How to Engage Readers with Emotionally Charged Writing

 In fiction and poetry, one of the greatest skills that a writer can possess is the ability to make the reader feel. If you can engage readers on an emotional level, you’ll have them hooked.

Think about it. Most of the books, poems, movies, and TV shows that you love best are the ones with which you forged an emotional connection. You felt like the characters were your friends, so you felt for them. You felt with them.

Sounds easy, but emotionally effective writing can be a complex and difficult endeavour. Let’s look at a few simple guidelines you can use to produce emotionally compelling creative writing.

Rules of the Road

To engage a reader, we have to create scenes that are so vivid they seem real, even if they are not. Through scenes, imagery, and dialogue, writers can emotionally engage readers with what’s happening on the page.

 

Show, Don’t Tell

The best writing shows readers what’s going on instead of telling them. If a character is sad, you don’t write, Kate was sad. You write, Kate lowered her eyes and swallowed hard, choking back a sob and blinking away the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

 

Use Imagery

Using imagery goes hand in hand with showing rather than telling. Instead of writing something like Jack’s heart was broken, use a compelling image to show the reader that Jack has a broken heart: Jack stood in the street with his hands clenched at his sides, and he watched her walk away. She didn’t care anymore. His entire body shook as tears streamed down his face. She had betrayed him and now he was all alone. It was over.

Try Dialogue

Feelings can be revealed through dialogue, and dialogue can also incorporate imagery. When you use imagery and dialogue together to show (rather than tell) the reader what is happening and to reveal the emotional aspect of the situation, the reader visualizes the action and becomes a part of it, often experiencing the characters’ emotions right along with them.

It’s a lot easier to tell readers what’s happening. Kate’s sad. Jack has a broken heart because Kate left him. But when you show readers what’s happening through imagery and dialogue, they can enter the scene and become part of it. This makes reading an experience, and it helps readers connect on an emotional level.

 

Getting Emotional

Readers who are emotionally invested in a piece of writing are more likely to keep turning pages, to tell their friends about it, and to read more of your work. It doesn’t matter which emotions you engage; make readers feel something — anything — and they will reward you, because the experience you gave them was rewarded.

 

Do you incorporate emotions into your writing? Do you use imagery and dialogue to do it? What techniques and methods have you used to help readers connect emotionally with your work? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment, and keep writing.

 

Source: Writing Forward

Melissa Donovan is a website designer and copywriter. She writes fiction and poetry and is the founder and editor of Writing Forward, a blog packed with creative writing tips and ideas.

Step by Step Guide To Write Content Better and Faster

 

If you are a writer, you might already have written various types of content or you might be starting now.

An expert writer will have no trouble creating blogs, guest posts, articles, eBooks, digital newsletters, brochures, flyers, promotional emails, and other types of content.

Anyone would break out in a cold sweat considering the volume of work that writers are expected to complete each day.

Additionally, even as a freelancer, it can occasionally be challenging to come up with ideas for a project and see it through to completion.

This overwhelming sensation causes writers to procrastinate because it makes them feel stressed and overwhelmed.

That situation has happened to all of us.

But do not worry; we will provide you with some advice on this blog on how to enhance and perfect your writing abilities as well as organize your work with the aid of proper tools.

Here Is a Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Better Content in a Faster Way

There are many uses for content writing, but marketing and business use is where it is most frequently employed.

Its goal is to inspire and educate readers while promoting and/or selling a range of goods, services, and knowledge.

Here’s how to write content better – and faster too:

 

1.     Identify Context and Subject

Content writers must do this before they start.

Before writing a word, every writer must comprehend the subject and its context.

First, understand the subject, then proceed carefully and follow your method.

Every writer approaches different content categories differently.

The entire process is meant to suit the demands of the users who will be reading and using the site’s content.

If the content is not created to meet those wants and the website’s needs, there’s no sense in creating it.

Content creation is not easy, and the writer must be accurate.

