The Readers Echo, Reading Your Work Like a Stranger, Feedback Is Fundamental & More

Hola Doctors and Writers,

Welcome to the 18th edition of the newsletter.

This week’s newsletter is about stepping outside your head and reminding yourself of a hard truth: writing is for the reader, not for us.

Today at a Glance:

Question: Does Your Writing Lead To Reflection or a Reaction?

Quote: On Reading Your Work Like a Stranger

Framework: The Reader's Echo

Idea: Feedback Is Fundamental

Video: Honest Writing by Neil Gaiman

Question: Does Your Writing Lead To Reflection or a Reaction?

This week's question might sting a bit, but its importance is undeniable.

Are you writing to create genuine thought or are you writing to chase quick reactions?

The internet, now more than ever before, rewards attention-grabbing, surface-level content. However, the words that genuinely stick in a reader's mind force them to take a step back and truly reflect.

What resonates doesn't just entertain or educate.

It challenges and inspires long after the last line.

So, before you publish your next piece, ask yourself:

• Does my writing leave readers with a new perspective?

• Am I addressing something they’ve never considered before?

• Will they stop and think about this idea, or just keep scrolling?

Quote: On Reading Your Work Like a Stranger

The lesson: Good writing communicates its characters, perspective, stories, and lessons without the reader having to figure it out all by themselves. This is harder than it sounds, because many times, we overlook details or assume our readers know what we're conveying without positioning ourselves in their shoes. To fix this, read your work as if you were a stranger, or better yet, get a second opinion from someone you trust. This is a great way to identify the gaps in your work and know exactly what's missing to help you paint the full picture.

Framework: The Readers Echo

The feeling your writing gives is just as important as the words themselves.

This week, we've created a framework to make your writing memorable and make sure your words stay with your audience long after they've finished reading.

Here's how it works:

1. Start With Emotion

Before you start writing, pick a core emotion that you want to leave your readers with and place it at the top of your page. For instance, hope, clarity, or the permission to think about a topic differently. This isn't about what you want to say, but rather, what they need to feel.

Example: Instead of writing “10 Ways to Manage Stress,” write: “I want my reader to feel calm and in control by the end.”

2. Ask, What's Missing?

Once you're done with your final draft, read it objectively a few times from the perspective of your target audience. Think about the questions that come up from the first line to the last, and make sure your writing aligns with the emotion you're expressing.

Example: You can always close your post with a thoughtful call to action aligned with your target emotion, such as "What would happen if you did xyz and how would it change your life?"

3. Create a Callback

Finally, you can revisit the ideas or questions in your opening sections in a subtle yet impactful way in the conclusion. This builds on last week's discussion on open loops which creates a sense of closure and reinforces the central theme of your writing.

Example: If you start with a question like "Why do 65% of healthcare professionals feel overwhelmed with stress?", you can circle back with "Not all kinds of stress are created equal..."

Idea: Feedback Is Fundamental

Writing is an individual act until it isn't.

Take Ernest Hemingway's first novel as an example. "The Sun Also Rises", went through multiple stages of revisions before its publication in 1926, and one of its most notable changes was the removal of the book's original opening.

Hemingway had initially written a lengthy introductory section. He shared in extensive detail background information about the characters and their relationships. However, after reading the manuscript, his friend and fellow writer Scott Fitzgerald wrote a letter to Hemingway pinpointing the various issues with the novel, specifically about its false start.

He took seriously Fitzgerald's critiques and removed all 16 pages of his original manuscript. Now, the novel begins with the line "Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton", which was originally on page 17 of Hemingway's first draft.

Hemingway resisted this change at first but later admitted that it made the book sharper and more impactful. It now had a more immediate and engaging start taking readers directly into the story without the unnecessary prelude.

Here's what you need to remember:

Once you seek feedback for your work, it truly comes alive.

Feedback gives you a second set of eyes, and more importantly, a fresh perspective. You'll notice what your writing lacks, what it does well, and what it has the potential to become - which is invaluable, especially when you’re too close to the words.

This week, share your drafts with a colleague, community, or a writing mentor. But don't just ask "What do you think?". Instead, be specific. Ask questions like "Does this section flow logically?" or "Did the final few sentences leave an impression?"

(If you'd like to get our feedback on your work, you can join our private Doctors & Writers community for free with this link.)

Video: Honest Writing by Neil Gaiman

This week's video is a short video by world-famous writer, Neil Gaiman. He talks about ignoring judgment and being brutally honest with your writing, well past the point you’re comfortable with. Enjoy!

Alright, that’s all for this week.

We hope you enjoyed this edition and apply the principles to your writing this week.

As always, feel free to reach out to us with any thoughts, questions, or feedback. We reply to all messages and are here to help you with your writing goals.

Happy writing!

— Adi and Pranav

P.S. There’s no podcast this week, but we’ll be back very soon and keep you in the loop with our next episode!