Sorry But Writing From Your Heart Won't Cut it (How to spice things up)
“You should write from your heart.”
This was one of the comments when I posted a Substack Note sharing tactical tips for writing this week.
That comment got me thinking…
Yes, writing from your heart is the foundation, the DNA of writing, the ground zero.
Everything we create, whether an article, a book, or a simple post, must come, first and foremost, from a place of authenticity and passion: our heart.
In 2023 alone, I wrote over 300 articles on Medium and ran 2,144 km, according to Strava. Trust me, when it comes to putting your heart into things, I know a thing or two.
The uncomfortable question is,
Is writing from your heart enough?
Is that the magic formula to win the readers’ hearts?
Warning: if you are a writer, this is going to get spicy…
Most writers actually do write from their hearts and put their souls into their work.
Every day, I see the effort people put into nurturing a community around topics that matter to them: hobbies, parenting, entrepreneurship…
As the founder of A Smiling World, a Medium Publication with over 250 writers, I feel the love that goes into every article submitted. Yet sadly, a vast majority of those end up in an empty theater, shared to the void.
Why is that?
The writing world is a mystery:
Sometimes, you spend hours crafting a well-researched article that gets zero traction, while others, a random post written from your phone steals the show and goes viral.
Whenever I receive an article submission, I honestly have no idea which ones are going to win the readers’ hearts.
What I do know for sure is which ones will flop. And it’s not due to poor writing, lack of skills, or a lack of passion. It’s about something entirely different…
Most writers love writing, turning the chaos of thoughts into stories and giving their imagination free rein. That’s the beauty of writing, after all: the art, the magic, the alchemy of words.
What most writers don’t love, though, is the tedious but necessary job behind the scenes: the packaging, formatting, editing, polishing, and meticulous wrapping to make the writing irresistible. Writers dread it because it takes us away from the essence of writing and playing.
But just like cooking, writing is not just about what you create but how you present it.
Below are 4 magic ingredients that will help season your writing and a little spice…🌶️
1. Obsessing over the title
Your writing wins you fans but your title wins readers.
It’s estimated that 83% of readers don’t read past the title, so you need a killer title and not a title killer.
Titles must be strong and punchy, and you want people to feel something when they read yours.
What emotion do you want to trigger? curiosity, inspiration, confidence, WOW, pressure, discomfort…
Make sure you use power words to evoke those feelings without becoming clickbait.
2. Becoming a Maître of formatting
Humans are visual creatures and love things that look attractive. We like icing on cupcakes and gifts wrapped in beautiful paper, and yes, we will judge a book by its cover.
Formatting is the outfit of your writing, and it must fit the occasion: a casual jumper for social media, a little black dress for your formal article, or a nightgown for your debut novel.
Just like in the world of fashion, every accessory matters and is curated to perfection.
Don’t let your formatting become an afterthought. Add some sprinkles to make your writing croissant-irresistible 🥐
Visual breaks
White space
Separators
Subtitles
Listicles
Fonts
Use the power of formatting and write, aka dress to impress!
3. Trim the grass (editing)
When it comes to writing, less is more.
Like a good perfume, the magic is in the essence, and you only need a few drops to leave a long-lasting scent even after you have left the room.
Write from your heart, edit with your brain.
My editing is merciless. I cut around 10% of words, remove repetitions, simplify ideas, and eliminate the fluff.
Focus on persuasive writing by removing words that dilute its force, especially adverbs: really, actually, honestly, very…
I use the CSR approach to audit my work:
Clarity: is the idea clear?
Specifism: is the message specific?
Relevance: does it add value to the story?
If it doesn’t tick the three boxes, the (literary) guillotine is out.
4. Doubling down on SEO
“I love customizing my SEO settings,”
Said no writer ever.
SEO is that annoying speaker at a conference who is keeping you from going to the lunch break or, in this case, from publishing your article. Right when you are about to press “Send,” you remember SEO exists... Ahhhh!!!!
SEO matters. A lot. It’s how Google presents your work to the world (or doesn’t).
If you don’t customize your SEO and social settings, the platforms will do it by default. Be smart and highlight the keywords that will attract your readers and use the CRS approach above (clear, specific, relevant).
This is how I updated my SEO and social settings for the article you are reading.
Was this article written from the heart?
You will have to take my word for it. I spent hours on it, tried to put myself in your shoes and feel your pain points, showed you my backstage and put everything for FREE so that everyone can enjoy it.
But there was much more that went into it:
- Editing
- Formatting
- Creating assets
- Customizing SEO
- Trimming the grass
- Adding some spice
- Seasoning the words
- Sparking the article
And that, together with authenticity and passion, is what writing from the heart really means ❤️
Lemons & Lemonade 🌳🍋
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Based on my experience growing a community of 20K (LinkedIn, Medium, Substack) and publishing 3 books.
This was really helpful! Adjusting SEO is something that I will look into!
Hey Veronica! I stumbled upon you through notes...and I would absolutely agree! I hated editing for a long time haha! It felt really icky and gave me nightmares of removing the soul of my piece!
But what I realised is that there is a balance! You can edit, format and put seo without sounding like a BuzzFeed post lol...but it's our own journey to find that balance isn't it?