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August 15, 2018 By marisa

Use Eggs as a Writing Prompt

An Organic View of a Writing Prompt

An egg=cellent wrirting prompt! — Sometimes the most common items make great writing prompts due to their sheer beauty!

When was the last time you considered something as ordinary as an egg as a writing prompt? I have to admit, I came to this revelation early this week. My husband had shopped at a local organic farm where we typically get produce . (If you are in Central Florida, check out the currently available produce and egg selections here: https://www.crownjewelorganic.com/ ). He purchased these gorgeous organic eggs. They are small compared to even organic ones purchased in the grocery store.

But the tantalizing tints of the eggs, which spanned from ecru to bone to a blue-tinted ivory were breathtakingly beautiful. So much so I had a hard time cracking even one of them to begin scrambling for breakfast. So I sipped a second cup of coffee and jotted down some prompts. Here are a dozen that I came up with for consideration:

When was the first time you remember eating an egg? Did you like it? My mother didn’t eat an egg for years after she was on a trip and was served a runny one.
Does the size of an egg really matter when cooking or baking? My grandmother always told me to use the largest eggs I could find. Do you have a similar story?
Do you dye eggs as part of your Spring traditions? What are your favorite methods?
How do you like your eggs fried? Over medium? Over easy? Sunny side up? Be specific and explain why.
If you could make something with the shells, what would it be? Would you use it as two fractured cups or, perhaps, crackled into small pieces?
Has anyone told you that you are a good egg or a rotten egg? What incident preceded that event?
What are your favorite condiments to use on eggs: salsa, tomatillo verde, or good old fashioned ketchup? How do you decorate your breakfast plate?
Have you ever had egg on your face? How did you clean the mess up?
Aside from breakfast, what other dishes did your family make with eggs when you were growing up? Think here of crepes, soufflé, quiches, egg drop soup, or deviled eggs. What was the secret ingredient that made it oh so good? My youngest sister plants a two-inch piece ofcrisp bacon vertically in each devilled egg to make a family favorite.
Did you ever hide a rotten egg in someone’s car, home, dorm room, or locker as a form of revenge? Describe it in detail.
Do you like eggnog? Describe how elaborate or simple the holiday ritual is in your family.
When was the last time you had an egg toss or a race with an egg on a spoon? Did you win? Did you lose? Most importantly, did you have fun?

There are your prompts inspired by the humble egg. Now get cracking and get some writing done!

Here’s to finding flow in your writing,

Marisa

July 18, 2018 By marisa

Risk and Reward: Being a Beginner Boosts Creativity

Enter Creative Flow by Starting Anew

When your words leap from the page to the stage it creates courage.

Sometimes to get to a greater level of creativity, you take risks to find rewards. And I speak from a newfound love of script writing. I just retuned from the 41st International Women’s Writing Guild’s (IWWG) Summer Conference. A member since 2009, I have missed only once to serve as a bridesmaid in my youngest sister’s wedding. This year I went way, way out on a literary limb – a big risk for this poet, essayist, and professional business writer – to create, workshop, and stage my first 10 minute play.

Surrendering to Reality

It is hard not to act like the proverbial kid in a candy store at this gorgeous writers’ conference. I crammed my pockets of time – all five sessions – with courses to feast upon all week. Or so I thought. From a Pose and Pen yoga opener to a food-inspired workshop that spilled into the afternoon offerings of script writing for both stage and screen, and a final mixed-media and writing art class. I wanted it all. The first two days of the script writing classes were brain stormers. But when I began writing for the stage, I stepped out of the banquet line. My schedule collapsed down to writing, editing, and revising the play. Blame it on exhaustion. I thought I could go full tilt, even participating in the evening open mic reading and going out afterwards with friends, then write when I got back to my room. However, my hopes took a cryptic turn when my keyboard hand placement was off and the play’s title read “G:PE” instead of “FLOW”. So I decided to begin in earnest after I slept a few hours.

Risk taking is a surefire way to promote creativity.

