Page 128 - Hypnotic Writing - How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words
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HOW TO MAKE YOUR WRITING WALK, TALK, AND BREATHE
Now here are some ways to help you perfect, polish, and strengthen your writing. Apply these tools and you’ll create writing that walks, talks, and breathes!
USE A THESAURUS
Obvious, isn’t it? You’ve probably used a thesaurus at one time or another. Most writers use it for the wrong reasons, however. A still active myth is that writing has to be intellectual. Victims of this myth use a thesaurus to change simple words into com- plex ones.
Wrong! Use your thesaurus to make your writing simple and di- rect. If you have a long word, hunt down a shorter one. Mark Twain said he got paid the same amount whether he used the word policeman or cop. Since Twain was lazy, cop was easier to use—and quicker. Follow the same pattern. Find short words that say what you mean. Delete the long words. People trip over them.
Here’s a rule of thumb: If you don’t use the word in normal con- versation, don’t use it in your writing. Said another way: If you haven’t heard the word at the airport or at a bus stop, don’t use it.
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