Day 41
Writing is a skill. In here I send notes of my writing from the 50 days of writing course by David Perell, to reflect, develop and build my writing style.
In the 41st email from the 50 days of writing, David Perell talks about how to get feedback from people using the CRIBS Method.
Feedback helps you as writer to get better with each single article. As a writer, we seldom struggle to find faults in our own writing. Asking your family and friends will be bad for you in the long run because you will have the relationship bias(I don't know if this is a thing.) They deliberately try to either make you sound super precious or super wrong. There is no middle unless they are the person who is already aware of such thing and try rectifying themselves for the better.
This is why David Perell talks and explains the CRIBS Framework, which is the acronym for Confusing, Repeating, Interesting, Boring and Surprising.
Confusing:
Communication is the essence of writing.
Effective writing happens when you can write what you are thinking and sometimes it can be confusing. It will also be confusing when you are trying hard to sound smart in your writing where you can shine being you. In order to overcome the feeling of being confused - reading your article out loud will help.
Repeated:
Good writing is concise.
In an article, if you are repeating your point or just providing the validation of the point you mentioned earlier, you are either
- Admitting that you have messed up previously and explaining it again.
- Spoon-feeding the readers every part of the scene or the set of the paragraph.
To avoid such route, delete the repetitive parts.
Interesting:
Interesting is the holy grail of online writing.
Interesting things happen when insight meets entertainment, when you comfort the confused or confuse the comforted.
One good way to find out is asking people, what parts they found interesting and if their part and the part you think is interesting match. You have done your part. If you feel the part you are writing is interesting, write more and add in detail to enhance.
Boring:
Readers have a zero-tolerance policy for boredom.
The articles that feel boring to the readers are just a click away to being vanished and never in the existence. However, Once you keep them focused and engaged, they will give you the attention in compounds.
In order to eliminate boring stuff, you need to figure out what is boring i.e. the writing itself or the way you are communicating. If the idea is boring, pivot or cut it. Or, if the delivery is boring, rewrite.
Lastly,
Surprising:
Your job as a writer is to surprise your reader by telling them things they didn’t know and didn’t expect.
The surprising element can be anything from meaningful insights, entertaining and engaging story-telling or imaginative visuals in story telling. One Surprising factor can make the reader ignore few minor mistakes as well.
Best way to bring out surprise is by building the suspense, for every surprise and this comes with a lot of writing.
Practice writing different scenarios and share them. Get feedback and improvise.
My thoughts:
The CRIBS method is definitely the best way to get feedback as people are here just to read and if you can really connect the readers emotionally, you have done the work as a writer successfully.
Feedback loops are important, Be it in writing or any job that you do, without feedback habits too can't be built. feedback is simpler in the social media era, but take anything with a handful of salt, as social media also gives a voice to the unknowns as well. So, they choose violence too; not constructive criticism but straight violence(vocally).
I would suggest to write down things you need feedback on and gain insights on those. If they provide more than that, we are on the good side and if they can provide as much as we asked, well hey, you just needed that feedback itself.
In conclusion, take feedback of your writings be it a small article about vegetables, as how was the flow of writing or what part peaked their interest. It is likely people won't respond but once they start doing, remember they are noticing your work.
Thank you for reading.
For more of Perell's work, you can signup for the 50 Days of Writing Course by clicking and signing up to receive one mail every day with amazing take on writing.
