By Karen Chen (少女凱倫)
Beyond my full-time work as a text journalist with five years of experience, I've also been writing on WordPress for three years now. Recently, I've learned that more and more people want to start writing to keep records. Most ask questions like "What topic should I write about?" or "How do I improve my writing skills?"
Honestly, when faced with these questions, my only answer is "Just start writing."
Writing truly has no shortcuts—which is both unfortunate and an advantage. Through consistent writing, in the early stages you'll learn how to organize information, develop proper logical thinking, understand cause and effect between words, structure complete sentences, and subtly reorganize your life perspective.
In the middle stage, you'll discover you're becoming increasingly fluent. Writing no longer feels stuck; you overcome your inner demons and gradually develop your own style. You'll understand what topics suit you best and what kind of readers your content attracts.
In the later stage, having gone through the above journey, you possess not just your own style but also a cultivated audience. You'll start wanting to try different article types and themes. You'll begin to nitpick your own work—changing a word here and there can make a big difference.
Then you enter a reset phase. Perhaps after writing about workplace topics, life changes and you start writing about personal reflections. When there's nothing to reflect on, you return to sharing your expertise. But because you now have an established readership, whatever topic you write about, your audience will embrace it.
The above stages are suggestions for complete writing beginners unsure where to start, and the phases you might encounter. As for what topic to write about, it comes down to "Why do I want to write?" Content that typically resonates usually has a few key characteristics:
1. Tell your own story: "Content is King" is a famous saying. To make content compelling, it must have uniqueness, differentiation, and personal characteristics. Starting with your own story is the simplest approach, but don't turn it into a bland account—it needs to create "resonance." (Further reading: K-style internet writing techniques – Don't live in your own world; make the emotions you want to express "resonate" with others)
2. Share your own professional expertise: When you share your expertise, uniqueness is already abundant. If your writing skills are strong enough, you're practically unbeatable; it also helps your future career development. I once knew a woman who said very clearly, "I don't particularly enjoy writing, but writing is a means to an end." She was clear about her goal—to have her expertise recognized—and that's exactly what makes it a great approach. (Further reading: Before investing in writing as self-investment, ask yourself: Do you really like writing articles? Don't just help others organize information)
3. Document real events: My most well-known article on my blog wasn't actually something I conceived from scratch. Rather, it documented problems I witnessed while participating in an event. The main subject had some popularity, but because the incident sparked much reflection and discussion, it resonated with many people.
(Further reading: Video / Wait, where's the speaker? A disaster-level host bombing a thousand-person professional event – Full transcript + detailed event flow so hosts nail it every time)
Finally, ask yourself: Why do I want to write? What goal do I want to achieve?
Don't make chasing traffic and fame your main focus. Why do people say "writing is the best investment"? Because this investment's real value lies in internalizing yourself, strengthening your logic, cultivating patience, living with differentiation, and building uniqueness. Where you ultimately end up depends entirely on how you begin and the pace at which you move forward.
