6 MrBeast Lessons Every Writer Should Use to Level Up Their Craft

Creators come in all forms—YouTubers, filmmakers, authors, poets—and the principles that drive breakthrough success often look the same across genres. In a recent Colin & Samir conversation, MrBeast shared several lessons that helped shape his journey.
Surprisingly, they translate beautifully to the writing life. Here’s how authors can apply them.

1. Invest in Yourself (And Your Writing)

Quote: “Every dollar I’ve ever made, I spent it the next month on content.”

For writers, “investment” isn’t just about money. It’s time, attention, tools, and training.

• If your writing is improving with a critique partner, invest in a stronger editing relationship.

• If a particular newsletter, blog format, or book idea is working—pour fuel on it.

• If hiring a developmental editor will elevate your manuscript, that’s not an expense—it's acceleration.

Writers often cling to resources after years of writing “for free.” But strategically reinvesting in your craft and platforms often unlocks the next chapter of growth.

Meet your needs, then back your vision.

2. It’s Okay to Be Obsessed

Quote: “You’re an idiot until you’re successful, then you’re smart.”

Writing obsession looks strange from the outside:

• You spend hours thinking about structure while doing dishes.

• You revise a single paragraph until it finally breathes.

• You research obscure topics for a fictional scene.

To outsiders, it can look eccentric. But obsession is often the exact ingredient that makes writing meaningful.

If you’re the only one who understands your idea right now, that’s normal.
The best writing often begins as a private fascination.

Give yourself permission to care deeply about something others won’t “get” until later.

3. Find Friends Who Give You Brutally Honest Feedback

Quote: “If your friends aren’t calling you saying, ‘This isn’t your best,’ you need better friends.”

Every writer needs truth-tellers:

• Someone who says, “Chapter 3 drags.”

• Someone who admits, “This character feels flat.”

• Someone who can look you in the eyes and say, “You can write this better.”

Not to discourage you—but to pull you forward.

Honest critique is uncomfortable, but it’s leverage.
Your writing levels up faster when the people around you aren’t afraid to tell you the truth.

4. Build Your Creative Checklist

Quote: “Put every lesson you learn on a checklist—and never upload without checking every box.”

Writers thrive with systems:

• Your pre-writing checklist

• Your revision checklist

• Your publication checklist

• Your “things to never do again” list

Every time you learn something that improves your writing, document it. Over months and years, you’ll build your own creative operating system.

This doesn’t stifle creativity—it protects it.
With structure handling the basics, your imagination gets to roam freely.

5. Attention is Earned

Quote: “The first 10 seconds are everything.”

For writers: the first 10 seconds = your first sentence, your first paragraph, your first page.

Attention isn’t guaranteed—not online, not in a bookstore, not in a literary magazine.
You must earn the reader’s time.

That doesn’t mean “write faster.” It means:

• Be intentional with your openings

• Give the reader a reason to keep going

• Create curiosity immediately

• Establish stakes, tone, or voice early

Ask yourself:

• Why should someone keep reading?

• What is the promise I’m making in this paragraph?

• What is the tension that pulls them forward?

In a world overflowing with content, attention is the real currency—and the writer must earn it.

6. Think in Decades, Not Drafts

Quote: “If you obsess and study every day for 10 years, you’ll make it.”

MrBeast made videos for years before anyone cared.
Writers go through the same “Valley of Disappointment.”

It’s the long stretch where:

• You’re improving, but no one notices

• Your writing gets better, but your audience grows slowly

• Your effort exceeds your external results

This is exactly where most people quit.
But for those who don’t—compounding takes over.

Great writing careers aren’t built off one viral post or one breakout book.
They’re built by showing up, studying the craft, experimenting, iterating, and playing the long game.

Your decades will define you—not your drafts.

Note: These core ideas come from a conversation between Colin & Samir and MrBeast on their podcast. This article adapts those lessons specifically for authors and writers, reframing them through the lens of the writing craft.