Before we go on, let me state, this isn’t some clever headline trick where I make up three words which spell out FBI in a three-step process to help you level up your writing.
If this was your thinking…Hi my name’s Nadia and we haven’t met before.
What I wanted to write about was agency AKA How to be fascinating as hell on paper. (See what I did there?)
You see, storytelling is a skill and stories that suck usually lack agency.
“But what is agency?” I hear you cry.
Well, it’s when people see you as being a puppet in your own story. The story is happening to you rather than a result of the choices you made.
People want to read stories about people doing things, not have things happen to them.
e.g. take Jeremy, who was weeks away from divorce, and 5 conversations changed his life.
Tell me you didn’t just ask yourself what those 5 questions were and if he’s still married. You want to know more, right?
or take Nielle, who had a simple birthday wish for her mother and ended up creating a new career for herself.
You have questions now, right? What was the wish? How did you build your business? SO MANY QUESTIONS.
And my personal favourite, Rick Lewis, who is the world’s worst and highest paid waiter. You’re already clicking that link. Just remember to come back, okay?
So the secret to agency?
Come closer and I’ll tell you…
You have to tell your story with you in it!
Your actions.
Your decisions.
What you stand for.
These create agency.
They put you in charge of your own story.
And no one can tell your story better than you.