Animal species are going extinct. Lots of beautiful places on Earth are being destroyed. We aren’t in tune with nature anymore. Most people don’t even blink when they hear that another 1,000 new animal species are now endangered.

There’s nothing wrong there. And many people agree with those statements. It seems like the messaging Cameron made in Avatar should resonate with people—except it didn’t.

And that’s because of the bad writing.

The short story is this: Avatar is propaganda. Let me explain.

Here’s the definition of propaganda: “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.”

James Cameron’s Avatar is highly biased because the problem isn’t being explored well enough.

Let’s look at some examples:

• All humans (except for the 4 main characters or something) are pure evil, don’t have any regard for nature or animal lives and gladly engage in killing and genocide

• All Na’vi are perfect, virtuous, and noble creatures. Nobody does anything wrong and they all work together as one harmonious group in tune with nature and morally superior.

• The only reason humans want the unobtanium is for pure profit and nothing else

James Cameron makes shows his message yes, but he doesn’t explore it. He shows the good things about the Na’vi, and the bad side of the humans. He entirely disregards the bad side of the Na’vi and the good side of the humans.

Imagine these situations:

• The humans still kill and do everything for unobtanium, but instead of doing it for pure profit, they need it to save the Earth or keep their space fleets (and all the people on it) alive

• The Na’vi are still in tune with nature and protect both fauna and flora as good as possible, but they sometimes attack other Na’vi tribes and take prisoners to turn them into slaves

That’s what exploring is. You take an idea and you fully explore both sides. The good and the bad.

Because right now? It’s simply too perfect. The audience can’t relate. People think that when something seems too perfect and has 0 flaws whatsoever, it’s probably fake. And rightly so, that’s what you should think.

This is the audience’s objection to Cameron’s idea. An objection to what he’s trying to sell them. An objection to his offer.

And this isn’t unique to political commentaries or films. This is a true objection to every single offer out there. Even to yours.

How do you solve that objection?

Be honest, be transparent. Your offer probably isn’t for everyone. It won’t magically solve all their problems. So just say so.

Tell people what your product does good and who it’s for, but also routinely mention who shouldn’t buy your offer. What your offer doesn’t help people do and where it potentially lacks a bit.

If you want to sell your offer, then it helps to point out the flaws. After all, nobody buys something that’s trying to come across as perfect.

Something else that helps you if you want to sell your offer, especially if you want to sell it through email, is my Email Valhalla.

I’m not going to tell you what’s so great about it and how you can easily get paid every single day by writing simple emails and keeping your readers engaged.

No. Instead let me tell you who this isn’t for.

This isn’t for you if you don’t like to write. My system relies on writing. I send emails every single day. If you merely tolerate writing and only want to send an email once a week, then this isn’t for you.

It also won’t teach you how to set up email sequences. That’s not what it’s about.

First of all, I don’t use any email sequences myself, not yet at least. I don’t have experience with it, let alone gotten results with sequences. So I won’t act like I know all about it. With that said, you’ll find 0 modules, tips, tricks, or anything else related to email sequences.

This isn’t a one-and-done system. It’s not an “automated cash machine” and “get rich quick” course, a marketing angle other creators like to embrace when it comes to email courses.

No it’s none of that. It’s the most important methods, frameworks, and rules/guidelines of selling through email. It teaches you the fundamentals in a clear and step-by-step manner that I haven’t seen other courses do.

It allows you to make money every single day through writing emails that take you 20 minutes to write, grow your list, keep your readers engaged, and live a free life. No hassle, no “money while you sleep”, no fancy stuff.

If that doesn’t sound like anything for you, then don’t get it.

If it does sound interesting to you, then check it out here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


What are people saying about my book?

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Here’s a review I received shortly after launching my latest self-published non-fiction book on Amazon, The Art of Loving To Write from game developed and owner of Eventide Games Studios, Aaron.

Check it out:

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“My book order arrived yesterday. I ended up finishing it around 50mins. Short and sweet.

