I'm a Jordanian-American author and journalist with over two decades of experience. I have been published in the Washington Post, Nature, Elle, Esquire, among others. I'm also the recipient of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award Literary Conference for my short story Ustaz Ali. I publish the weekly newsletter "The Writing Goldmine," in which I give tips on monetizing your writing and the content creation journey.
The writing rhythm that is a game-changer| The Storyteller's Quest Vol. 7
ππ» Hi friends,
While taking one of my favorite online courses, Ship 30 for 30, this week, for a second time, I was just reminded of a game-changing writing strategy. It's the 1/3/1 Writing Rhythm.
As explained by the creator of Ship for 30, Nicholas Cole and Dickie Bush, the 1/31/ Writing Rhythm goes like this:
The way you hook the reader is with one opening sentence.
Then once the reader has been hooked, you explain what you mean with more detail. You tell them a quick story. You give them a description they can hold to. Just look at the slide below. It explains the 1/3/1 writing rhythm by showing you how it's done. One line, then three lines, then one line.
I have been using this strategy when I remember, and I have been getting good engagement from readers.
It's all about the one-line hook. Life is too short, and readers' attention span is getting shorter and shorter, even shorter than the attention span of a goldfish .(A recent study found that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight seconds today. It is reported that goldfish have a 9-second attention span.)
Pretty neat, no?
I hope you enjoy this week's installment of the Storyteller's Quest.
Best,
Natasha
πΌοΈ Photo of the week
One of my New Year's resolution is to journal, and after some research I landed on The Five Minute Journal, a beautifully designed journal that's formatted using science-based strategies to make you stick with the journaling habit. So far, it has been working for me, and journaling has become part of both my daily morning and nightly routines.
Do you journal?
π€© Things that wowed me
As usual, there are so many good things out there, and it's so hard to keep up. Here are some of my favorites:
ποΈ Creator Economy: This journalist has left her job at Vox and decided to be a "YouTube star" to dig deeper into topics that poke her interest. Fascinating. The Great resignation to the win!
πΉ YouTube: I have been going down the rabbit hole of smart notes (more on that later), so this interview with SΓΆnke Ahrens, a lecturer in Philosophy of Education at the University of Duisburg-Essen, and author of How to Take Smart Notes was definitely worth my time.
𧡠Thread: I loved this Twitter thread from Brandon Zhang on how to leverage Twitter so as to lead to jobs, mentors, friendships and more.
π Books: I'm currently reading Deep Work by Carl Newport. I'm already learning a lot, and planning to share my key takeaways in a YouTube video.
π° Article: A fascinating read on how Asian creators are betting big on creating digital stickers. It's a brave new world out there!
βπ» Content creation
In the past week, I have published the following article in The New Arab.
Are you looking for a writer for your company's blog or publication? Let's chat. Email me at: natasha@natashastynes.comβ
πΉ The YouTube experiment
If you are a creator of any kind, Elizabeth's Gilbert's Big Magic is a must-read.
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I'm kicking myself that I had not read this book earlier, way earlier when it first came out in 2015. It could have saved me so much time, anguish, and tears.
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πΉ Watch below to know some of the golden nuggets that I got from this gem of a book.
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ππΌ Recommended by yours truly
- If youβre thinking about joining the online writing course Ship 30 for 30, I have an affiliate link.I took Ship 30 for 30 last month and it was an amazing experience. I learned a lot, joined new communities and increased my Twitter followers. I enjoyed it that much, that I'm taking it for a second time. I highly recommend it.
β - One app that I have been using on a daily basis and becoming an integral part of my content creation process is Brain FM, an online music platform that helps you get in the "flow", and do the tasks that require deep work. The good news is that Brain FM is offering readers of this newsletter a 20% discount. Just click here, subscribe and get your discount.
Are you looking for a writer for your company's blog or publication?
Do you need help with your digital media strategy?
Let's chat!
Email me at natasha@natashastynes.comβ
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Natasha Tynes
I'm a Jordanian-American author and journalist with over two decades of experience. I have been published in the Washington Post, Nature, Elle, Esquire, among others. I'm also the recipient of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award Literary Conference for my short story Ustaz Ali. I publish the weekly newsletter "The Writing Goldmine," in which I give tips on monetizing your writing and the content creation journey.
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