There's a famous saying for aspiring writers: “Write what you know.”
And yet, I think it's often misunderstood.
"Write what you know" comes from a place of being certain. You're knowledgeable about a particular subject.
A character I'm co-writing about in my upcoming children's book, The One Place, is a young girl who daydreams constantly. However, she always loses her stuff because her head's in the clouds.
Then one daydream, the villainous JumbleDon steals her most treasured belongings and she has to find the courage to get them all back with her newfound friend, Wally the Wood Elf.
And yet, how can I write from her perspective when I've never been a young girl?
[ Here's a sneak peek from the book, illustrated by the ultra-talented Vajihe Golmazari, with all three characters. Bet you can't guess who's who... ]
I can write for days about comic books, how to give more engaging presentations, or how Marvel's Kevin Feige is a master at plotting, story arcs, and planning.
But I can't write with certainty about quantum physics, financial advising, or emotional intelligence.
Or can I?
I believe that effective writing comes from a place of uncertainty and can yield more powerful results.
As a Senior Copywriter, Content Strategist, and Digital Media Manager, I've created words for...
A Black bisexual woman who champions diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the workplace.
A CEO who ran a world-class port authority.
A neuroscientist and TED Speaker.
A leadership coach who persuades executives about the power of emotional intelligence and the significance of healthy workplace culture.
I've never been in their positions, but I found a way to write for them.
How?
I got into their headspaces by...
👉🏾 Reading their insightful books and articles.
👉🏾 Paying attention to their videos - their voice, tone, and mannerisms.
👉🏾 Attending and having wonderful personal conversations and interviews with them via Zoom.
👉🏾 Seeing and feeling how their experiences shaped and developed them as leaders.
Each has a specific voice and cadence to their words, and I had to translate them accurately for their use.
And yet, regardless of their backgrounds, I discovered they all had a common drive...
They are all human beings passionate and confident about who they are and what they represent. Their words are a direct reflection of their personalities.
Writer Nathan Englander paraphrased it best about writing...
"...have you known happiness? Have you ever been truly sad? Have you ever longed for something? And that’s the point, if you’ve longed for an Atari 2600, as I did when I was twelve, all I wanted was that game console, if you have felt that deep longing, that can also be a deep longing for a lost love or for liberation of your country, or to reach Mars. That’s the idea: if you’ve known longing, then you can write longing. And that’s the knowing behind 'write what you know.'"
As you're writing for yourself, your client, or a particular topic, write from that feeling.
{ And who here remembers Atari 2600? Just me? }
Here's what can make writing for your clients easier for you.
🔄 Empathize and relate.
🤷🏾 I will never know the experience of a Black, bisexual woman. And yet, I share her same perspective and thoughts about DEI and its relevance in today's professional world of treating everyone fairly and equitably.
🤷🏾 I don't know what the CEO of a port authority does on the daily, but I know the words he uses to inspire hope when things are down or empower when the company is on the rise.
🤷🏾 I don't know neuroscience, but I know how to take high-concept, complex materials and break them down for the masses in digestible form.
🤷🏾 I don't know how a leadership coach operates, but I know about compassion, empathy, and reflection in the workplace (btw...all traits I look for now in the leaders I work for and follow).
🔍 Research.
Yes. Every great writer takes time to research their subject even if they don't know anything about them.
I knew nothing about my clients when I first met them, but - as detailed above - I saw their interests and passions after looking at their material.
I could write from places of great confidence, urgency, or calm grace when needed because of the work I put into learning who they were. All their material was an insight into their mind. All our conversations added tone and voice to their content.
To know someone, you must study them - learn their joys and weaknesses, their frustrations and passions.
Author Dan Brown (of The DaVinci Code fame), said,
"You should write something that you need to go and learn about. Make the writing process a learning process for you... So for a young author who says 'I don’t know what to write about,' I’d say, what have you always wanted to know about?"
"Go learn about it—if you want to know about it, probably someone else wants to know about it, and let your learning process be the catalyst for you to take other people on your learning process, through your novel."
Find out what energizes or riles up your subjects and write from those positions.
📜 Choose your words carefully.
A CEO that addresses 500 employees speaks differently than a leadership coach who wants to promote emotional intelligence.
Here are two samples of copy I've written for both:
CEO: "You have dramatically improved our financial position. You have established our reputation as a world-class operator and an industry-leading innovator......but what matters most is safety. The safety of our colleagues. The safety of our customers, partners and stakeholders. The safety of the cargo and the assets we use to handle it. The safety of the surrounding environment.." (Using impactful words, this copy suggests that the servant leader applauds the people who had a handle on ensuring a safe workplace versus giving himself the credit .)
Leadership Coach: "When we focus on the small steps we can take toward greater improvement, we are more likely to stick with that change of habit and achieve long-term success." (This copy takes a lighter approach and seeks to suggest a change versus mandate it.)
Here's another example comparing the DEI speaker with similar concepts to a neuroscientist promoting better workplace culture. And yet, their approaches come from different experiences.
DEI: "I'm telling you this - smell the roses now. Celebrate the small victories. Reflect in the moment and afterward start with gratitude to help place your challenges in the right perspective. The doors will open. Stay focused!" (She comes from a place of power, urgency, and force.)
Neuroscientist: "We pay significantly more attention to negative information than compared to positive. Our amygdala grows bigger when stressed, which actually makes us more and more susceptible to becoming more and more stressed out!" (She seeks to educate and inform.)
📝 Keep writing!
You cannot be a writer without writing. Write letters, posts, texts, emails, articles, and keep. writing.
Stephen King said, "If I don't write every day, the characters begin to stale off in my mind ... I begin to lose my hold on the story's plot and pace."
The same can be said if you want to be successful as a copy or content writer. Once you see it as work, it becomes less of a playing field for creativity and pleasure and more a minefield of self-doubt and apathy.
If you approach your content from a place of connection and exploration of the unknown versus the generic "writing what you know," you'll be more flexible, adaptable, and creative!
So I propose this addendum to "Write what you know"...
Write what you WANT TO know.
Be curious.
Be imaginative.
Be an explorer.
Write what suits your fancy and keep doing it!
(Stay tuned to see how Sarah and Wally find their courage to fight the JumbleDon!)
[ ** Additional inspiration and quotes for this post can be found here. ]
➡️ ↙️⬇️ ↘️↗️✊🏾💥
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And as always...
👾 𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝘂𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀).
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