Step out of your comfort zone and write

What I am about to say is 100% true: The only way to learn and grow is to step wildly out of your comfort zone.

Here’s an example from the life of moi, Ashley R. Cummings.

When I was 22, I moved across the world and lived in beautiful Russia & Belarus for 2 years.

Learning Russian was one of the most cognitively intense things I’ve ever done. I’m talking brain-busting, marathon-running levels of exhaustion on the ol’ noggin.

Suddenly, something I’d been doing my whole life–you know, speaking–was a huge challenge and a barrier to me getting simple messages across.

I was rarely comfortable, a total tear factory, & I said embarrassing things. All. Of. The. Time.

For example, I once passed a note to my friend, Larisa, that I thought said, “I want to sleep" (спать). What it really said was, “I want to take a huge $h!t" (срать). She laughed until she died. And, I learned what the expression “beet red” means.

I also asked a cute old babushka for 4 giant bags of apples when I wanted only 4 single apples. Someone had to come to my rescue before I spent my life savings on apples (time out to say, they must be putting unicorn tears/fairy dust in the apples in Russia because they are delicious).

Another time, I kept a cookie someone gifted me for months because I THOUGHT IT WAS A DECORATION. My same friend asked me why I hadn’t eaten it, and I told her I thought it was a wall decoration. Again, she laughed until she died. (Google “Tula Pryanik” and you tell me that doesn’t look pretty enough to be a decoration.)

When I first got to Russia, people would ask me easy questions. You know, “what’s your name?“ and "How are you?” and “Where are you from?” And I couldn’t understand them. At all. It sounded like they were asking for spy secrets or rocket science equations.

You guys. I’d been studying Russian in an intensive program already for 3 months at this point. And I couldn’t understand “what - is - your - name?”

Blurg.

The process of learning was grueling.

But–I wasn’t about to give up.

So, I read all the books.

I talked to everyone as much as I could no matter how many times I accidentally told people I wanted to crap my pants or something equally embarrassing.

I listened.

I walked around with a dictionary looking up words I heard.

I labeled everything in my house.

I asked people to slow down when talking.

I eavesdropped like a maniac.

I said “I don’t understand” and “please repeat” a million times.

Eventually, I started to understand. I knew what people were saying. I could carry on a conversation. I could answer the easy questions and the hard ones.

I could do things like successfully explain to the plumber that there was a black goo backing up out of my kitchen sink and I needed help.

After all the hard work and a rainforest of tears, I could speak Russian. *Mostly.* I’m obviously still learning.

Why do I tell you this story of language learning in an email about FREELANCE WRITING?!?!?!

Well, learning how to write well has been (is) a similar process for me.

I’ve been writing for 20 years, professionally for 10. I’ve put in the work, but it hasn’t been an easy or comfortable road.

I spent for years in college majoring in English & two in grad school–not majoring in English but writing a ton nonetheless.

I’ve started multiple blogs–most of them have failed. WOOP. GO ME.

I’ve read all the copywriting, freelance writing, creative writing, and theory books and blogs.

Professionally–I started out small. I wrote writing penny-per-word articles on the most boring of topics.

I’ve had the crap edited out of my work for 20 years. I mean, I’ve seen more red marks and requested edits than I can count.

I’ve written some garbage articles, and I’ve written some truly killer articles.

I’ve practiced writing every day for 20+ years.

I’ve also published creative work (angsty poetry) in fun places. I’ve published academic research in Taylor & Francis. My work liters the internet on e-commerce, B2B, SaaS, and marketing blogs.

I’ve made a substantial living by clacking away at the keyboard day in and day out.

This is all to say–

If you spend time staring at a blank screen waiting for the words to come, you go right ahead and call yourself a working writer.

If you get 900 edit requests on a 900-word document, you’re in good company.

If you feel discouraged at any time as you’re trying to improve your writing, it’s 100% normal.

This all means you’re stepping out of your comfort zone, growing, getting better, and moving forward.

There’s always room to grow, but in time, the words will start coming faster. You’ll learn tricks that make it easier to optimize the writing process and engage your audience. You’ll start landing better clients and publishing in ideal places.

You’ll get there.

Keep writing. You sooooo got this!

What does Crime Junkies teach us about writing?

Confession: I'm a crime junkie.

If you peek at my podcast subscriptions, you'll see 95% crime podcasts & 5% writing podcasts.

It probably won't come as a surprise to you that my favorite crime podcast is...

Can you guess?

That's right! Crime Junkie.

I mean, it's everyone's favorite, right?

While I'm certainly fascinated by crime stories, you'll never guess the main reason why Crime Junkie is my favorite:

Ashley Flowers is a master storyteller.

And, writers–especially long-form content writers–can learn so much from her.

It takes a lot of skill to do what Ashley does every week–talk for an hour with the audience hanging on every word.

But Ashley does it.

The Evidence? Crime Junkie occupies a place in the "Top Episodes" spot week after week.

Here's what's particularly interesting about this phenomenon–

Ashley isn't telling new stories.

She is telling the same stories that the crime junkie community has heard a million times.

It's not WHAT she tells us that turns us into loyal fans; it's HOW she tells the stories.

So, what makes Ashley's style so captivating, and what can writers learn from her?

Let's break it down.

1 - Ashley Flowers hooks us with a killer (no pun intended) lede

We don't have to skip 30 seconds ahead to get to the good stuff in a Crime Junkie episode.

Ashley consistently hooks our eager ears from the moment we press play.

Here's an example from a recent episode:

"The story I have today is one that remained unsolved for years, and it very well could have stayed that way if not for one family's relentless pursuit of justice and one detective's keen eye." (From the Janet Aboroa Episode)

This lede makes us immediately want to know how the family relentlessly pursued justice and what the detective saw that other detectives didn't. So, we keep listening.

