These five techniques will make your writing tasks easier, and your writing livelier.It's time to compose something of import You force yourself to compose, while gritting your teeth and hating every moment of the action. Why is it that the more authoritative the authorship task, the more lifeless your words? Maybe it's carrying into action anxiousness Try these five easy ways to add punch to your words:
1. write fast
When you're writing, imagine you're talking to someone. Just having a quiet chat. You want to tell them about whatever it is you're writing about.
To make this easier, write in the form of a letter: "Dear JOHN Let me tell you about..."
Write quickly, exactly as you'd speak. Don't care about grammar, spelling and literal error*. Just blurt whatever you have to say.
Force yourself to do this by setting a time limit. Tap out (or compose, if you're using pen and paper) any kind of gibberish at all for five minutes. Switching off your monitor helps, because it stops you checking the words and going back to adjust typos.
2. Get specific
Generalize. Like in this sentence from a real estate broker ad for a house:
"You are certain to be impressed by the space in that three bedroom family home."
I viewed the photo of the house, and composed:
"Shaded by palm tree* and eucalyptus tree* and surrounded by a well- maintained garden, this three bedroom, honey-gold brick mini- mansion offers your family space to play and grow. "
Not the bard, but the words describe this house specifically.
3. sensuous
Be a reporter. Use your senses. What can you see, hear, smell, touch and taste?
When you report what's happening, your reader is right with that you.
Let's say you're writing a letter to your savings bank, whining about the latest foul-up with your account.
"Unfortunately I was climbing my front steps when I opened my card financial statement, and I was so surprised You need to put warning labels on your envelopes."
Not hard to write, and not boring either. You're just telling what befell.
4. enthusiastic
What you're feeling comes through in your words, always. So, to animate your words, you have to be interested in what you're composing about.
This can be hard, but luckily exuberance is transferable. For instance, let's say that you're writing a presentation for your cutting-edge product. You don't like the product, you can't imagine that anyone will ever like it, much less pay money for it. In this frame of mind, guess how the presentation will sound?
OK, close your eyes and imagine your favourite interest, let's say it's swimming. You're doing lazy circles in the pool, the sun is shining, you've got the whole day to yourself, maybe a picture show later...
Hold that feeling! Keep the feeling, and dive into writing the presentation.
5. Tell the reader what to do
Always tell the reader what you want him to do.
If you're writing an ad, don't forget to give the destination of the store, or give a telephone number. You'd be amazed at how much advertizing is happily inserted into everything from newspapers and internet site* to the Yellow Pages without giving basic contact information.
If you're writing a letter, or an e-mail message, do the same thing. You may think that what you want the reader to do is obvious, and it may be, but give the instruction anyway.
Try these five techniques and we will start to have some success!
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