Ensure you have thoroughly researched your issue.

2.     Use or Update Your Content Strategy

Before beginning to generate any kind of content for any platform, it is essential to test and evaluate the reach of already existing relevant content.

The people who will make up the target audience read your content on the web, and they are the basis of why the entire method is carried out.

If the content is not generated in line with their and the internet site’s needs, there is no point in writing content for them.

It is crucial that you produce content that satisfies their needs because every website and/or system has a unique user interface and organizational structure.

3.     Take the Help of Tools

We live in a time with a lot of new technology, and we are lucky to have access to tools and resources that help us be more accurate and efficient with our content.

The online-notepad.net is the ultimate evidence of this fact.

·        Online-Notepad.net

The online notepad is an online, simple, user-friendly, free-to-use note-keeping tool that does more than just store plain notes.

Free Notepad online is a tool that lets you write basic and rich text and format it completely. It has a long list of advanced features that make it as easy as possible for the user.

Beginning with the tool’s absolute best UI (User Interface), it has a clean and vibrant layout that does not look raw and boring like its competitors.

Check out its top features below.

Following Are Some Comprehensive Features:

• Easy And Simple UI

Notepad has a simple, vibrant, and easy-to-use user interface.

• Plain Text Mode 

 Plain Text Mode simply displays plain text with no formatting options.

• Rich Text Mode

 Rich Text Mode allows for advanced text formatting. 

• Task List

The Task List gives the user a straightforward writing pad to list tasks, check them off as they are finished, and rearrange the order as needed.

• Text Sizes

 There are various text sizes to choose from. 

• Various Text Fonts

The text pad includes 9 different font styles.

• Colored Fonts

 There are 15 different font color options.

• Font Background Colors

 There are 15 available font background colors.

• Text Alignment

 Text alignment helps align text.

• Link Insertion

Any link can be easily added by the user to the notes.

• Different Heading Sizes

 The user has a choice between three heading options.

• Insertable Images And Tables

Advanced options for inserting tables and images of various sizes.

• Number/Bullet List 

Text can be organized using bullet points.

• Lock Notes

To prevent any unauthorized access, notes can easily be locked.  

• Pdf, Word, Docx, and Txt Format Support.

Importing and downloading standard note formats is easy.

4. Break Content Down, Make It Readable.

Sort your section headings.

Headings “split” a lengthy article and help readers navigate.

Ensure large text’s readability.

Create easy-to-read, scannable content.

People today are much less likely to read long sections and more likely to skip sections or exit a website.

So if you want to write content better, make sure you organize it very well. Doing so helps readers to avoid navigation issues, making it easier for them to grasp your message.

Use content headings and highlights to help readers find information.

This saves consumers time and makes the content easier to read.

5. Don’t Ramble; Be Brief and Direct.

As a skilled writer, I know how easy it can be to produce long, twisting streams of text.

If necessary, add more until it satisfies your needs.

Your content should not be too long or too short; find the perfect spot.

Most internet users scroll over text to get the info they want, so be concise.

A writer can overcome difficulties, minimize interruptions, and write more effectively and quickly with tools.

Throughout this procedure, make sure your content benefits the reader.

6. Be Original And Versatile

Nobody likes reading or writing boring text.

Essay writing requires creativity.

It sets you apart from other genre authors.

This does not mean you must compose a story with exotic animals.

Use hook lines, alliteration, metaphors, and different phrase structures to make your writing stand out.

Create an identity for yourself as a writer who can create interesting content.

7. Display and Explain

 I’ve seen numerous websites that are all plain text.

These sites are uninteresting since they only have text.

Add graphics and illustrations to your content to express its theme and context.

Start with the intro graphic that describes the topic.

Conclusion

We covered subject and context, as well as show and tell, to help you write content better.

As a writer, knowing how to write well and structure well is crucial.

We’ve included a few tips for making the content writing process easier and helping you write high-quality content.

