Tim Denning Whoop My A*s With His Writing. Now, I Want To Improve

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I write like a madman. Like Mad Max racing down the desert, all roided up, screaming “Valhalla”.

I have an unhealthy habit. I get too technical with my writing. Sometimes, my wife looks at me and says “What the hell are you talking about?”. As the saying goes, the wife is always right.

Now, I have been following Tim Denning. We write in different niches, but man, his writing whoops my writing. And I feel like a*s when I compare mine with his.

After writing for almost a year on Slice of P.I.E., I don’t have much to show. It’s ego. I think people should understand my writing.

I am an idiot for thinking that.

Hence, here is what I want to improve on, according to Tim Denning’s article here. And you could improve your communication and social media skills too!

Headline: “How to Invest Like You Are About to Die”

Tim’s first, second, and third rule — headline, headline, headline.

If your headline is not engaging, forget it. Even for me, I rarely read articles with boring headlines.

But he has an important caveat here. You can have a clickbait headline, but your content needs to follow it.

He suggests writing 10 headlines a day to practice. It reminds me of that Iverson incident.

But he’s right.

I have never really practiced writing headlines. I feel like the content matters more. But if the headline ain’t headlining, I ain’t reading.

First Sentence Makes or Breaks

I was buying life insurance. Then, I thought about death. I could just drop dead from a random heart attack. It runs in my family. For some reason, investments came to mind. What investments will I leave behind for my kids?

Mr Beast had a famous quote.

“The first 30 seconds of a video will determine whether the viewer will keep watching it.”

And that is definitely true for writing.

I looked back at my previous writing and thought “Man, my first sentences were so boring. I could put my easily-excited nieces and nephews to sleep.

Tim said “Open with a slap to the face”. I think mine opened with a night-time lullaby.

Wake up, buck up, write up.

I want to spend more time, slapping my readers in the face (not literally).

Short Paragraphs and Sentences

There are two things certain in life — death and taxes. When you die, the government will still come for you.

How to leave behind investments that are tax-free then? And also, investments that will compound and last for decades.

I think this is how I want to start writing from now on. I have noticed that my writing stretches on and on.

Tim doesn’t believe in semicolons or colons. Just break the sentences up.

And no long paragraphs either.

God forbids that it’s as long as your parent’s or grandparent’s stories.

Vulnerability and Emotion

To be vulnerable is to invite people in.

To write with emotion is to be genuine.

I have to admit something. Writing in the investment and economics niche requires a lot of rationality and objectivity.

But you know what I like to read?

People with no f*cks trashing or passionately talking about a topic. The mad men.

I laugh, I snicker, and most importantly, I feel.

Writing should be that. It makes you feel. It makes you compelled to do something about it.

Tell Stories and Paint Pictures … with Words

I dreamt of a butterfly in heaven. And I woke up. Am I dreaming of the butterfly or is the butterfly dreaming of me in heaven?

That small snippet from a philosopher made me think. Made me imagine. Made me doubt everything about my existence.

And never have I pictured something in my mind so vividly.

Am I here or am I the butterfly?

Of course, we all know the implications of this. The fact that I am thinking and doubting of this in my current self here means that I must be real.

It is this kind of writing that I aspire to.

Bang, Bang, Bang

Finish it with a bang. Or G-Dragon is going to constantly sing this chorus in your ear.

There’s always a conclusion. In the writing world, it’s called a call to action.

But they are boring.

I realised that as I read my article’s conclusions. Most of them are just a recap of the content.

What does Tim mean by that?

Something left-field. And something unexpected but still connects to the article.

Here, let me try