Forget the first thought – and the 2nd and the 3rd and the 4th.
I have to puke.
If I have to read “Practice makes perfect” again.
Or when an author begins his text with the following passage:
“As we all know, healthy eating is very important.”
You see, if you write down the first thing that comes to mind, it is often rubbish.
It is:
1. A truism (“Practice makes perfect”)
2. A cliché (“Everything’s fine”)
3. An empty phrase (“As we already know…”)
4. Political speak (“The sustainable development of a value-oriented evaluation system through the coordination of decentralized influencing factors.”)
With it:
Take your time.
Especially for the first sentence
The rule is: the less work you put into your storytelling, the more work it is for your reader to read the tough text.
20. The first draft always sucks
“The first draft laos email list of anything is shit.”
– Ernest Hemingway
Anyone who thinks differently is arrogant.
If the great writers of our time need several attempts, then you certainly do too.
James A. Michener said:
“I’m not a very good writer. But I’m a very good rewriter.”
Don’t give up if the first draft is bad.
There is no shame in this
It is a shame when
1. you publish the bad draft.
2. you do not publish the draft and abandon it.
But if you want to become a master of your craft, then edit, revise and refine until your text shines like a polished patent leather shoe.
21. Have an opinion. And give it to your hero.
Tony Stark is an arrogant peacock – but still popular with the audience.
Maximus in the film “Gladiator” has a fixed value system and does not deviate from it. The audience admires him for this.
I know.
The temptation is great to make your hero “perfect”.
That he has roundtable prosecutorial discretion at the icc; spanish international legal podcast an answer for everything. Always follows logic. And adapts.
But that is poison for your story.
It becomes as boring as a press release.
Even when you tell america email list your company story, you should include the founder’s opinion.
Your business – and you yourself – must have your own strong opinions.
Otherwise you will get lost in the same old thing like a concrete block.