Five words will change how you write.

Dickie Bush, co-founder of Ship 30 for 30, shared five questions he uses when he begins writing. I distilled those to five words to remember. I went meta and used the questions on this post.

Stick around for the bonus tip!

PROBLEM: What problem am I solving?

I'm solving the problem of remembering golden nuggets like Dickie's advice. How many times have you said, "that's brilliant" and then promptly forgot to integrate the knowledge into your work?

BENEFIT: What’s the benefit of solving that problem?

Adults are motivated to learn when something is relevant and yet we can forget that knowledge. The benefit of solving the problem is we'll remember Dickie's questions to use when we write.

WHO: Who has that problem?

I'm someone who would forget this advice. If you're reading, I wrote this for you too! You're a writer who wants to get better but could use help to remember how.

EMOTION: What emotion am I trying to generate?

The scientifically named emotions I want you to feel are motivated, joyful, and secure. I want you to feel motivated to try this, joyful at the silly headline, and secure in knowing you'll remember to use the info.

ACTION: What action do I want someone to take?

This one is hopefully obvious—I want you to use the information! I hope that you'll try the bonus tip. Of course, it would make my day if you liked, retweeted, and commented on this post. 😉

✨✨✨ Bonus: Put the 5 words together to remember✨✨✨

Five words are simple but a mnemonic device makes remembering easier:

Probably Bench Whoopi's Emu Axe

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Problem Benefit Who Emotion Action

Extra bonus: Say every word of the phrase while touching each finger on a hand or a part of your body (scalp > nose > chest > stomach > knees).

Think you'll remember the five words to ask the questions when you write?