Overall, the book achieves its purpose: gives you perspective and advice to make writing easy, fun and meaningful so you'll love doing it and won't want to stop.”

…

“It repeats a lot of the same ideas you have in your emails which bring a repetition element into the picture and lets the idea sink in more. That part I am fan of and it brings a breath of fresh air in a different form.

It also demonstrates and backs [my top-secret and tremendously powerful systems for making high-quality products as fast as possible]. Big brain moves.

I'm happy with the book.”

===

So there you have it.

Short, sweet, and extremely useful (not to mention entertaining).

Just like you’ve come to know my stuff—which on it’s own is a valuable lesson to take home: make sure you develop a signature style over time so people know what to expect from you.

Anyway.

If you’d like to check out The Art of Loving to Write then click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/loving


The biggest mistake when developing your style as a writer

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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


Stop writing so damn much

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There’s this old saying, “less is more”.

It’s especially true for writing.

Why write big and fancy words when simple and short ones will do? Why waste your time writing 500 words when 50 is enough?

The more you leave out, the stronger your writing.

So it is for both product creation and email writing.

Which is what I focus on in my flagship course Email Valhalla; how to write entertaining emails that make sales and keep your readers reading day after day.

Sounds interesting? Click here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


Two-time self-published author doesn’t know how to promote her books

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A question popped up in a self-publishing writer’s community:

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I published my memoir in late January of this year. I was able to get quite a few sales (I was amazed tbh because my previous book I had published barely even sold…).

I’ve been trying my best to promote it this last month because the sales are dropping and I think it’s simply because people have no idea it exists…? But I don’t think I’m catching people’s attention with it.

I published it on Amazon kdp. I can’t pay for ads currently so…am I SOL? I really want my story to be heard

===

Classic case of short-sightedness.

You see it everywhere. People trying to get others to buy their products or services so they start looking for ways to advertise that specific product… only to get a few one-time sales and then struggle to keep that momentum (if they even got any to begin with) going—never actually making a business out of what they’ve got.

Here’s the tl;dr of what I’d suggest to anyone in a similar situation:

• Step 1: Create an email list

• Step 2: Drive people to your opt-in page through content creation

• Step 3: Email them as often as you can about the common interests that connect you and them to whatever you’re selling.

• Step 4: Sit back and relax while growing a business that doesn’t rely on one-time sales because you’re not losing your customers. Instead you’re actively growing your customer list and building a better and tighter relationship with them, guaranteeing more sales (consistently) in the future as long as you keep giving people what they want.

Ain’t nothing complicated to it (and if you think this only works for authors, you couldn’t be more mistaken).

If you’d like a more in-depth view of this process, then check out Email Valhalla to learn all about building, growing, and monetizing your email list.

Click here to check it out: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


CrapGPT who?

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Here’s something I find hilarious:

So-called “writers”, “creators”, or worse, “experts” who rely on CrapGPT to tell them 1) who their target audience is 2) what those people like 3) which topics they should write about.

I’m serious.

Explain to me how you can, without bursting into tears laughing, have the nerve to call yourself a writer, a creator, an expert, a leader, or even a marketer for all I care, and aren’t able to, from your own mind, your own experience, your own creativity (which you don’t need as much of as you might think) come up with ANYTHING to say or write about.

No clue what to write about, what to talk about, what to sell, and who to sell it to.

At this point, I’m convinced these types of people require help to get them out of bed as well in the morning. If it weren’t for their mom waking them up every morning, chances are they might not even realize where they are or what they’re supposed to do.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

And while this focuses on writing, it’s equally applicable to everything else you do from public speaking to music creation and more.

Here goes.

If you write about whatever you’re passionate about, and enjoy whatever it is you’re writing, then chances are whoever reads it will enjoy it as much as you do—if not more.

Vice versa, write stuff that bores you about topics that don’t interest you and whoever reads it will be bored out of their mind as well.

Call it the second law of writingdynamics to make it feel all sciency and shit so you’re more likely to remember it.

