The Mundane Millionaire: Selling My Spectacularly Ordinary Life

 

Let’s get one thing straight: my life is painfully ordinary. I don’t skydive on weekends, I haven’t trekked through the Himalayas to find myself, and the last time I did something "wild," it was eating leftover chapati and vegetable curry for breakfast. Yet, here I am, writing stories about my grocery runs, everyday events, children, writing and somehow making it interesting enough for people to read.

So, how do you become a writer when your life feels like an IKEA instruction manual—functional but utterly unexciting? 

Here's my secret: ordinary is the new extraordinary.

Take my Tuesday, for example. I found myself in an epic showdown with a jar of peanut butter that refused to open. Spoiler alert: the jar won. But in the defeat, there’s a story. Haven’t we all battled stubborn jars or mysterious stains on the couch that seemed sent by the devil himself? The beauty of writing lies in taking these small, universal frustrations and turning them into moments where readers say, “Hey, that’s so me!”

Writing about an unexceptional life is about mining the gold in everyday dirt. Forget sweeping sagas or globe-trotting adventures—write about forgetting why you walked into a room, the heartbreak of running out of your favorite chips, or the inexplicable joy of finding $5 in an old jacket, how you cried uncontrollably after your daughter said something hurtful to you, how certain result made you not worth living anymore. The mundane is where humanity thrives, and honestly, we all secretly love a slice of it.

And don’t even think about trying to "fake" excitement. Readers sniff out inauthenticity faster than I spot a typo in my drafts. Your story about your battle with IKEA furniture? Relatable goldmine. Your fictional escapade of wrestling a bear in the wild? Nice try, Hemingway.

What really sells is you. Your voice, your quirks, and that self-deprecating humor when you realize you accidentally sent a work email to your crush from high school. Trust me, nobody wants a perfect protagonist—they want someone real, someone messy, someone who uses the wrong there/their/they’re in texts and still manages to have a story worth telling.

So, here’s the deal: whether you’re folding laundry or trying to decode your cat’s judging stare, there’s a story. Embrace your wonderfully ordinary life and share it unapologetically. If it can work for me, it can work for you.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your “ordinary” story that deserves a spotlight? Share it in the comments—I promise, I’ll read every word (while battling another jar of peanut butter). 😊