My writing colleagues at Hashtagpaid are particularly good at writing ledes. Here are some examples.

From Clayton Chambers:

Bah! What, Clayton? What must I know?

From Tiffany Regaudie:

From Laura Leiva:

Why not? What was different than what I expected? Laura makes me read on.

Writers have this responsibility when creating a long-form article: Hook 'em with the first sentence. Say something that makes the audience want to keep reading.

2- Ashley Flowers transports us into the story, speaks conversationally, & appeals to human emotions

When you listen to a Crime Junkie episode, you're part of the story.

Ashley places us smack dab in the middle of events, tells the story as if it's happening RIGHT now, and speaks so conversationally that it feels like we're on the ph0ne with a friend.

Here's an example:

"It's the evening of Wed October 3, 2018, and this woman, Karen Phillips is trying to reach her daughter, 26-yr-old Kierra Coles. She called Kierra that morning but didn't get an answer. And at the time, Karen figured she must have been at the work already for the day. So, she tried again that afternoon but still got no answer. So, she decides to try one more time before she turns in for the night. But even then, still no answer. At the time she is trying not to overreact or fear the worst. Kiera is a grown woman, and surely everything is fine. Maybe she is just out somewhere, forgot to charge her phone, maybe she isn't feeling well and trying to get some sleep-something like that. So when Karen wakes up on Thursday morning, she calls again. And Kierra's phone rolls straight to voicemail."

What can writers learn from a passage like this?

1/Use techniques like present tense and active voice that make it feel like events are happening now and that the reader is part of the story - Ashley says things like "It's the evening of" instead of "Back in 2018, a woman tried to call her daughter." Big difference.

2/Address your audience conversationally - There's no room in any type of storytelling for convoluted language. No matter what kind of content you're writing, write as if you're talking to a friend. Use simple language–even (especially) to explain complex ideas.

3/Appeal to human emotions - Ashley highlights the tiny details that make the story interesting and relatable. She could leave the mother's phone call out of the story entirely, but why would she?!? Humans relate to it. We understand the panic of not being able to reach a loved one. When we hear a mother can't get a hold of her daughter, we worry. We sweat. We emotionally invest in the story.

3- Ashley uses the Rule of 3s

There's a rule in both writing and comedy that says things are funnier and/or more powerful when they come in 3s.

You know, Three men walk into a bar...yadda yadda yadda...

The short psychological explanation? Our brains like a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Threes are more satisfying, punchier, and engaging.

Ashley uses the Rule of 3s often when she tells stories.

Look at the quote above.

You'll notice Ashley mentions three times that Karen tried to get a hold of Kierra. I'm willing to bet Karen called Kierra more like 9,985+ times, but Ashley makes the story stronger by highlighting the three most significant calls.

Want to make your writing better? Start using the Rule of 3s. Ahem...I did this three sentences ago when I said, "Threes are more satisfying (0ne), punchier (two), and engaging (three)."

4- Ashley uses powerful transition phrases

Ashley does something spectacular to keep us on our toes.

She uses several gripping transition phrases throughout her storytelling process.

These phrases propel the story forward and make our ears perk up.

Here's what I mean.

Ashley doesn't say boring shit like:

• And then this happened

• And then her mom called and said, "blahblahblah"

• In a minute, I'm going to tell you what the murderer did

Instead, she says things like:

• And you'll never guess what happened next

• And not even the most trained detective could be prepared for what he was about to see

• And that's when she gets the sinking feeling that something wasn't right

Next time you binge Crime Junkie, listen for the transition phrases.

Writers: Use transition phrases to move your story along and incentivize your readers to keep reading.

Try using some of these transition phrases:

• But, here's the thing

• Let's take a closer look

• And here's the best part

• The reason?

• You'll never guess what happened next :)

• What's more

Write on!

Why should your writer and editor be different people?

Most writers are stellar editors, and editors are great writers. However, if you want content that truly shines, you never want your star writer and final editor to be the same person. Here's why. Stick with me.

Now, I want to tell you about my microwave. My house is mostly put together, but we had an incident a while back where the top-part-thingy (look, I'm not a handywoman--I don't know the technical term) fell off. Since I'm not a handywoman, I did what any sensible person would do.

I taped the top-part-thingy back on. Yes, I taped it back together until I could get it fixed. But, I haven't fixed it. Ever. The tape has become part of my kitchen decor and I don't even notice it.

I bet you have something(s) similar in your house. Maybe it's an orange extension cord running through one of your rooms. Perhaps it's the picture of Elsa your 3-yr-old drew on your wall. Maybe your refrigerator crisper is held together with duct tape.

Whatever it may be--you don't notice it anymore. Even though it's atrocious, it's part of your environment, and your brain skips over it like it's meant to be there. But here's the thing. Your friends notice it. And if they're nice, they'll tell you tape isn't haute couture.

You see where I'm going with this. When your brain is exposed to the same environment over and over, your brain adjusts and accepts things as are. You rarely notice things that are screamingly out of the ordinary--bc it's ordinary to you.

The same thing happens when you write--especially the longer you work on an article. It becomes a part of you. You see the overall narrative--but miss details. So, even if you clearly know the difference between they're/there/their, your brain might miss it.

What you need is someone to come in and say "HOLY CRAP," do you even realize there is an orange extension cord running through your article?!?! Do you?!?! You don't?!?!? Let me take it out for you because it's NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE.

When you're building a content team, hire writers AND editors. Make sure they are different people. The last thing you want to do is invite an audience into the Parade of Homes of articles and have them talking about the corner of the couch your dog chewed up.