Use The ‘3 What, 3 How’ Framework for Writing Advice Posts on Any Platform
It’s the perfect formula for every guidance article.
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I was accused of plagiarism during my third year at university.
Towards the end of our creative writing class, our tutor asked me to wait behind. Once the rest of the group were gone, she pointed to my most recent submission — a short screenplay called ‘Brooklyn’ — and asked if I’d written it myself.
I told her I had (which was the truth).
She then proceeded to accuse me of having copied the idea for the story from a movie I’d never seen. I insisted it was an original piece of writing — I’d never heard of the movie and wouldn’t try to pass someone else’s work off as my own, anyway.
It was probably the most terrifying moment of my entire student life. An accusation of plagiarism could see me get me a failing grade, or even worse, get kicked out of uni altogether.
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But I stood my ground. I argued my case. I even followed my tutor all the way back to her car and didn’t leave until she promised she believed me.
There was no way I was going to take the blame for something I hadn’t done. In the end, I successfully graduated from my English and Film course and went on to get a Masters degree in Creative Writing (which I guess I’m finally putting to good use).
That experience never left me. I still have nightmares inspired by it, where I show up for an exam I haven’t prepared for or get accused of something all over again. Scary.
But it had a profoundly positive impact on me as well. It made me tenacious. I refuse to take anything lying down. False criticism and personal attacks are like rocket fuel I inject straight into my brain (I know that would definitely kill me, but you catch my drift).
It also helped me develop a 6-part framework for writing guidance pieces for others. It quite simply goes like this: 3 What, 3 How.
Let’s break it down.
1. What experience stuck with you?
Take something that happened at some point in your past, something that left a mark like my plagiarism accusation, and write it down. Every aspect, everything you can possibly recall. You won’t be able to remember all of it, but that’s ok — the crucial elements will stand out, and if you get some minor details wrong, it’s fine.
For example, I recently wrote a piece about a terrifying experience I had at Disneyland as a child. I’m sure I’ve inadvertently left out a few details or mixed some things up in my head, but the core of it’s still there. Your audience won’t really care either way, as long as you make your point.
Start with the story. Write it all down. Leave nothing out.
2. What was the key emotional element?
Next, identify the key emotional element in the story. Was it fear? Sadness? Fury? Elation? What overriding feeling permeated the whole thing when you wrote down your recollections?
That’s what you want to tap into, for yourself and for your readers. Make them feel what you felt. Make it visceral. They should be incensed by the time they finish reading it, if that’s how you felt at the time.
Open the valve on those emotional wells. Drench your audience in feeling and they’ll care about what comes next.