The entertainment and CGI world has been fawning over the movie Avatar for months, and it seems you can’t watch any entertainment news program without hearing about James Cameron’s groundbreaking 3D epic.
And even if Cameron went home last week without the armful of Oscars he expected, directing the highest-grossing movie of all time probably takes the sting out.
But despite the movie’s brilliant effects and the unique world it creates, you’ll likely feel as if you’ve heard its underlying story before. In fact, you may very well predict the ending about an hour into the film.
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Let’s face it — choosing just the right word can be a lot of fun. Most writers like to play with language, and choosing the perfect word makes you feel like a master chef selecting the perfect spice.
But words, like spices, can be overused. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with the enemy of writing that communicates and persuades. You’ll cross over into that dread zone — “purple prose.”
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You might not hear it, but your readers might be saying it.
To themselves and to one another, they’re reading what you have to say and shouting “Liar!”
It’s not because you’ve stretched the truth, because you don’t care, or because you got your facts wrong.
It’s because you were lazy.
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It’s true that in many cases, the more you tell the more you sell. But are there ways to make sure you’re providing the right sales path for various types of prospects?
Sonia’s excellent post about the ruthless sales machine that is long copy sparked an idea for a post I’ve wanted to write for awhile. That is, how do you avoid having your readers simply “fall off the path” when they’re reading your long sales copy?
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No matter how gripping your sales copy is, it’s an unfortunate fact that the majority of people will only read the first few lines of it. Does that mean all the effort you poured into the perfect call to action is wasted? Not at all! But in today’s fast-paced world of communication, less really is more.
Taking into account that many people will be reading your copy from a mobile device or skimming after a quick search, it’s worth breaking up larger thoughts into small, mentally-digestible “chunks” for easy, quick scanning.
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The difference between the almost right word & the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.
~ Mark Twain
Are you bringing the lightning with your copy? Or are your words more like a lightning bug, seemingly cool but without the true power of its namesake?
The English language is so rich with vocabulary that you’d be hard-pressed NOT to find the right word for any situation. But there’s a difference between choosing the perfect word and choosing an agonizingly long word just for the sake of sounding important.
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