I like to play with fire when it comes to writing on a deadline. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a serial procrastinator, waiting until the last minute something is due before finishing it. Sometimes I don’t even start until the night before.
I’ve always been told how much easier it is to not procrastinate and that I would be prouder of my writing if I just took more time on it.
However, recently I was able to put that idea to the test. In a writing class last quarter, I was working on an original comedy script. At first, I tried writing my pages for the week in advance. I’m not a naturally comedic person, so I was conscious of the challenges I would face in the class.
These challenges presented themselves to me quite quickly. I wasn’t funny, the structure of my episode wasn’t working, and I was struggling to find the voices of my characters. At first, I thought comedy just “wasn’t my thing.” And then, one fateful week, I got really busy.
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Hillary Weiss is a brand voice strategist, copywriter and content writer, social media stand-up, The Wordshops DIY course creator, and all-around word badass. Since 2011, when she first transplanted from the sunny tropics of Florida to the icy winters of New York City, she has helped more than 500 brands become unmistakable, with words that speak their language and fit their phenomenal work.
With a background in public relations and marketing before she dove into the world of “wordlance for hire,” Hillary believes content has to be better than “good.” She lives this belief by leading brands to create evocative experiences with smart, succinct phrasing that blasts through the echo chamber of our digital universe.
If you’re a writer, you have them—journals and Word documents filled with writing that most likely no one will ever read. It’s a joy in itself to write for the sole purpose of expressing yourself or to practice, and in many cases, you’re probably glad that particular work will never see the light of day.
However, sharing your thoughts, ideas, and creative turns of phrase with readers is the real goal of writing, and most of the time, you’re writing for an audience. Writing is the process of transferring what’s inside your mind to the minds of your readers, and it’s easy for much of it to get lost in translation.
Whether you’re having a hard time picturing who your readers are, or you struggle to write clearly for people who don’t have your knowledge, putting yourself in your readers’ shoes can help you make sure that your readers are connected, engaged, and picking up what you’re putting down.
Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved space. Rockets and robots, planets and pulsars, constellations and comets. When she was eight years old, she knew she was going to work for NASA one day, and she did. And it was awesome.
Then, somewhere along the line, it stopped being so awesome. Sure, it was cool, but it wasn’t fun anymore. The magic of the cosmos got sucked out with the daily grind—it’s hard to see the stars over the piles of email in an inbox.
“When you grow up, your heart dies,” indeed.