Free Article HomeSubmit Article l Contact Us


Five easy ways to add punch to your words   by Angela Booth 

*Article Use Guidelines*

Use in opt-in publications, or on Web sites, but please include
the resource box. If you could send a copy to me at email
address: mailto:ab@digital-e.biz , I appreciate it. Many thanks.
**

Summary: Writing is hard, even for writers. These five techniques
will make your writing chores easier, and your writing livelier.

Total words: 800

Category: Small Business

Five easy ways to add punch to your words

Copyright (c) 2002 by Angela Booth

Writing is hard, even for writers. These five techniques will
make your writing chores easier, and your writing livelier.

It`s time to write something important, and your palms sweat. You
force yourself to write, while gritting your teeth and hating
every moment of the process. Your palms sweat some more. And your
head aches, because you realize that your words have all the life
of roadkill. Why is it that the more important the writing task,
the more lifeless your words? Maybe it`s performance anxiety. You
tense up, instead of letting the words flow.

Try these five easy ways to add punch to your words:

1. Get conversational, and 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 Joanne
Let me tell you about...`

Write quickly, exactly as you`d speak. Don`t worry about grammar,
spelling and typos. Just blurt out whatever you have to say.

Force yourself to do this by setting a time limit. Set a timer
for five minutes. Tap out (or write, if you`re using pen and
paper) any kind of gibberish at all for five minutes. Turning off
your monitor helps, because it stops you seeing the words and
going back to correct typos.

2. Get specific

Want to write waffle? Generalize. Like in this sentence from a
real estate agent`s ad for a house:

`You are certain to be impressed by the space in this three
bedroom family home.`

I looked at the photo of the house, and wrote:

`Shaded by palms and eucalypts and surrounded by a well-
maintained garden, this three bedroom, honey-gold brick mini-
mansion offers your family space to play and grow. `

Not Shakespeare, but the words describe this house specifically.

3. Get 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 there with
you.

Let`s say you`re writing a letter to your bank, whining about the
latest foul-up with your account.

`Unfortunately I was climbing my front steps when I opened my
card statement, and I was so surprised I tripped. The bruise on
my shin`s blossomed from red to blue to dark-blue, and I`m
gulping painkillers every four hours. You need to put warning
labels on your envelopes.`

Not hard to write, and not boring either. You`re just telling
what happened.

4. Get enthusiastic

What you`re feeling comes through in your words, always. So, to
liven up your words, you have to be interested in what you`re
writing about.

This can be hard, but luckily enthusiasm is transferable. For
example, let`s say that you`re writing a presentation for your
latest product. You don`t like the product, you can`t imagine
that anyone will ever like it, much less pay money for it. In
that frame of mind, guess how the presentation will sound?

OK, close your eyes and imagine your favourite pastime, let`s say
it`s swimming. You`re doing lazy laps in the pool, the sun is
shining, you`ve got the whole day to yourself, maybe a movie
later...

Hold that feeling! Keep the feeling, and dive into writing the
presentation. (Try this, I swear it works.)

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 address of the
store, or give a phone number. You`d be amazed at how much
advertising is happily inserted into everything from newspapers
and Web sites 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 please send me a message
(sun818_98@yahoo.com) to tell me about your results. If you`ve
got other techniques that work for you, tell me about those too.
I`m always looking for ways to make writing easier. If I use your
technique in a future article, I`ll happily give you credit.

***Resource box: if using, please include***

*** WRITERS! ***

Learn how to transform your talent into a
flourishing business by subscribing to Creative Small Biz, the
free weekly ezine for creatives. http://www.digital-e.biz/

**END**

Author Info:

Australian author, journalist and copywriter Angela Boothhas been writing professionally for over twenty years. She writesbusiness books and copy for businesses.