• CONTENT
• WRITING

Sharing Our Writing Doesn't Have to Be Scary

I started writing less than 8 months ago and I’m almost certain that it shows.

I see places in my writing where my sentences aren’t as precise as I’d like them to be, where my phrasing makes the entire meaning of a sentence unclear.

I do what I can to fix these issues. I keep ironing out these rudimentary mistakes in editing with the hope that I won’t make them next time.

No matter how hard I try to keep them from popping up, they do. To me, these slight flaws reek of immaturity, of naivete, of even corniness.

For the writer to feel dissatisfied with their own writing is natural. It’s common knowledge that beginning artists can identify great art but have challenges creating it.

But making it in the modern digital writing economy revolves around getting as many views as possible. Getting these views means marketing. And marketing means putting your work everywhere it can fit.

These forces create a predicament for many writers. They have to share their work everywhere, every day to make money, build a following, or even get freelance work.

But what if they don’t believe in what they’re putting out into the world?

Early writers are bound to feel as fragile in their ability as anyone feels when beginning a new skill. When you learn piano, you don’t want to show videos of you messing up the most basic scales. You want to share videos of you playing, at worst, a four-chord song. You want your progress to impress them enough to mask your inexperience.

Unfortunately, writing doesn’t come with the built-in achievements learning an instrument does.

The only way we can assess what we’ve written, other than putting it out into the world, is editing what we’ve written.

But if the end goal of editing is to reach a place where believe our own work is valuable, how critical can we really be?

This doubt in my own writing and editing ability hit a head earlier this week when I put together a review for one of my favorite podcasts and published it in a small publication here on Medium. I didn’t expect many views, but it was something I wanted to write so I was happy to put it out there. I didn’t think it was compelling enough to tell my network to read it, so I didn’t share it on social media at all.

I don’t understand how, but one of the podcast hosts eventually saw my review. They read it and proceeded to share it on the podcast’s Twitter and Instagram, which have well over 3,000 followers.

It now has nearly two times as many views and reads as everything else I’ve written combined.

I was, at first, elated. The hosts are writers whose books I own and love, and whose opinions I’m invested in hearing. Seeing them believe in the merit of something I wrote enough to share it was the last thing I expected to happen.

But with such visibility came deep uncertainty.

Did they actually like my writing, or did they just share it because it was about them?

Did readers take my writing seriously, even though it was self-published?

Did my friends see it? Did they think it was good?

These questions plagued me for days after the article went live and marred the entire experience for me. I should’ve been ecstatic that I got such visibility and praise from people I look up to. Instead, I was searching for reasons why I wasn’t worthy of it.

In the midst of that doubt, though, I realized something.

I realized that getting opinions on my writing terrified me. I realized that I never saw my work as good enough for people to make an opinion on it, so any responses would be negative. To earn an achievement in a craft that rarely rewards them felt too good to be true — so I told myself it was.

If I had believed that my own writing was great, though, then such visibility would’ve felt like a reward for all my work. If I had believed in the possibility of success, then experiencing it would’ve been a reason for celebration, not for fear.

The moral of this story is that we all need to believe that what we write merits reading. If we believe that everything we publish deserves to be seen, then when it is, we will know that all is as it should be.

Writing is nothing if not an attempt to strengthen one’s conviction that their thoughts are worth hearing. There’s certainly a difference between whispering them in a few people’s ears and reading them from a podium. But maybe we can get to a place where the things we whisper are things we would shout, too.

Credit: Writing Cooperative

How to Write Fast Under Pressure

 

If you’re a writer, you’ve heard the question: Do you ever get writer’s block?

My answer is always the same: Writer’s block is for hobbyists. When your livelihood depends on making words appear on a page, the question changes: Do you ever get paycheck block?

I didn’t think so.

