Your writing likely sucks - not because you can’t write — but because your ideas are not high-concept
Here’s how to transform your content into high concept content...
It’s taken me a long time to realise the significance of this.
When they see their writing isn’t connecting, most people believe the solution lies in writing better.
But this isn’t quite right.
It has less to do with how you write, and more to do with the idea.
Yes, there are many variables at play in good writing, but a strong idea sits at the top of the hierarchy.
Particularly an idea that is unexpected.
As writers and content creators, we are really in the game of interrupting patterns.
“When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.” ― Tuli Kupferberg
When the world’s best screenwriters learn to write movies, they are told to write a premise. But not just any premise.
The premise must be a ‘high-premise.’
John Truby discussed this in his book, ‘The Anatomy of Story.’
Many things compose a strong premise in a story, including originality, a unique world, conflict, and an intriguing and relatable character.
When someone asks you, ‘What was the movie about?’
A good response to this question is the film’s premise.
It’s about a mysterious spaceship that arrives on Earth, and they need to work with a troubled language specialist from a University to figure out how to communicate with the aliens on the ship, which ends up saving humanity.
(Arrival, 2016)
That’s a high-concept premise.
In the same way that any one of your posts and articles need a high-concept premise.
‘High concept’ means it’s unusual, refreshing, thought-provoking or unexpected.
This ensures your writing is attractive, memorable, and intriguing.
This isn’t for a smattering of your pieces.
You want all your posts to grab attention with a high concept.
People are not looking for yet more information.
They want to be entertained, first and foremost.
They want to feel something.
This is why fiction storytelling is so enlightening.
Non-fiction isn’t any different in this regard.
Fiction serves the same function as any email or blog article.
If you write articles, you are in the business of grabbing attention and intriguing your readers, helping them get lost in a narrative flow, and delivering a payoff at the end.
How can you apply this to your own writing?
In simple terms, high-concept writing is about introducing one, overarching idea or lesson, and packaging it in a three-part story structure.
Hook (grab attention).
Build (increase tension).
Payoff (deliver the climax).
All good posts follow this structure—even a listicle. A good listicle has a strong hook, like a header or introduction that introduces a problem. The list of ideas provides the build. The final thought to wrap it all up is the payoff.
Here are a few things to be aware of as you write high-concept posts, and they are all best expressed as questions:
What is a standard solution, and how can I go against the grain, while still being right?
What’s the contrarian or counterintuitive approach?
What are some emotional moments in my life, or someone else’s life I can write about?
What is a transformation I went through, especially one in which the stakes were high and the conflict significant?
What is a unique, even extreme perspective I can share about something?
How can I be provocative, while being correct?
What can I write about that serves the reader, thanks mainly to my refreshing honesty and transparency?
But how to make this relevant to your business?
In the context of your personal brand, you need first to be conscious of the overall transformation you bring people through.
A to B.
I help solopreneurs go from being stuck and having little influence, to growing a substantial online brand and newsletter and monetising their knowledge.
That’s my brand’s transformation.
Within this transformation are many problems I can help people solve, through my content and my stories.
So, I identify a problem I can solve.
Then, I find a high-concept idea that sits at the heart of any one piece of content I share. It could be a tweet or a three-thousand-word essay.
High concept.
The high-concept idea for this article you are reading is the fact that you need an unexpected idea to sit at the heart of everything you write.
Here’s a high-concept tweet, for example, I shared yesterday that did well:
One of the best ways to destroy social anxiety is to embrace awkwardness. (hook)
Most people are terrified of looking awkward and weird silences.
Not you. You embrace that awkward life (like a G). (build)
Be awkward.
Then you have nothing to be afraid of. (payoff)
Ironically, you will be chill.
I took a common problem — social anxiety — and took an unexpected and high-concept idea (embrace awkwardness) to the problem.
This is a mindset more than anything else.
First, know that high-concept will make the most significant difference in whether your writing takes off.
You don’t want to spend years writing tepid stuff that no one cares to read.
You want to grow your brand and create opportunities for you.
High-concept will get you there.
How to monetise the attention you create from writing like this?
My new book shows you how I did it. It’s called ‘The Never-Retired Writer.’
It’s 62 short, actionable chapters on building a writing life that gives you income, freedom, and a body of work that compounds for the rest of your life.
Enjoy!
Alex