The Nuts and Bolts of Beginnership

What I learned from play veteran, Kelly DuMar, was script basics, which I applied at warp speed. I shortened the dialogue sequences to make the exchanges more natural. I agreed to the placement of a main character fainted on a chair instead of flat on the floor as it occurred in the actual event. Detailed stage directions got turned into further dialogue. And after workshopping the piece, I didn’t fight the Truman Capotesque move to kill my darlings – silent stock characters – by the instructor. I succeeded in this entire exercise, because I remembered that I was a student and as such was learning to create something radically different from what I typically wrote.

And With the Risk Came the Reward

To see my words leap off the page and take the form of a woman, a student, a dying man on a subway station floor, and a seated group of five instructors whose lessons carried beyond the classroom, left me awestruck. And to hear the audience’s applause as the experimental work came to an end was likened to an alarm clock. It jolted a slumbering part of my creative self. I was ready to venture forth and write and edit more of the same. The reward eluded the risk of failure. And it resonated deeply in my bones that this task had somehow brought me home.

Now It’s Your Turn!

What type of writing have you been putting off? I encourage you to step onto the stage of your heart’s desire and experiment with words. Try your hand at a personal essay. Or compose a poem using a traditional form for framework such as a haiku or a villanelle. Here’s to your creativity when taking on a risk to find your own reward!

Until next time,

Marisa

May 24, 2018 By marisa

Close Observation Creates Better Copy and Content Writing

Take These Three Passes When Observing Subject Matter

We’ve all seen cats observing their vistas. Sitting in windows, their tails twitch with excitement. We, too, can easily write better copy and content by looking at subjects with intense curiosity. Three views we can take on a subject include its physical appearance, its social impact, and its holistic application.

Physical Appearance Drives Most Copy

Want better copy and content writing experiences? Opt for close oberservation. — Close observation of the physical, social, and holistic applications of writing.

As the old adage goes, “you can’t tell a book by its cover.” Yet, much of the writing we create for copy and content is heavy on visual appeal. So if we are already transfixed on how a product or a service appears, then how can we look more closely at it? What we are looking for are the details of the product or service that make it unique or valuable to the consumer.

For example, does a nozzle on a garden hose have new settings for water distribution not found on competitors’ hoses? Or, does a restaurant offering freshly made juice stand apart by using only sustainably produced serving dishes and cutlery? Specific features make a subject stand out from the competition. Beyond the cover or visual aspects are positive societal impacts to entice customers, too.

Describing How a Product Helps Consumers Connect with Others

Enabling consumers to connect with others in a product or service description is another way to add value to a copy and content writing. Going back to the previous example of the hose, a product or service can appeal to people when they can use it to help others. A long-range flow might help one neighbor water an elderly neighbor’s flowers. Relationship building among potential customers can easily move from copy writing into social media, which are enhanced with photography and video.

Holistic Approach to Subject Observation

The added-value of a holistic observation of a product or service creates brand loyalty. If a customer experiences satisfaction, then he or she is more likely to be a repeat customer. For example, if a particular demographic consists of environmentalists, then they may be more likely to feel good about eating at a restaurant that serves biodegradable service wear. The menu selections may further resonate with such consumers if it contains organic, locally sourced produce and animal products. The restaurant itself may resonate with consumers who prefer a small business over a nationally known eatery. These personal sorts of considerations are viewed as holistic benefits to a product or service.

Observations Increases Value of Subject Matter

Creating catchy copy and content writing benefits from close observation. The physical description brings a subject to life. The social description adds the appeal of altruism to the subject. Finally, the holistic description encourages consumers to relate their personal beliefs to an item’s identity. They are the easiest way to produce thoughtful and enticing wording for any number of products and services.

May 24, 2018 By marisa

Basics Back Good Copy and Content Writing

Here’s the Scoop on Keeping Content Fresh

Want to keep copy and content wiring fresh? Here’s the scoop: go back to the basics for clear writing.