That’s not to say some assignments aren’t easier than others. Words may fly onto your screen one day. The next, as late journalist Gene Fowler once said: “You stare at a blank [computer screen] until drops of blood appear on your forehead.”

Regardless, you pound it out because – for pros – there’s no alternative.

I’ve never been one to think writing was “fun,” either, although it beats shingles, I guess. For me, writing becomes “fun” when I’m finished.

Therefore, the faster I finish the more fun it is. The faster I finish, the more assignments I can start and then finish, leading to more fun and more paychecks … which begs a more important question: How can I write faster?

Since writing fast usually means you’ve got a tight timeline, let’s extend this thought to:

How to write fast under pressure?

I was a sportswriter for 25 years, which requires sending a first-edition story the instant a game ends. That requires fast writing. Twenty thousand fans are screaming, facts keep changing, editors are tapping their feet and checking their watches and whatever you write, however good or bad, will end up on 350,000 doorsteps.

That’s pressure, or at least it was for me.

Like anything else, writing fast can become a routine if you do it frequently enough. Here are the top 3 tips I’ve learned for writing fast – as if your pants are on fire, for those days when the pressure is so great, they may as well be.

1. Prepare.

You have to spend a lot of time preparing before you can write fast.

As a sportswriter, if I was covering a night event, I would spend all day doing research and making notes. I would know how to spell everyone’s name, for example, and I would keep reference material at hand so I could find things quickly when the ticking clock starts sounding like Big Ben.

Know your general approach to whatever you need to write before you even start.

I would have a skeleton outline scribbled on a scrap of paper to use as a general guide.

I also always like to have the first three paragraphs in my head.

Then comes the “nut” paragraph that explains the central idea and/or why you’re writing the piece in the first place. Everything that comes after should support that paragraph. That’s your middle.

Finally, you need to know where you’re going to end up or how you’re going to end. In my opinion, your ending is almost as important as your opening. It’s what readers remember.

I also think about tone beforehand. Do I want this to be a light, airy and easily-readable piece or is it a heavy, serious, thought-provoking topic?

Be prepared, but be flexible, too, particularly if you find a better approach mid-way through – which often happens once your fingers start moving.

2. Lower your expectations.

I am not in any way suggesting you submit substandard work. However, if you have to crank out a finished, polished piece in a limited amount of time, you may not have the luxury of making sure every word is perfect.

When time is of the essence, concentrate on raising your floor instead of your ceiling.

That doesn’t mean your work shouldn’t be a rock-solid reflection of your professional abilities. But don’t try to experiment. Save that imaginative approach (that may or may not work) for when you aren’t under the gun.

Keep it simple. Write. Short. Sentences.

3. Concentrate.

Louis L’Amour, author of 105 novels and short story collections, once said: “I could sit in the middle of Sunset Boulevard and write with my typewriter on my knees; temperamental I am not.”

I couldn’t agree more. Years of pounding out copy under ridiculous deadlines in ear-bleeding arenas and stadiums taught me to focus.

What’s writer’s block, after all, but allowing yourself to succumb to distractions? You don’t have time for outside influences when writing on a tight deadline. You need a laser focus, which requires blocking out all potential interruptions.

If you work at home and have kids, good luck with that. I used to wear a special hat when I was on deadline so mine would know that, while I might be home, I wasn’t available to make pancakes, admire a drawing or settle a skirmish.

If you’re in an office, put on a sign on your door for all but your boss: Bug off.

I considered starting a stopwatch before I started writing this post. Including the precise amount of time it took me to write this could’ve made for a cute ending.

Then I thought of another question writers are frequently asked: How long does it take you to write (fill in the blank)?

My answer is always the same: How much time do I have?

Culled from Clariant Creative

• IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
• WRITE FASTER 

• WRITING UNDER PRESSURE

How to Bounce Back After a Business Venture Goes Awry

Even many of the most successful entrepreneurs have had the experience of a business venture going wrong. The intricacies of business can cause a venture to falter, even if you’re not directly responsible for the downfall. Unfortunately, the many moving cogs of a new venture can cause you to overlook essential factors, resulting in a regretful business venture.

