Can we talk about how I used to write blog posts like a robot

For years I'd sit down and just crank out 800 words of fluff, you know? I'd start with some generic intro about 'why content matters' and then list out five bullet points that said nothing new. It was like I was writing for search engines, not people. Then six months ago I had a client call where the editor said 'this reads like AI wrote it before AI was cool' and I got so embarrassed. Now I start every piece by writing down one stupid thing I actually experienced that week, like the time I ordered a coffee at a shop in Austin and they got my name wrong three times. I build the whole post around that one real moment instead of trying to sound smart. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized your writing was just... empty?

2 comments

2 Comments

simons2824d ago

Man I felt that coffee story in my bones. I had a similar wakeup call when a student handed back an essay and said "this sounds like a textbook threw up on paper." It stung because they were right. My stuff was so polished it had no pulse. Now I try to write like I'm telling a buddy what happened at the grocery store checkout instead of trying to sound professional. That coffee order mix-up is the exact kind of thing that makes a post feel alive instead of dead on the page. Good on you for making the switch, it's way harder than it sounds but totally worth it.

kim_west24d ago

My buddy Dave sent an email once that was so stiff his boss asked if he was using a thesaurus to sound smarter.