Why Your Writing Never Works Out the Way You Plan

WRITING | ENGAGEMENT

And what you can do about it.

Have you ever thought that an article you wrote painstakingly would go viral like a TikTok dance, only to see it crash like a measly paper plane?

I get this so often that I would qualify for the frequent flier club if one exists!

Before you start looking into the mirror and searching within for your inadequacies, I am here to let you in on a piece of good news.

The problem may not be as elusive as you think.

Having the right grammar and structure is a given, so let us put it out of the way. Assuming your topic is relevant and not rooted on the weird side of things, such as “Why do we breathe?” It is safe to conclude that the article had a fair chance.

So why did it fail?

Yes! It is hard to accept, but we let our bias affect our writing regardless of whether we like it.

Now of course a bias is expected when we are writing a thought piece. It is not the bias of an opinion we are talking about here; it is the bias from our knowledge and understanding of the topic.

Let me explain.

Imagine you were writing an article about traveling to Japan. You might be very familiar with the locale, but your readers expected a thorough guide as it was their first time.

Version 1
Railways are big in Japan. Be sure to buy a JR pass to make the most out of it.

Version 2
Railways are a convenient way to get around Japan. I highly recommend getting a Japan Rail Pass, otherwise known as JR Pass. These special passes are only available to tourists and offer unlimited rides for several days. You can save a lot of money with it.

It is obvious which version will connect better with readers.

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