Many entrepreneurs stress the importance of bouncing back. As Bill Gates says: “It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” The best entrepreneurs use the experience of a faltering business venture to bounce back more forcefully than ever before with new projects.

There are several ways to bounce back strong after a business plan goes adrift.

1. Don’t conflate a startup’s potential

In reality, many startups don’t turn out quite as planned. A Harvard Business School study finds that 75 percent of venture-backed startups fail. However, many fledgling entrepreneurs only see examples of startup success in the media, with former startups like Snapchat, Airbnb and Dropbox among the numerous success stories. Especially with many of these former startups so prevalent in day-to-day life, the idea of startup success can conflate into an unrealistic vision.

The false impression of most startups finding success, when the opposite is true, can lead to some unwise entrepreneurial planning. Without recognizing the possibility of a given startup failing, some entrepreneurs can blindly devise a business plan without heeding any potential hiccups or bumps in the road.

If your business plan doesn’t go as intended, it’s worth evaluating precisely why that happened, regardless of whether you had anything to do with it personally. It’s also worth acknowledging that the venture simply ended up like many do, so don’t treat it as an indictment of your potential or talent. From Warren Buffett to Bill Gates, even the most successful entrepreneurs have their share of investment and entrepreneurial failures.

2. Realize that profit is rarely immediate

With some exceptions, new business undertakings are unlikely to be profitable in their first year or two. A piece of knowledge that a faltering business can provide is the lack of immediacy in success. When starting your next venture, it will be easier to remember the multitasking, demanding work hours and mental requirements of your previous venture, helping you to form a decision over whether or not it’s going well. This time, with the earlier challenges fresh in your mind, prudence will play a larger role in evaluating the success of a business idea.

Especially if your previous venture showed potential, but you lacked for capital to continue the experiment longer, it can be worthwhile to take some time off to gather funding before launching the next plan. Ideally, businesses should be able to support themselves financially for a given period, while buzz builds and the business model gets truly underway.

3. Merge new lessons with a new industry

A business venture that goes off-course can teach multiple lessons about that industry itself, particularly in how its customers react to a new product or service. Perhaps your business plan and idea felt solid, though the approach was not received well in the niche. If the product or service is in any way compatible with another industry, it can be very worthwhile to consider exploring that industry instead, especially if it’s an industry where you have pre-existing contacts.

4. Keep track of happy customers

Even if your previous business plan didn’t work out as planned, you could still have previous customers that were happy with the product/service, or even your charm as a salesperson. When getting your next venture underway, be sure to reach out to these customers, mentioning your connection to the business with which they’re familiar and happy. Ideally, you will be able to get some lucrative leads with pre-existing connections.

5. Take inventory

There are different levels of severity for a faltering business. Some failed business may drain investors dry, while others may have pulled the plug before serious damage occurred. Regardless, it’s prudent to take inventory of the funds and resources you do have. Taking inventory helps provide a realistic picture of when you can hop back on the horse and pursue a new idea, in addition to how much you can realistically invest in terms of money and time.

6. Define more realistic goals

Experience with a misguided business venture can help lead to more realistic goals in the future, with new knowledge surrounding what does and doesn’t work, in addition to realistic monetary expectations for the short and long-term within a specific industry. Plus, experience from past failures helps to correct and adjust in the future, enhancing your knowledge at the moment as you take action.

A wavering or unsuccessful business endeavor is nothing new to the majority of active entrepreneurs. What’s important is how you bounce back, ideally with more gusto and passion than before. Failure can result in expanded knowledge regarding more realistic goals, networking opportunities and personal strengths, helping to increase the likelihood of your next endeavor being a smash hit.

Culled from Entrepreneur

Post Tags:#business plan#business venture#entrepreneurs#warren buffet