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<strong>Better than the muse</strong> Want to write great metaphors? Practice these 3 approaches for creating vivid analogies. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-year-2023-balloons-on-white-2224942137" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Coco Ibet</em></a>

How to create metaphors and similes

3 ways to craft clever figures of speech When a Hollywood pitchman wants to sell a new horror film about...
Metaphor / Storytelling
<strong>Get the message across</strong> One metaphor is more persuasive than more. Choose a single metaphor, and stick with it. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/megaphone-shadow-on-isolated-background-art-2063697719" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by svetazi</em></a>

Don’t mix metaphors — and other metaphor ‘don’ts’

Do sync with the subject, don’t write a groaner Don’t mix metaphors. Fewer are more persuasive. Choose one concept for...
Metaphor / Storytelling
<strong>Make the most of 2023 </strong>with these writing resolutions.

New Year’s Writing Resolutions

8 of my favorite tips for 2023 I’m a poor resolver. For many years, my New Year’s Resolution was “I...
Metaphor / Storytelling
<strong>Feel stuck?</strong> Maybe you just need a better writing routine. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/paper-ball-crumpled-sheet-free-hand-158553668" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Image by somchai som</em></a>

How to overcome writer’s block

Work with, not against, your brain I don’t believe in writer’s block. Never had time for it. Blank page? I’ll...
AI/Writing process / Write Better, Easier, Faster
<strong>Think inside the box</strong> Just a handful of techniques accounted for all of the ideas behind 200 top performing ads, found a team of Israeli researchers. <a href="https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/man-empty-notes-on-finger-gm652222042-123961835" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by reklamlar</em></a>

Creative templates outperform thinking outside the box

Templates more effective than brainstorming, free association Can creativity be templated? Think inside the box Just...
AI/Writing process / Storytelling / Templates / Wordplay / Write Better, Easier, Faster
People remember information better when stories are organized according to well-known structures. That’s because those familiar structures fit into readers’ existing mental frameworks. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/three-post-isolated-on-white-background-57228280" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Image by Roxana Bashyrova</em></a>

Why use a story structure?

Plus: 18 writing templates to try People remember information better when stories are organized according to well-known structures. (Mandler and...
Storytelling / Storytelling / Templates
<strong>Devil in the details</strong> Get Snowball’s or Tubby’s or Frisky’s name. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/47000103@N05/8161295976" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Charlie Stinchcomb</em></a>

How to interview a person for an article

‘Get the name of the dog’ and other ways to get creative material I still remember — more than a...
Storytelling / Storytelling
<strong>Better than a recording device</strong> To get great stories in the interview, find the desk-pounding, or aha!, moment. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/microphone-on-white-background-close-view-606943184" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Dmytro Ostapenko</em></a>

How to interview for an article to get stories

How to find the aha! moment and other tools Call it an aha! moment: Better than...
Storytelling / Storytelling
<strong>Just looking</strong> Firsthand observation brings your message to life. So go to the scene and observe. <a href="https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/young-woman-with-curly-hair-looking-through-binoculars-gm825159892-133809499" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Wavebreakmedia</em></a>

How to conduct observational research

Try WBHA, or writing by hanging around You’ve heard about MBWA, or management by walking around? Try WBHA, or writing...
AI/Writing process / Write Better, Easier, Faster
<strong>Just one</strong> Of course your message can branch out. But build it on a single foundation. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/mans-hand-isolated-on-white-background-90174028" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Image by ninell</em></a>

Focus on one angle of the story

Single point, simple message You can’t cram size 10 hips into a size 4 skirt. And you can’t cram too...
01 Message length / AI/Writing process / Readability / Write Better, Easier, Faster
<strong>Point it out</strong> Use your one-sentence story angle in your piece. <a href="https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/kid-hand-pointing-with-index-finger-isolated-gm939627170-256900935" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Image by Prostock-Studio</em></a>

Make your key point in writing

Use it as a headline, deck or nut graph Once you've found your focus and written your one-sentence story summary,...
01 Message length / AI/Writing process / Readability / Write Better, Easier, Faster
<strong>Here’s an idea: Have a point!</strong> To find your story angle, focus on a single idea, summarize that idea in one sentence and use that sentence high in your story. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-woman-curly-hair-got-inspiration-2103309467" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Cast Of Thousands</em></a>

What is a story angle?

4 ways to find your focus My favorite scene in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is when Steve Martin finally blows...
AI/Writing process / Write Better, Easier, Faster
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