It's Not All About The How To's
If this thread appears a little cryptic, my apologies in advance. I'm actually going to try to keep this brief, though I know for me, that's almost impossible.
We hear a lot of people say things like, "Can you give me a step by step process for doing..." and then whatever it is they want the step by step process for.
Now, for some things, this is all you need as the steps are very mechanical and can be done by anybody.
An example would be installing a piece of software. If the installation method has been tested by the person who created the software, there is little chance that something will go wrong.
Sure, you'll have OS conflicts and things like that, but for the most part, the step by step process should work.....
But what about something like this?
A step by step process for writing an article.
I'll outline mine.
Step 1 - Come up with a compelling title.
Step 2 - Write an intro telling what the article is about.
Step 3 - Write the content based on what you said was going to be in it.
Step 4 - Write a summary of what you just said.
Step 5 - Write a compelling resource box.
Now naturally, I'd explain each step in more detail and even give examples so that the person has a very good idea of how to do it.
But...and here's where the how to's just don't cut it no matter how good they are.
The person doing the writing still has to come up with his own words and express himself in a way that compels the reader to take action.
It's called talent...and talent can't be taught.
It can only be developed.
This is why so many people buy "how to" books and end up failing anyway, even if they truly followed the instructions to the letter.
The book can't take into account the talent level of the person using the steps. No book can.
This is why that no matter how well written any book is on any subject, if human interaction is involved, there is always going to be the chance of failure.
I just finished reading a great book by Paul Myers on creating content. He has how to instructions in it and some great advice. And certainly these tips will help anybody. But I'm intelligent enough to know that just reading the book and using the tips isn't going to automatically make me a better writer.
The only thing that will do that is writing.
Lots of it.
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