If you want your content to stand out among the mind-boggling amount of information on the internet, you need to infuse your writing with stories that express feelings and evoke human emotions. These things will set your work apart from AI-generated content, not to mention all the mediocre content created to fill space in the hopes of being found by search engines.
In this series, we have been exploring advice for digital copywriters from best-selling authors. In “What Content Writers Can Learn From Fiction Authors,” I shared techniques gleaned from the award-winning author Ray Bradbury’s book, Zen in the Art of Writing.
The second article in the series, “How to Use Memory and Imagination to Write Attention-Grabbing Content,” pulled advice from best-selling novelist Amy Tan’s book, Where the Past Begins: Memory and Imagination.
In this article, I am sharing advice from Stephen King’s book, On Writing.
On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft
In the 1990s, Amy Tan, Stephen King, and a few other writers formed a rock-n-roll band. They did it for the music and fellowship with other writers, and it gave them a chance to talk about their jobs.
One evening at dinner, King asked Tan if there were a question she had never been asked at a writer’s talk Q&A session.
Amy’s response – “No one ever asks about the language” – inspired King to write his memoir, On Writing, which he dedicated to her.
In his memoir, King shares lessons he has learned about writing since he wrote his first story at age 7. (Since then, he’s authored over 65 best-selling novels, more than 200 short stories, and seven additional novels under the pen name Richard Bachman. He’s also written five nonfiction books.)
Mixed in with the writing lessons are anecdotes from his life, writing career, and the inspiration for his best-selling novels and short stories.
Let’s look at some of the advice and observations King shares in this book.
The Writer’s Toolbox
“Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation. Affectation itself, beginning with the need to define some sorts of writing as ‘good’ and other sorts as ‘bad,’ is fearful behavior. Good writing is also about making good choices when it comes to picking the tools you plan to work with.”
Stephen King stresses the importance of having the correct tools in your “writer’s toolbox.” Tools that apply to all writers – fiction authors, nonfiction writers, and digital copywriters. These tools include the fundamentals of vocabulary, grammar, and the elements of style.
Vocabulary – Conversational
King says to put vocabulary on the top shelf of your toolbox, but keep the words in it simple. Your vocabulary grows and improves as you read and write more. Let it happen naturally instead of searching for longer words and “fancy or uncommon words when a plain and direct word will do.”
He recommends you “use the first word that comes to your mind, if it is appropriate and colorful.”
Simple, conversational language will make you a more effective copywriter, too. In addition to that, you want to mirror the language of your audience. When you write for a client, ask if specific terms or phrases resonate with their prospects and customers. You’ll want to include some of those in your work.
Grammar – Rule Breakers
Grammar also belongs on the top shelf of your writer’s toolbox. Assuming his readers already grasp grammar fundamentals, King stresses the importance of sentence structure, word choice, and the willingness to break the rules – sometimes.
King refers to William Strunk and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style throughout this section of the book. While he agrees with most of their grammar rules, he also states that occasionally breaking the rules can make you a better writer.
As a copywriter, you want to write for your audience and speak their language. Can you use incomplete sentences? If you’re certain it will work in the context, sure. But only if you are certain.
While The Elements of Style authors caution against using too many simple sentences, King tells us that simple sentences can help a writer get started, saying that “…simple sentences worked for Hemingway, didn’t they?”
Verbs – Active Voice
King stresses the importance of using an active voice over a passive one and describes passive verbs as “timid.” He admits passive verbs are sometimes necessary, but still encourages writers to look for another way to write the sentence.
As a quick reminder, the subject of an active verb is doing something. When a passive verb is used, something is being done to the subject.
I love the example he provides:
“‘The writer threw the rope,’ not ‘The rope was thrown by the writer.’”
The next time you’re writing for yourself or a client, review your copy for passive verbs to see if any can be changed to a more active voice.
Adverbs – Lightly Sprinkled
“The adverb is not your friend.”
King explains that the overuse of adverbs can stop the flow of sentences and that substituting a better action verb could help. For example, instead of, “He closed the door firmly,” use, “He slammed the door.”
Adverbs are often used in dialogue attribution, especially when a writer is not certain the reader will understand the action. Stephen King advises us to ask ourselves, “Is there an active verb that could be used instead?”
Such as: “She shouted,” instead of, “She said loudly.” Or, “He whispered,” instead of, “He spoke softly.”
Description – Show Don’t Tell
“Description begins in the writer’s imagination but should finish in the reader’s.”
An important skill for your digital copywriter’s toolbox is the ability to write descriptions your target reader can relate to and picture in their mind.
King explains how relevant descriptions can make the reader a sensory participant in your copy. The process begins with visualizing what you want the reader to experience, and ends with translating what you see, as the writer, into words in your copy.
King admits it’s not always easy. A thin description may leave the reader wanting more, while too much description can overload the reader with unnecessary details. Finding the “happy medium” takes practice.
When telling a story in your content, you need to decide what should be described and what can be left to the reader. King explains that he doesn’t give detailed descriptions of his characters, just enough to prompt the reader’s imagination.
“For me, good description usually consists of a few well-chosen details that will stand for everything else.”
Editing – Let It Rest
After you have completed your article, blog post, or sales page, try putting it aside for at least 24 hours before starting your second draft. King suggests a minimum of six weeks’ “rest” for books and short stories.
By setting the work aside, you’re putting distance between it and yourself. You’ll recognize it as yours, but it can also feel like the work of someone else… and that allows you to edit more objectively. King advises we do this because, “it’s always easier to kill someone else’s darlings than it is to kill your own.”
When the “rest” is over, use King’s word-editing formula: 1st draft – 10% = 2nd draft. Then, remove needless words and be as concise as possible to tighten your article.
Reading – Constantly
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
Throughout his book, Stephen King mentions how important reading is for writers. He calls it the “creative center” of a writer’s life.
According to King, constant reading will put you into a writing mindset, allowing you to write with more ease and less self-consciousness. As a digital copywriter, reading fiction, nonfiction, and online content will provide you with examples of what works and what doesn’t.
Writer’s Mindset: Door Closed/Door Open
King’s first job was at a small newspaper. When he turned in his first article, the editor taught him lessons he continues to use. He mentions these important mindset lessons several times throughout the book.
“When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.” He refers to this as, “writing with the door closed, rewriting with the door open.”
King says the best thing about having the door closed is you’re forced to concentrate on your story to the exclusion of everything else. No one asks questions about why you did this or that.
Think of the door closed as your first draft, just for you. Once you know what your story or article is about, the door opens, and you’re writing for an audience of readers.
At the end of On Writing, King provides an example of his “door closed/door open” editing method by sharing the opening passage from the original, raw version of a story – the version he wrote with the door shut.
He follows this with a revised copy of the same passage and an explanation for each of his edits. This bonus content shows all writers that even best-selling authors “kill their darlings.”
Fill Your Own Toolbox
Take Stephen King’s advice and fill your writer’s toolbox with:
- Conversational words
- An active voice
- Action verbs
- Measured description
- Well-rested drafts
Don’t worry about that “ugly first draft.” Just keep writing and get it on the page. Remember, the door is closed, and no one is looking.
