Jan 14
‘TikTok Made Me Do It’: How the Viral nature of TikTok can be applied to Writing
I’ve effectively hit Writer’s Block, staring blankly at the dashboard of my Medium account. The weight of procrastination on one shoulder versus the weight of imposter syndrome in another. There is no objective ‘good’ nor ‘bad’ conscience in this imagery, just the languid push to write against the weight of my own insecurities.
I was idly panicked of what to write and how to write when, during my procrastination spurts of entertaining myself with social media, I realized I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. I can remix an idea that already exists and make it my own.
Even if the content already exists, adding your own unique spin to it can bring value to your writing and help readers build a stronger understanding of the topic. This is a lot like TikTok. Sometimes I will see slightly different jokes, dances, and skits to the same TikTok ‘sound,’ and it is entertaining all the same.
TikTok? ‘Sound’?
TikTok is a popular video-focused social media app where users can post different types of short-form videos lasting from 15 seconds to 3 minutes. Users can implement music, filters, and sounds to create content. A ‘filter’ is an interactive visual effect that alters your appearance and adds unique elements in your video as you record. For example, a filter can be mimicking flashing party lights in your video or altering your face in video to look like an animal. A ‘sound’ in this context is an audio snippet than can be reused by users over and over. A sound can be a snippet of a song, a verbal monologue or exchange, skit, or a commingled bunch of audio references wrapped in a pop culture sandwich.
Users can lipsync, act, and change the context of these sounds with added visual cues such as subtitles, dress, and/or acting in their own respective videos. Users can remix a sound in these ways and propel it to go viral, creating a TikTok trend. An example of a TikTok trend would be popular choreography. Someone records themselves doing a TikTok to a song with choreography that is appealing in some way. The TikTok gains traction when other people want to learn the choreography and make their own TikToks, adding their own unique spin to it.
The viral appeal of TikTok is in its collaborative nature — you can add or own remix of a sound and share very specific references with others.
Remix an Idea
Like Tiktok where you can remix a sound, with Medium you can remix an idea.
Think about how you want to present your story. Who are the types of people you want to read your stuff? What stories are you trying to tell? What questions are you trying to answer?
Find an idea that seems appealing and research it. You can look up topics through Google searches, forums such as Reddit or Quora, then read articles and/or watch videos about it. Learn about the content that you want to share and add your meaningful twist to it. Your content should connect to your reader in some way. It could be a counterpoint to the idea you found, additional points to the content, or explaining the same idea in your own specific way.
Find your Beat
Both TikTok and Medium thrive on connecting with the user in some way. Find your writing style through experimentation, practice, and reading.
Remixing an idea helps you find your beat, and finding your beat helps chisel out the writer beyond the Writer’s Block. Readers get a better impression of the writer and the content. Writing consistently helps clearly present your writing style and voice. (Of course, that is easier said than done. That is another story in itself.)
Be Authentic
And lastly, authenticity is what connects with your reader.
It is relatively easy to sniff out a TikTok video that is too corporate and stiff. Likewise, readers can quickly decide if they want to continue following up with your writing, if they like the way your content is presented, if they can relate or connect to it.
Authenticity helps bring human connection to your story.
Have fun with it
Instead of choreography, a joke, or quick informational presentation, you are providing a written remix of something that already exists but in your own words. When you remove the burden on yourself to start completely from scratch, you can merely have fun. You can always start with an idea.
