A barista in Portland told me my story was too 'safe' and that stuck with me for months

She read my opening paragraph between orders and just said 'this reads like you're scared to offend anyone. What's the worst thing that happens if you push it?' I started rewriting that scene that same night and it's still the best advice I've gotten. Has anyone else had a stranger give you a writing tip that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy_foster7926d ago

Honestly I used to roll my eyes at that whole "write like nobody's watching" thing because it felt so pretentious. But then this random guy at a coffee shop in Seattle told me my blog posts sounded like I was trying to be nice to everyone and it stung because he was right. I spent a week just deleting every sentence that felt like I was apologizing for having an opinion and suddenly my stuff actually got reactions instead of polite nods. Sometimes you need a total stranger to call you out for playing it safe before you realize you've been editing yourself for an audience that doesn't even exist yet.

henrycooper26d agoProlific Poster

Guy sounded like a real one for telling you that straight up.