Bad writing / lazy thinking.

We have an endless supply of ideas when we write.

Coming up with new ideas every single day is its own challenge.?Most people say the ideation process is the hardest part of being a writer. I agree, but we’re forgetting one crucial caveat.

The biggest challenge of being a writer is coming up with new ideas that you are passionate about. That’s why half-baked thoughts are the biggest killers of writing.

Let me explain.

You can’t write a substantial article with half-baked thoughts.

I’ve done this countless times.

I’d come up with a few new ideas each day. I pick one that resonates the most. Then…oh sh*t, I don’t have much to say about it!

But I’d try to power through and write a 500-word article because I’m not a quitter. After putting myself through a mental battlefield laced with bombs, I finally conjured up a 500-word article.

And…the writing sucks.

Readers can tell when writers are reaching for things to talk about. The biggest indicator of this is two things:

1. You keep repeating yourself — a lot
2. You start pulling out generic cliches

it hurts seeing a perfectly good idea reduced to rubble because we weren’t passionate enough to take the reader on a good rollercoaster ride.

This leads me to my next point.

You need to take the reader to Disney World when you write.

When you’re able to take the reader to a million different places with an article, that shows you’ve put a lot of thought into what you’re talking about. We can tell you’re passionate about your idea because you’ve given us new perspectives to marinate on.

That’s why I compare articles to roller coasters.

You need to take them up the ramp to get readers warmed up. Then, you need to add that suspense when you take them to the tippy-top of the steepest damn fall ever. Finally, they fall down the incline and you whip and whoosh them a million different ways until they vomit their funnel cakes.

One cool writing tip I learned is that articles have three essential parts:

1. Problem (going up the incline)
2. Agitation (the suspense at the top of the incline)
3. Solution (going down the incline)

Make sure you can write a decent amount for each of those components.

When an article is half-baked, it’s like taking your reader up the incline only to stop when they get up there. Don’t jam your rollercoaster.

Keep everything going at a progressive pace by adding different layers of perspectives.

How to avoid this mistake in the future.

Instead of just thinking of an idea you can write about, think about how many words you can produce from it.

“Can I write 500 words on this topic or not?”

If the answer is no, then I’d avoid it and come up with a different idea.

Also, when evaluating your articles, I would focus on balance.

“Is there an adequate amount of substance with each point I make?”

Think about problem, agitation, solution. Does this article make a strong case, deliver something new, and drive the point home? Does it linger too much on the problem and agitation side without delivering a solid solution or vice versa?

For example, if you’re touching on three main points in your article, I recommend having a minimum word count for each point (~200 words). The minimum word count will get a lot smaller if you have more than five points because we don’t want to bore the reader.

To recap:

• Make sure you have an adequate word count per point
• Make sure you aren’t repeating yourself or using obvious cliches
• Make sure your article makes a point, agitates the reader, and drives it home
• Ask yourself if the reader would feel fulfilled after reading your article

Give the reader an experience that’s worth it.

Final Thought

Don’t let the curse of half-baked thoughts destroy your writing.

Now I realize why some of my articles didn’t have good quality. Make sure you have an idea that you’re passionate about. Give the reader the journey they came for and watch your quality skyrocket.