Anyway, this begs the question:

How do you “optimize” (I don’t enjoy using this word, but for the lack of a better one, let’s go with this one right now) the enjoyment you have while writing—which you’ll eventually transfer to the reader?

Well, that’s the exact topic of the book I’m currently still working on.

So if you’d like to learn more about that, stay tuned and keep your eyes open for more information about that (which will be sooner than you might expect).

In the meantime, check out Email Valhalla to increase your email writing skills so you can grow you list, sell more products, and build a better relationship with your audience.

Here’s the link: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


What does it mean for something to be “fun”?

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For the past week, I’ve been back on track, writing more than I have been in quite a while.

More specifically, I’ve been working on what will most likely become a physical book, with the preliminary placeholder title of “How to Make Writing Fun, Simple, and Enjoyable (while writing faster than ever before)”.

It’s been a lot of fun, so far (meta, right?).

But the whole premise got me thinking: What does it mean for something to be considered “fun”?

For starters, and contrary to popular belief, if something’s “easy” (that is, entirely without a lack of challenge), then I’ve got it on good authority it ain’t going to be a “fun” experience. There’s simply nothing LESS FUN than boring activities.

This is what many of these “I want to sit on a beach and drink pina coladas all day” types of people miss.

They only say such stuff because they currently aren’t capable of doing so (as humans we tend to want the things we cannot have—such is the cruel way of life). In fact, if they could, chances are they wouldn’t even want to. Maybe you’d enjoy it for a day or two, sure. But after three, four, let alone a full week, you’d be entirely sick of it and you’d crave for some challenge, some excitement in your life, something to dedicate yourself to and actually work on achieving something worthwhile and meaningful (what’s considered meaningful differs from person to person).

But what does this have to do with writing?

You see, if I could hand you a cheat sheet with the exact steps to take, the exact actions to make, and the exact buttons to press (such a cheat sheet doesn’t exist, but let’s assume it does), then writing for you would be the most boring task you could think of.

It’d be monotonous, repetitive, factory-like work which, no matter how much results or how good of an outcome would come of it, none of it would bring you fun, much less true joy.

So, if making the practice “easy” doesn’t do the trick, then what will?

Well, that’s what I’ve been thinking about—intensely. And I finally figured it out.

See, everything that’s fun can be boiled down to 2 ingredients.

And once you know these two it’s easy to inject them into almost every single activity you do (making it so you can turn almost any activity or experience into one that’s as fun as it can get).

Imagine how much more work you’d get done if what you were doing! You wouldn’t even consider it “work” anymore at that point.

So what are those two ingredients?

Well, to figure that out you’ll have to buy my book when it releases.

Until then, why don’t you check out Product Creation Made Easy? I’m using almost the exact same method I teach in there to write (and eventually launch or publish) the book. I say almost, because as with anything, there’s always room for adaptation and improvisation—which I show you how to do in the course as well.

Anyway.

Check it out here: https://alexvandromme.com/product


AI is a poor man’s solution

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If you’re thinking about using AI to aid your writing—that is, to have it write for you, regardless if it’s the entire first draft or just a single sentence—then you’re better off rethinking your life choices.

Now, I don’t say this to be rude.

In fact, I say this to help you as best I can.

See, I say this to help you become a prolific writer, not by making you as productive as you can in the least amount of time, but by making writing such a fun and enjoyable experience for you that you’d do it whether you get paid or not.

So what’s wrong with AI?

Think about it like this:

Let’s say you’re a professional and experienced guitarist. Ever since you can remember you’ve been playing the guitar. You love every single second of it. Whenever you play it feels like heaven on Earth. You can’t get enough of it. It’s your one true passion and your biggest source of pride and accomplishment.

But now it’s time to write a new song, or a whole new album even.

Then suddenly, someone, doesn’t matter who, a friend or someone who you’ve never met at all, comes along and he or she offers to play the guitar in your new album so you have less work to do and can focus on putting out more albums in less time.