 
30 Most Recent Articles :
A Disputed New Business:Virtual Property Exchange

In many ways, the in-game economy is similar to a real world economy - goods and services are traded to mutual advantage and are mediated in currencies(gold,platinum,credit,etc.). An online broker, who goes by the screen name Rolala, was not a fan of online games until his 15-year-old son be[ Read Article]

THE UNITED STATES, A Terrorist Nation

I love the United States of America, but I cannot tolerate the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. No I am not shouting at you, I am simply making a distinction, a difference that thirty-seven states of the union have noticed and moved to rectify. You see, AMERICA isn’t America anymore, nor does it in anyw[ Read Article]

Dollars and Sense

When I speak of the Federal Reserve and the fiat monetary system that controls our lives I feel as though my words are falling on deaf ears. I have the sense that the simplest conversations suggesting that change must be made invoke fear and condemnation from my fellow citizens. When will we tak[ Read Article]

Constitutionality

Is the 16th Amendment constitutional? Of course it is, the Supreme Court has made that as clear as it did the issue of slavery. But let us remember that it took the lives of more than 365,000 brave American men and the destruction of the Republic to wrest the matter from the courts and resolve the[ Read Article]

Five Secrets to Effective Pay-Per-Click Advertising

With so many companies swarming the World Wide Web with their products, how can you and your products and services stand out? Your ready answer would most likely be effective marketing. But how? How can you catch the eye of a surfer skimming carelessly through web pages? How can you keep the at[ Read Article]

How to Sell Bonds

If you want to make good money with banks, or any institution, Government and agency bonds are where it is at. Simply because all Government bonds and agencies are AAA rated, and banks can buy millions of dollars of any bond without incurring any credit risk. All banks own bonds of some sort, a[ Read Article]

Closing in the Car Business

The “P” Word. Closing is all about helping car customers make positive decisions. It is not about pressure or manipulation. Your customers need help overcoming the “P” word. Procrastination! Procrastination is natural when it comes to making a buying decision. Your customer is trying to avoid [ Read Article]

If You Build It They Will Come, or Will They?

All right, so you invested your time and energy to build your organization a great new web site, but you are not getting quite the results you were hoping for. Few customers are visiting or interacting with you and rarely do you get prospects to contact you through the site. So what can you do to [ Read Article]

Confessions of a Yoga Teacher

The following are questions that Yoga teachers still need to answer, despite overwhelming evidence that Yoga is ?the mother of all health maintenance systems.? Mainstream thought is finally catching up, with the progress Yoga is making, but it has taken 5,000 years for us to get this far. Serio[ Read Article]

Vertical Creep in Search Results :: Should Organic Optimizers be Concerned?

I thought for this week I’d give a summary of some of the more interesting Search Engine Strategies sessions which are currently going on in New York City. I was at SES as a speaker last year in New York and I have to say, there is a wealth of information there even if some of it is contradict[ Read Article]

How to build link popularity fast and free

We all knew that back link or link popularity is a big factor to get good position in any search engines. But building link popularity some times really hard if you don't know how to do it. One of the hardest problem for new webmasters is to get back link to their newly stablis[ Read Article]

Does Chiropractic Care Really Make Sense?

The Role of Chiropractic in Treatment Beyond the Resolution of Symptoms Do you have the same nagging injury that never seems to go away? Are you suffering needlessly with pain? Are you fed up with taking painkillers? Do you want to find out what is causing your pain? If your answer is ‘ye[ Read Article]

The Economic Implications of Buying Drugs Online

Although the Internet is fairly new (at least to the mainstream) online shopping has grown by leaps and bounds. Now you can buy almost anything you need, from food to fishing equipment, right through your computer. Of course, this has meant that commerce has been forced to adapt to the changing co[ Read Article]

Manning and Manning-Can Either Brother Win the Big One?

It was just over a year ago, after the Colts lost to the Pats in their post-season contest, that Boomer Esiason said on national television, "I think maybe Peyton (Manning) is this generation's Dan Marino." Esiason went on to state that Manning "is a great football player, but he's not going to get[ Read Article]

Branding, Branding, Branding - MSN fails to keep it Straight

Sometimes you see promotions come along and you wonder: did they just do that? The current MSN promotion called msnsearchandwin is a prime example of this. Not only do they use “black hat” or at least “questionable” tactics on the site, but the messaging is inconsistent. In this article [ Read Article]

The New MSN Search Interface :: A positive change or the antithesis of transformation?

