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10X
WRITING
10x Writing: Instantly Magnetic Shawn Buckles
Before we start
This guide
at a glance
Anyone can write if you focus on structure instead of
prose.
Six structural
elements of Text
any text
Sections
Paragraphs
Sentences
Phrases
Words
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Quick checklist
For people with little time who want fast results.
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Table of Contents
Introduction 06
Why does this guide exists, why'd you want to
talking about.
distinction.
message is received.
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Table of Contents
questions — well.
speed it up.
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Introduction
Why this
guide exists
By Shawn Buckles
Congratulations, by
start, how to set up a text,
we continuously need it in
actually should write.
our everyday life. We are
emails, applications,
dread to write. It has
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As a result, I became
imposters.
much more succesful in
topics.
That’s why I want to
thinking through
writers, I started to notice a
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improved overnight.
The truth is: it is very
valuable to you.
After reading this guide,
life.
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Principle 1
Focus on structure,
not prose
The number one secret that no one is talking about, is
structure.
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party
2. Reason: I'm dying to catch up and I will share my
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Principle 2
You could say that ‘rockets fly to the moon daily’. This
would be untrue.
You could also say that ‘I've been told that rockets fly to
the moon daily’. In this case, you're not telling a lie (given
you've been actually told that). You're telling that
someone told you. Most people, however, will still hear
that 'rockets fly to the moon daily'.
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Principle 3
to be heard
There's a difference between what you want to say and
what needs to be heard.
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Example
Instead of saying: 'you should go on a shopping
a shopping spree'.
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You can negotiate: 'if I give them a clear table with well-
researched information, that directly answers their
question, would they want to continue reading?'
I'm going to tell you what you think now, which is one of
the cardinal sins of communication; I need to do so to
make my point, so please indulge me while I go out on a
limb.
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Principle 4
Answer the
right questions
Now that we know what the Reader's Intent is, we
should focus on their main question.
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Question
'How to complete this project succesfully?'
Subquestions
What is the project?
what is the deliverable?
what are the logistics?
When do we consider the project completed?
what is the project result?
what is not the project result?
What is successful?
within what time should it be finished?
within what budget should it be finished?
what standards should it adhere to?
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Sub-subquestions
What is the project?
what are the logistics?
which people will be working on the
project?
what are their roles?
how do we get these people?
what equipment will be used on the
project?
how do we get this equipment?
And so on. As you can see, I simply drill down into the
question until I get something that can be answered
concisely and directly.
Answer
A direct and concise answer consists of 2-3 sentences,
or roughly 50 words. This doesn't include elaboration,
explanations, examples, and so on. You should be
able to formulate a specific answer to any questions
in this way. If you’re unable to, it’s an indication your
question is too broad.
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Being on-point
In order to be concise, we should understand the
difference between what is on-topic and off-topic. In
other words, what are the topical boundaries, and what
subquestions are outside of those?
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Principle 5
Write it first,
then write it well
Writing is the process of putting words down on paper.
Writing well is the process of then erasing most of them.
— Blaise Pascal
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The words that, once removed, alter the message, are the
most important.
Deep down you will feel whether it's there for you, or for
the reader.
The more ruthless you are, the better your writing will be.
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Principle 6
important information
Front-loading is the process of pulling forward what
matters most. The quickest way to get there is to simply
invert your writing to your thinking.
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If you immediately get into it, people will feel that you
won’t waste their time. If you immediately provide value,
people will have an interest in reading on. Planning a big
reveal at the end will have the opposite effect on people.
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If you have shot all your bolts in the first paragraph, won’t
people stop listening to you the minute they have their
answer?
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I’ve found that once you show people that you actually
have the answer to their question, — once you show that
you’re actually willing to share it with them — it gives the
assurance they need to spend their time with you. You
spend time because it is expensive, after all.
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Example
In this section, I’ve started by immediately giving you
own work.
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Principle 7
takes time
We’ve treated most of the concepts I’ve developed over
the years to improve my own writing, but this last one is
just as important.
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I call phrases that merely exist to fit the format, to fill in, to
prop up, —very eloquently— ‘fluff’’, and I want none of it in
my text.
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