Chances are you’re not going to accept that offer—if anything you’re going to politely show them the door while laughing in their face about how stupid of an idea that was.

Not only would the quality and the feel of your work drop drastically (after all, everyone’s “touch” is unique and can’t be replaced, no matter how good someone tries to), let alone the sheer stupidity of outsourcing that which you enjoy doing.

This is what you’re doing by letting AI do the work.

You’re creating sub-par content, which, believe me, people WILL notice. They might not realize exactly what’s going on, but they will feel that something’s different about your work—and not in a good way.

But even more importantly…

You’re not even giving yourself a chance to enjoy and come to love the process!

And for the love of everything that’s holy, don’t listen to the AI shmucks who tell you about how “AI is going to steal our jobs!!” and “You have to learn how to work together with AI or you’ll be left behind!!!!”.

If anything, they’re only projecting their own lack of skill, passion, and creativity onto the market.

Don’t get caught in the same trap as those bottom-of-the-barrel feeders. Stay clear of using AI to replace your writing.

And so it goes for coming to love the writing process.

Anyway, I haven’t finished my “How to make writing fun, easy, and enjoyable (while writing faster than ever before)” book yet. But check out Email Valhalla in the meantime if you want to learn how to write simple emails that keep getting you paid: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

Am I a Dan Koe copycat?

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Many moons ago I received a message from a reader telling me how my writing is “like Dan Koe, but CLEAR!”

That was a sign I was doing at least something right.

Since then my writing has evolved a lot—as everything you do should do if you're actually growing—and it differs immensely from Dan's writing now.

But I still like to look back at this message with a smile on my face.

Partly to stroke my ego.

But more importantly, to see how far I've come in 1) emulating and incorporating ideas from people I admire (or used to admire at the time) and 2) how I evolved and incorporated everything I've learned into my own style, my own writing, my own creations.

Starting out as a "me too" business is a great starting point.

Staying one isn't.

And the best way to “find your voice” is by writing a lot and writing often.

It helps if that writing practice is as fun as it can be—something I’m currently writing a new course about, which you’ll hear more about soon.

As for now.

Learn how to write better emails (ones that sound more like ‘you’) with Email Valhalla.

Check it out here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


How ideas (and offers) come to fruition

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This morning I got up and, as usual, went to my desk, powered on my PC, and started reading through my long list of potential topics and valuable ideas to write today’s email about.

But then, out of nowhere, I remembered a conversation I had last year with a friend and reader of mine (not sure he wants me naming him).

He messaged me—out of the blue—and asked whether I had a course about writing emails.

(I’ll paraphrase this to the best of my ability, since, you know, it’s been a while)

“Uh, yeah I do, that’s kind of my main thing—I’ve got two different ones, actually,” I answered.

“No, no. I mean a course teaching how to do the actual writing,” he replied. “How to get up each morning and put your pen on the paper or your fingers on the keyboard. How to make a daily habit out of it. How to keep it fun and exciting. See, you’re one of the best people I know to talk about this stuff because almost no one writes as much as you do, and definitely not with the same passion and enjoyment as you.”

Now, I wasn’t quite convinced of the idea at the time.

I said it was intriguing and wrote it down on my long list of interesting ideas to think about, but it’s been there ever since and I never gave it another thought.

That’s until today…

The idea came back to me after when in the past 2 weeks a few readers told me they had trouble writing emails and/or content. Some mentioned they didn’t have the time to do so, others said they just didn’t have the inspiration or the discipline to get the job done.

All of this combined made me realize how much I could help by creating a product such as this one.

As for the name, the design, the format, the delivery, the main selling point, or even the chapters of the course itself, I have little to nothing.

All I have is a seed in my mind shouting “How to make writing fun, easy, and enjoyable (while writing faster than ever before)” and I shall water and care for this seed for the next few weeks to see what wonderful exotic plant will come out of it.

In the meantime, if you want to master the art of email marketing or how to grow your own email list and sell your own products, then check out Email Valhalla for more.

Click here to learn more: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla