This article won't be very long, but I want to share a writing method I use myself.
This piece was inspired by the cross-disciplinary book club discussion on 3/15, when the group expressed curiosity about my writing approach.
Let me start with some data: I can write a well-structured, logical thousand-word article in just 15 minutes, which surprises many people, but I've come to see it as routine. Upon careful analysis, one crucial key is transforming "nouns" and "adjectives" into scenes. In actual practice, two characters become twenty characters.
For example:
Many people write very bluntly when composing articles or expressing emotions, saying "I'm very sad" or "I'm very heartbroken." In reality, there are many ways to express emotions, and your sadness is definitely different from your reader's sadness. The way each person interprets heartbreak is completely unique. So to help readers feel your sorrow, you must abandon the words "sad" and use "situational depiction writing" to sketch out your feelings.
For instance, one year I was very frustrated with my work, and this is how I described my sadness (note: that job was in the evenings):
"Every morning when I open my eyes, I can't stop crying. I cry until just before work, when I finally have the strength to pull myself together—to wash up, brush my teeth, tidy myself—and go into the office, waiting for those 8 hours to pass so I can go home."
That passage has 60 characters. I took the simple word "sad" and stretched it into 60 characters. This is my simple and plain technique—nothing fancy, just truly and authentically presenting what I've actually experienced.
Many people get stuck at this point, possibly because they don't know how to present their state, want to hide their truest self, or don't dare reveal their deepest layer. But what truly moves people's hearts is when you boldly and genuinely reveal yourself. That's when people are touched by your sincerity.
Let me give another example:
When I once wanted to express how "happy" I was the day I got my data results during my master's program, I described it this way:
"During the time I was writing my thesis, I would arrive at the lab at eight every morning and run data until ten at night. But every time the data settings were not significant. Until one morning, shortly after arriving at the lab, I turned on my computer to run the statistics, and all the data came back significant. The moment I saw those results, I silently shed two lines of tears..."
This passage is 108 characters total, and it took me less than 30 seconds to write it. I believe anyone with similar experience would absolutely understand just how happy and excited one feels in such a situation. So you don't need to state your feelings outright. Instead, leave space for readers to imagine, so they naturally apply it to their own circumstances and resonate with your details. (This concept comes from the "death of the author" theory.)
From when I started with the title to this point in the article, it's over 890 characters, taking only 10 minutes. The article makes just one main point: the situational depiction writing method, with two examples—one about sadness, one about happiness.
Now that you've read this far, you're already past 900 characters. I'm not sure if this will help you, but for friends who want to write moving articles, my deepest advice is to observe the details in your life and express them in the most conversational, most plain-spoken way possible. People will naturally resonate with it. Don't show off your literary style—unless you're a literary writer or novelist. In this era of internet writing, what everyone wants to read is content about understanding and being understood.
Writing articles isn't difficult. If you treat it as recording your life story and don't pursue grand gestures, the crowd will naturally gravitate toward you.
Start writing now!
(1101 words / 14 minutes)
