It was annoyance at first sight.
I had just finished scrolling past my 100th “I made X$ in Y days writing on [Insert Platform]!” post, and was feeling extra jaded.
You know the type.
The “I can’t believe little ol’ me is making money writing!” kind of post.
These people always frame themselves like they’re barely functioning adults — can’t spell, can’t dress, probably shouldn’t be trusted with sharp objects — but somehow they tripped over a laptop and made $5,000 in 17 minutes.
It’s remarkable.
The best part is, these posts always end the same way: “It’s so easy! Just follow these three vague tips and — oh right — buy my course.” And soon, you can be just like me.
…Maybe.
Cue the exaggerated eye roll.
Now, I don’t normally enjoy torturing myself, but I’m planning to offer writing coaching soon, so I’ve been doing my due diligence — reading, watching, lurking, creeping — trying to see how my approach lines up with what’s already out there.
And the more I look, the more I realize, a lot of these writing coaches are skipping the most important ingredient of helping writers improve.
It’s the ingredient that ties everything together.
They hand out advice like they’re sharing a soup recipe — but forget to mention, “Hey, uhh…you’re gonna need some broth.”
Because the broth of good writing has nothing to do with sentence structure, SEO keywords, or “niching down.”
It has everything to do with noticing.
To write better, start noticing things.
All great writing — funny, powerful, clever, emotional, persuasive — all begins and ends with noticing life.
You have to have the ability to see the world and catch what others miss.
You see, great writers aren’t great because of their grammar.
They’re great because they observe life and add those small minor details that bring their stories to life.
These are the kind of details you only get by noticing your life…
They notice the nervous swallow before a confession and the eye scan across the room.
They notice the moment the guy on the bus shifts uncomfortably, revealing one blue sock, one green, and the faint smell of cigarettes and coffee pouring from his breath.
They notice the self-pity people carry in a grocery line when someone up front pulls out 100 coupons and takes 7 years to find the right one.
They notice how they all silently hate themselves more for choosing the wrong line and less about the lady wanting to save money.
It’s those details — those tiny, yet significant details — are the ones that breathe life into your writing. And when you write with that kind of detail, people start to trust you.
They feel it.
They think you get it because you’re capturing what most people see but don’t often vocalize.
And if you do this enough times, bringing the real details of life into your work, you will greatly improve as a writer.
I guarantee it.
Forget the tricks. Pay attention.
If you want to improve your writing, don’t start with a thesaurus, a checklist, or someone’s overpriced blueprint.
Start by noticing.
Pay attention to your life and all the moments and feelings you have when you live your day.
Notice life.
Notice people.
Notice what catches your attention — and then write that down.
Do it enough, and you’ll naturally get sharper, funnier, and more original in this craft.
You’ll find your rhythm.
Your perspective.
Your voice.
And best of all?
You didn’t need a secret formula.
You just needed to pay attention.
Please, like, comment, share and tell me what you think. Do you agree?
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I noticed that your advice tends to be more practical than theoretical. 😏😉👏
Hahah it’s the Midwest in me! Appreciate you reading my friend
Very welcome.
I love your advice! Thanks for another great post
So happy you enjoyed!!
So true. I guess thatds why a significant number of good writers get started when they’re older–when they’ve spent a lot of years reading and gathering life experience to put into it. There’s a list of them somewhere, but I can’t find it at present, so you’ll have to trust me on that. Or in the case of those big names who started much younger, most of them difn’t write their best books straight off – they pushed out a few okay texts before they hit their stride. There’ll always be those writers blessed with the gift of observation, the show-and-tellers like Chekhov with his ‘Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of on broken glass’, or the one-hit wonders (but what a wonder) like Harper Lee – but for the rest of us it’s putting in the time to notice life happening around us. Thanks for another great post, Tony. 🙂
Thanks for reading my friend!!
“To write better, start noticing things.” 👏🏻
I hate, hate, hate that kind of viral advertising for any industry. Writing included.
The problem I’ve noticed is that legitimate people tend to follow the same outline for promoting their services because that is what they are seeing when they research. Just like you.
Don’t get me wrong, writing as a business does require some business aspects. Essentially, SEO is needed. Things of that nature become a must. Do you know what keeps your services going, though? Not ONLY being a catchy advertisement but actually being good at what you do. Clarity. Honesty. Spam advertising is well overused and dies out quickly when the money doesn’t really flow like they want.
