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5 No-B.S. Tips to Make Your Writing Suck Less

If you’re reading this, you probably need them.

John Gorman
7 min readAug 31, 2022
Photo by Mike Tinnion on Unsplash

You know we’re scraping the bottom of the idea barrel when I’m back on my listicle bullshit. I’m not proud of it. I feel the way I would if I was posted up at Varsity Pizza in Syracuse, New York, holding court with a cavalcade of Newhouse students, taking a pitcher of Labatt Blue and half a large pie to the dome.

Yeah, this was the dream 20 years ago — oh, what dreams we dreamed! — but now I’m back on a journo junket, telling the youths to get off my corner as I yell at the TV and ponder if the Orange will ever crack the AP Top 25 again. (Probably not!)

Still, this tastes better than it feels, and the emblazoned zip-up hoodie still looks sharp and fits the same — even if I’m an L and not an M these days.

Lucky for you, one man’s dumpster-diving is another man’s archeological dig. And I’m here to unearth lost gems too beautiful to remain buried under another beer- and grease-soaked Varsity pizza box.

Anyway, school’s back in session. So let’s sit back, pay no mind to the hooligans scampering through the quad, and let’s cover the best bits of Writing 105 in a breezy eight-minute read.

№1: Start (And Keep) A Swipe File

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John Gorman
John Gorman

Written by John Gorman

Yarn Spinner + Brand Builder + Renegade. Award-winning storyteller with several million served. For inquiries: johngormanwriter@gmail.com

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