Reading Is a Cheat Code to Better Writing

23 Apr 2025 #writing

Last year, I challenged myself to revive my LinkedIn account by writing 100 posts.

I didn’t know what to write or how to write it. I only had good intentions.

My first posts were crap. Of course, 90% of everything is crap. I made every sin possible in my first posts: emojis, a big wall of text, external links…I’m embarrassed by those first posts.

But reading as a creator changed my writing.

I started to notice the posts I opened and read.

I collected the opening lines of the posts I opened. I created a file with my favorite openers. Then I stole (like an artist) those hooks to write my own.

Every time I clicked “See more” and found a big wall of text, I stopped reading. To avoid this mistake, I started to write shorter posts.

When I realized I never clicked on any of the external links in the posts I found, I stopped adding external links to my posts.

And I noticed how my favorite creators structured their posts. So I ditched emojis and started to add blank lines, use shorter sentences, and make my posts mobile friendly.

“Writing is learned mainly by imitation”

That’s from Writing to Learn by William Zinsser.

To improve your writing, imitate your favorite writers to develop your own style.

Notice the opening lines of your favorite books, collect headlines, and hand-write your favorite pieces. That’s how you get better at writing.

To learn to write, stop blindly consuming content. Put on your creator glasses and start noticing your behavior as a reader. That’s your cheat code to better writing.