Writing is an extension of a conversation. Write with feeling.
Wondering how I write as much as I do with the enthusiasm I do?
Dirty writing secret #1
I cheat. {grin}
See, most people think that the first step to writing copy is writing.
But it’s not.
It’s having a conversation.
Talking it out.
Saying what you think it is…
… and then listening to what the other person says.
Listening isn’t a new technology. I get that. But I bet many of you are out there, reading this, thinking “Stella, I thought you were this smart and this good looking just by sitting and stewing in your own juices. You don’t need anybody. You’re an island. El lobo solo. A lonely planet orbiting in the internet universe.”
That’s not how it works.
Just this week, I was talking through my writing with my friend the Swashbuckler.
I’m working on a new talk and fresh awesome free gift. And it’s moving in the right direction, but I tend to be kinda wordy. (No surprise there)
I was telling her “here’s what I think it is” and she said “yeah, I like that” to some things and “I don’t really get that” to other things.
So, I’m just running my mouth (which is easier than starting at a blinking cursor on a blank page), and she’s guiding me, and I’m taking notes on what resonates, and what falls flat.
And then I go back and turn that Shitty First Draft into a Much Improved Second Draft.
Dirty writing secret #2
Have people in your life who are the “cute police” (if that’s a problem for you like it is for me).
I tend to be one of those creative people who come up with really fun ideas that don’t have a snowball’s chance in Miami of selling.
The telesummit I did last November? I wanted to call it “The Hero’s Journey”… based on Joseph Campbell’s work on the heroic journey in world myth
(I’m a total nerd.)
Oh, how I loved that idea so much! I even put a Pinterest board together for inspiration for the graphic designer. It was going to be a Japanese monk, walking down a path into the mountains at sunset.
The Cute Police put a bullet in that one.
Dirty writing secret #3
Have people in your life who see what you are striving to become.
One of the things my people do for me and I do for my people is hold the flashlight
Because it’s really easy to hide when you are writing about your work.
It’s really easy to take the “safe route” – where you don’t say what REALLY happened to you on your About page, or what you REALLY think about the line of work you’re in. (Like, the deep stuff that causes you to hang up the phone with a client and say Thank You, god there is no other work I would rather be doing in this life, and I’m just so humbled and so grateful that I get to do this everyday.)
So, you need people who shine the flashlight on you when you are hiding and say “hey there, you crouching behind your laptop over there… I see you. And what you’re writing isn’t the real you.”
I have people who do this for me (my friend Marcia sweetly mentioned that my About page was a real snoozer, and suggested I go find pictures of Stella in costumes and write about that instead).
And this is a service I provide the clients I write with.
Now, I share all this with you because:
I want to take the idea that you have to do all this by yourself out of your head. And throw it in a garbage can. Lean on your people.
If you need more people like this in your life…
who hold you accountable for getting your writing projects done
and hold your butt to the fire to make it better than you can do on your own
You might want to check out my next writing production lab – a small group – focused on getting your awesome free gift, newsletter articles, and an opt-in page (for your gift or teleseminar) done.
Mighty thanks to Polandeze flickr photostream for the conversation.
Hey! Did you know that Stella’s teaching an all-new copywriting training call on February 6th? There’s no cost to attend. You can check it out + sign up here:
