Enthusiasm: the key to great writing
January 10th, 2017 by Bob Bly
One of the factors that can elevate your writing to the next
level of effectiveness and power is enthusiasm.
By that I mean enthusiasm both for the subject matter as well as
the particular piece you are writing, whether it’s an essay,
article, book, ad, blog post, or sales letter.
When you are enthusiastic about what you are writing, that
excitement and caring will shine through in your words.
But some writers tell me that mustering enthusiasm is a problem,
because they don’t think what they are writing is unique,
valuable, or important.
A sales trainer writing a book on selling so he could get more
speaking gigs said to me, “There are already so many books on
selling, I question why I am even bothering to produce one more.”
And I see his point.
A copywriter working on a promotion for a prostate supplement
told me, “There are so many products in this category, and they
all seem to have the same ingredients — plus, not having prostate
problems myself, I can’t say from personal experience that this
one actually works.”
Well, the great novelist John Steinbeck had a simple solution to
putting enthusiasm into your writing even in situations such as
these.
He said: “The writer must believe that what he is doing is the
most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this
illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
For instance, I am not a truck mechanic, so I am never going to
use the tools for fleet maintenance my client sells. I wouldn’t
even know how.
But DS, my client, loves what he sells. Tools and truck
maintenance are his passion. He communicates that love to me when
I interview him, and so I am able to muster what I call
“temporary enthusiasm.”
You see, you do not have to love everything you are writing
about. What you DO have to do is become excited and jazzed about
it during the weeks or months you are writing about it. I call
this “temporary enthusiasm.”
And that you can do. I do it all the time. You can too.
Now, there are two additional methods in addition to “temporary
enthusiasm” that can help you have a more positive attitude
toward your writing assignments.
The first is to gravitate toward clients whose products or
industries you absolutely love, or if not love, at least really
like or are interested in.
For instance, one of my copywriting clients is a major science
fiction publisher. I love SF (I am a published science fiction
writer), so doing their work is pure joy for me.
Another makes chemical agents for fire suppression. While I don’t
“love” fire suppression, I am a chemical engineer, and I DO love
writing about interesting technology — and theirs is indeed
fascinating.
The second technique for avoiding lack of enthusiasm in your
writing is to turn down projects in which you have zero interest
if not outright disdain for.
In 1982, the first year of my freelance copywriting career, when
things were lean, a mainstream book publisher asked me to write 5
direct mail packages, one each for a different book.
Thrilled to get the call, I asked him the subject matter.
When he replied that it was hunting, I was crestfallen, and —
painfully, because I needed the work, the portfolio samples, and
the money — I turned it down.
Why? Because I love animals, and knew I could not write with
enthusiasm or credibility about the joy of killing them —
something I would never do.
The client was actually offended, because he thought I was saying
hunting is wrong or evil.
(Quickest way in the world to start an argument: tell a hunter
you think hunting is wrong. He will immediately say: “You eat
meat, right?”)
I was not saying that hunting was immoral. If people want to
hunt, they have the legal right to do so. I just don’t understand
why they would do it … or how they could get pleasure out of it.
Some say, “Well, I like to be out in the woods and nature.” I
say, “So go out and enjoy nature — but don’t kill it.”
I simply don’t like the idea of hunting, and while I am not doing
anything to stop it, I certainly am not going to promote it,
either.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 10th, 2017 at 11:33 am and is filed under Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 2nd, 2017 at 2:37 am
I would call the article “Enthusiasm: the key to great EVERYTHING”.
Really, passion, or enthusiasm, is a source for drive, wanting and taking action on the most important things in life, including writing! (even if you only blog 🙂 )
March 24th, 2017 at 5:49 am
Still, until you fix the deeper problem (by assuring that students know what subjects and verbs are, and can construct grammatically correct sentences), you’re putting bandages on symptoms, not treating the illness.
The real fix has to happen in second, third and fourth grade, and we need to stop letting kids move on from one grade to the next in elementary school without acquiring the skills taught in each grade.
May 4th, 2017 at 2:51 pm
David B. commented- “Even if you only blog”. Enthusiasm is *especially* important in that effort in order to overcome the glut of verbiage assailing readers on the Web. One’s product has to compel continuing attention, understanding and especially action. That demands heart and the strength of one’s convictions.
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