Great copy and content writing are expensive ways to promote products and services. The cost is factored by considering the assignment’s concept, draft, editing, and delivery. Additionally, the quality of writing of professional writers is influenced by many things, including: Professional background; Advanced degrees and continuing education; And, the variety of lifestyle experiences that contribute to overall knowledge. More importantly, great writing results from a keen appreciation for the basics in grammar and punctuation. Knowing when to break the rules, and when to stick with them, creates memorable campaigns. Why are these qualifications so important?

Because, every word counts.

Some Suggestions for Timely Text

If you are creating your own copy or content writing, you will want to be scrupulous about your posts, blogs, and email writing, too. It lends to an overall appearance of excellent work. Moreover, this gives credibility to professionalism. To gain potential clients’ trust, use a few tried-and-true rules:

Write in the active voice. The use of passive construction takes more words and loses energy.
Choose precise wording. This is sort of important to get the point across.
Add interest with shorter sentences mixed with longer ones. It matters. The mix of the two makes for more pleasurable reading.
Avoid excessive punctuation!!! THE SAME GOES FOR WRITING IN ALL CAPS. Or. Writing. One. Word. Sentences. Or. Paragraphs. Just say, “No!”
Use shorter words for clarity. The utilization of longer forms of verbiage increases loquacity at the expense of clarification of textual references.
Impress with wording. Make it sound positive, vibrant, and motivating. Irritating, overbearing, and angry writing is often counterproductive and prevents customers from desiring a product or service. Remember, mood matters.
Prevent writing from sounding too hip, overly chic, or extensively exotic for the product or service being sold. Over-exaggeration does not build trust.

Finally, basics in brevity, clarity, and mood help to create great copy and content writing. Follow the above suggestions to write your own work. Or, contact us at info@wewriteitright.com to help you create memorable product and service descriptions to promote your business with flair.

May 24, 2018 By marisa

Three Ways to Unify with Heartfelt Writing

Optimistic Writing Enhances Personal and Professional Ties

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.” Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words from his poem, “Write it on Your Heart,” is as timely now as it was when it was written 150 years ago. How can we use positive, heartfelt writing to lift up others through personal correspondence and professional writing? Below are three ways to achieve better communications to cross the bridge from anxiety to confidence.

Showing concern through wording adds depth to both business and personal relationships.

Connect Heartfelt Concern to the Reader Early in the Writing

Whether keying a business letter or writing original wedding vows, make contact with the reader with memorable prose. Make sure that the greeting – or salutation – in the letter is friendly instead of static. Prefer the familiar over the rigidity of formal writing, especially if someone has encouraged a friendly relationship in business. A simple way to accomplish this act is to use the person’s first name. “Dear Emily,” is much more pleasant to the reader than, “Ms. Smith:”. In personal correspondence, be even more touching with the opening. For example, “To My Sweet Daughter, Elizabeth,” rather than “Liz,”. The well-worded salutation adds depth to a letter.

Keep the Momentum Building

In his book, “The Four Agreements”, author Don Miguel Ruiz states that the first rule or agreement to follow is “Be Impeccable with Your Words”. He goes on to write: “Just imagine what you can create with impeccability of the word….you can transcend the dream of fear and have a different life.” And you can pass that on to others. When honesty is the primary concern in the writing, then the results of any correspondence builds upon integrity and creates confidence.

Closing with Dignity

When ending a letter – or something as simple as an email to a loved one – be mindful of the closing. Creating ambience counts here. These are the final words of a written piece that will linger. If the predictable, “I look forward to your reply,” followed by “Sincerely,” is dropped, a formal requirement is met. How much more timely to add a personal touch, “Looking forward to having coffee with you after our meeting next week,” adds warmth to a professional letter. A nod to a childhood remembrance, “With love to Mom’s favorite son,” increases tenderness, playfulness, and commitment to the bonds that family and friends share.

Putting It All Together

Keeping a consistent positive stance while writing personal and professional correspondence increases the feel-good nature of the relationship between the sender and the reader. Isn’t that what good writing is always meant to do?

Do you desire help with writing heartfelt business correspondence or personal letters or notes? Get ahold of We Write It Right today for more information. Click here to contact us for More Information.