How to make writing effortless with this simple framework.

Author

Payton Minzenmayer
January 07, 2025

I’ve never eaten an elephant, have you?

Oddly enough, people still love asking, “How do you eat an elephant?”

The answer, as you know, is: One bite at a time.

And while I’ll pass on the elephant steak, the wisdom holds.

Especially for writing.

Whether it’s a 60,000-word book, a 3,000-word article, or even an 800-word blog post, the principle is the same.

Great writing doesn’t happen all at once.

It’s crafted piece by piece, word by word, day by day. And the best writers don’t write more than others…

…they write more often.

Here’s my magic number: 250 words.

That’s it.

A single page of effort every day is all it takes to build a writing habit that compounds into remarkable results over time.

So, how do you make those 250 words count?

Let me introduce you to an approach that’s been a game-changer for me and countless others: Atomic Essays.

Here’s an example of what they look like.

It’s a short, focused piece of content—200 to 300 words—centered around one main idea. It’s quick to write, easy to read, and surprisingly powerful.

An Atomic Essay has four simple parts:

  1. The Hook: A sharp opening sentence to grab attention.

  2. The Insight: The single idea you want to share.

  3. The Explanation: A short story or example to support your point.

  4. The Action or Reflection: A takeaway or prompt for the reader.

Why does this format work?

  • It’s manageable. Writing 250 words is far less daunting than tackling a full article or book chapter.

  • It’s meaningful. You have enough space to explore an idea without overloading your reader.

  • It’s a skill-builder. Mastering the Atomic Essay teaches you the fundamentals of engaging, impactful writing.

These little chicken nuggets are gold and crispy because they’re designed to be shared where your audience is already hanging out.

Platforms like X, LinkedIn, and Threads are perfect for this format because they prioritize engaging, bite-sized content.

Writing 250 words every single day is challenging but doable.

That’s the point.

Anyone can do it, and their value is enough to build trust with readers.

250 words is the sweet spot.

But before we get to the real juicy part of answering the big questions like “Where should I be writing and publishing these short pieces, how do I find people in my niche, and how do I build a loyal audience?”

We need to address the elephant in the room (not eaten, still very much alive):

AI.

We’ll cover that tomorrow.

Write on 🤙

Payton

P.S. Great storytelling isn't about being a master writer. It's about understanding human psychology and using proven frameworks to tap into what makes people read, buy, and share. These are the 7 Storyframeworks that shape all my stories.

P.P.S. Here is the lineup from this series.

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