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Ana muses about the benefits of liking to play with words.
I am past the halfway point of building a new website for my soup business.
Pitch phrases are easy to call up. I repeat them regularly at craft shows and to interested shopkeepers.
Some sound essential: I can't be too creative with "add to 7 cups of water" without sounding like a nutcase. "Stand on a kitchen chair holding a full pot of water and pour the water into a narrow-necked bottle sitting on the floor," isn't good advice.
I can be a bit more creative with the "About" page. I rewrote that completely, giving a thumbnail history of my gardening-preserving-cooking journey.
Customers have commented that I must have a background in marketing- specifically copy writing.
I don't. I've had no training except for novel writing. The descriptive skills of a novelist are useful. That mental thesaurus, which stores ten choices that mean "tastes good."
Other endeavors benefit from a writer's word-smithing. Have you parlayed your skill with words into useful cash? Does your day job require the ability to construct understandable messages?
I think in general, being a good writer helps in a variety of areas. However, there are many different types of writing and just because I can write novels doesn't mean I can write advertising copy or a newspaper article or a technical journal. I have found that many people do ask me to write things because I can do it faster than they can and it gives them a place to start.
ReplyDeleteI love the kitchen chair idea....ha ha!
ReplyDeleteI write a newsletter each week to my students' parents, in which I try to be a bit creative. I also am the go-to editor for our fourth grade teacher. He has me proofread many of the things he sends out.
When I wear my other hat and do work with the Historical Society, I often write blurbs for various things. Event descriptions, raffle basket items, etc.
Interesting, Debra!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Jen.
I've used my writing skills in many spheres during my life, including reports and speeches as well as training articles for Girl Guide leaders and information sheets for 11-18 year olds. The style and vocabulary may be different, but for me the important thing is the 'flow' of the writing. I seem to know instinctively if something doesn't 'sound' right, at least to my own ears!
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