They forget to sell with integrity.
Good luck as you start building up to that point! I wish you a ton of luck in your endeavors!
Thank you! Yes being good at what you do is the name of the game! Can’t replicate that!
I’m trying to do that.
You got this
Thank you.
I agree 100%.
Thank you!
I agree with all of this!
“If you want to improve your writing, don’t start with a thesaurus, a checklist, or someone’s overpriced blueprint.
Start by noticing.
Pay attention to your life and all the moments and feelings you have when you live your day.
Notice life.
Notice people.
Notice what catches your attention—and then write that down.”
This is superb writing advice!
Thank you so much my friend!
You’re quite welcome!
This is so solid! My grandfather was a writer, my dad and my aunt, a cousin …we all take things in. It’s the same with photography. A general “tourist” photo is great but cool stuff is in the details, the little things.
Thank you so much, you gotta love those with the eye for detail!
Good one pal, I have been blogging for 4 years
So great to hear! Thank you for reading
So true! Love this!
Thank you so much!!
So true!! Tired of keywords and jargon. Observation and empathy – whether writer or reader.
Totally agree – I can’t stand the jargon – drives me crazy
Oh this is absolutely on point. Noticing things is what brings people to life. Both the noticers and the noticees.
It pays to pay attention!
Write on!
Thank you sir
Loved this—such a powerful reminder that great writing begins with simply noticing.
Thank you so so much!
My pleasure!:)
I agree. For me, much of that detail gets added during my first revision/second draft. The first draft is mostly plot, character and dialog. The second draft is when I add emotion, internal monologue, sensory perceptions, and all those wonderful details. But you’re so right that I couldn’t do that unless I’d been observing in the first place. And if I’m writing a situation I’ve never observed (a sword fight on a swaying rope bridge, for example,) then I go to videos and other sources. Or better yet, I go watch a re-enactment or find a rope bridge to walk across.
That’s a super smart and wise thing to do! It’s great now with the internet, we’re luckier than ever!!
Love this
So happy you do! Thank you for reading
Superb.
Thank you so much!
Noticing things really isn’t my deal, you know, but I think that in order to make blogs great again I need to notice things. You ever notice that?
Eyes wide open my friend!!
THIS ☝🏻 I recently deleted my instagram app because of the amount of people who have freed themselves from ~the system~ through blogging and you can too!… if you buy their course. It’s frustrating, and like you said, it misses heart and it misses the desire to improve.
I’ll teach you how to be rich… after you make me rich – lmao
This is so true. Your readers can tell whether or not you are being original and it’s the original that keeps them
Totally agree! Thank you for reading
So, so, so on point…stop trying to Tell and See. Writing is about articulating what others feel but haven’t found the words for or the courage to say it. We feel and say it for them.
Absolutely, thank you for reading!’
Those are some true words. I’m the person who isn’t academic, I excelled in art, cooking , sports and paying attention. I love what you said that, we should pay attention to life. To all that happens around us. I loved that. And for me, that’s is writers gold. 😌 wish you all the best on your journey and coaching.
Thanks so so much!!
Someone finally spoke. This is 1000% true
So happy you enjoyed -thank you
Those adverts annoy me so much. One in particular hires ghost writers, and I imagine many are just using AI these days.
Your advice is very good! And the act of noticing in itself is good for the soul. We can spend so long with our heads dipped down, staring at our phones (or in the old days, wrestling with a crossword puzzle or angsting over our horoscope…), it’s surprising what an interesting and beautiful world we live in.
We gotta keep our eyes open – and yeah they annoy me too – I can’t stand the niche down advice they give. Its the difference between an artist and a business
Agreed. Wholeheartedly.
Thank you!
“To write better, start noticing things. All great writing — funny, powerful, clever, emotional, persuasive — all begins and ends with noticing life.” – exactly!!
Thank you so much!!
It’s in the details—so true.
Thank you so much
Observation making and writing quality relationship. Absolutely spot on comment!
Thank you so much for reading!!
I LOVE when people are blunt and sincere! You have a very unique voice and I’m glad I found your blog 😀
Thank you so much! I appreciate you