Now, instead of wide blue bars there are sleek silver-grey bars. Also, the top bar where the search box is became narrower. To me this makes the page seem less “closed in” and more visually appealing. I now feel as if I can trust the results more because they have more room. I’ve also noti[ Read Article]

Malta Holidays

With Malta visitor numbers static in recent years and facing new competiton from former Eastern Bloc countries offering cheap holidays, the recent announcement by the Maltese government that negotiations were at an advanced stage with two low cost airlines has[ Read Article]

Drug Rehab Treatment Centers as an Experience, not a Punishment

Choosing a drug rehab treatment center is a decision that calls for both negative and positive emotions. Nobody wants addiction to overtake their life to the point that rehab is the necessary step. However, the decision to go to one is something to look forward to, as it is the decision to rebui[ Read Article]

Some ways to improve your king content

There are thousands of articles, books and forum posts which showed that content is king in search engine optimization (SEO). In this article, you can find some ways that can help you improve this king content for your web site. * Content for people first, not for search engines - Some webmaste[ Read Article]

Aerosmith Just Keeps On Rockin’

For over three decades, Aerosmith have been one of rock's most revered and popular bands, crafting classic songs full of raw guitar runs and intensely energetic vocals. The band first reached fame in the 1970’s with a string of hits including "Dream On," "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way." During t[ Read Article]

Chicago Cubs Pitcher Mark Prior Re-signs

After many trips through the rumor mill, Mark Prior accepted the Chicago Cubs’ offer on January 27 to a one-year, $3.65 million contract. That is $900,000 more than the salary he would have earned under the contract he voided in November. Since Prior's definitive season in 2003 (18-6), he has cooled[ Read Article]

Social Networking - The Next Great Marketing Medium?

There has been a virtual explosion of social networking sites in the past couple of years. Even the big players like Google, Yahoo and MSN are getting into it. With so much interest in how social networks work, one begins to wonder if there is marketing potential within these social network[ Read Article]

How to choose paid directory for web site listing?

How to choose paid directory for web site listing? Search Engines are the major source of traffic for any website. High search engine ranking can boost number of your visitors and in turn leads to increase in sales. The best way to get top search engine placement is to improve link popularity [ Read Article]

Addiction Treatment Centers Using Experiential Therapies

Life is experience. Substance dependence overtakes a person’s ability to make her own decisions to experience life, and life is no longer actively participated in. Therefore, in overcoming addiction, it is vital to learn to re-experience life. This lesson helps a treatment center resident reint[ Read Article]

The DH: Making Life Tough for AL Pitchers

In 1973 Major League Baseball instituted three rules designed to lessen the power of pitchers and create more offense. One theory at work was that the game needed to be energized and that more hitting would create additional runs and excitement. Both the National and American Leagues lowered th[ Read Article]

Vacation on the Beach the Smart Way

Vacation on the Beach the Smart Way Almost everyone agrees; there is no more relaxing way to vacation than to take it to the beach. For the vacationer/traveler who hasn't considered a beach house rental before, they represent an affordable and fun family oriented alternative. There is an intell[ Read Article]

Malta Holidays and Hotels Buzzed by New Jets

With Malta visitor numbers static in recent years and facing new competiton from former Eastern Bloc countries offering cheap holidays, the recent announcement by the Maltese government that negotiations were at an advanced stage with two low cost airlines has sparked hopes that the island will see [ Read Article]

The Rising Cost of Prescription Drugs

If you’re like many Americans, the rising cost of prescription drugs may be costing you your health. In particular, seniors living on a fixed income with no insurance are finding it difficult to pay for necessary prescriptions out-of-pocket, and as a result, may be failing to receive the treatment[ Read Article]

Who's Tops in Hockey and Who's Not

The National Hockey League needs to do more to encourage better coverage of the hockey games. With so many other sports realizing national coverage, the NHL is sometimes forgotten. However, this year, there's a race for the Stanley Cup, and only one is set to win it. But which team will that be? [ Read Article]

The Danger Of Rounding Up Your Debts

Rounding up your debts is one of the biggest dangers to your financial position. It's also one of the easiest ways for your debts to get out of control. This way of thinking is best summed up by the following comment; ‘I already owe $27500 so what’s another $500. It takes my debt to a nice round [ Read Article]

 

World Top Stories :
French president visits Kabul
French President Francois Hollande makes an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to explain his decision to pull troops out a year earlier than planned.


Two jailed over NZ ship disaster
Two officers of the container ship that ran aground off New Zealand causing its worst maritime spill are jailed for seven months.


Male 'contraceptive gene' found
It may be possible to develop a new form of male contraceptive after researchers in Edinburgh identified a critical gene for the production of healthy sperm.


 

Copyright © 2006 Realook.com All Rights Reserved.