You’ll find in this little passage over here:
“It was a pleasant café, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old waterproof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a café au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write. I was writing about up in Michigan and since it was a wild, cold, blowing day it was that sort of day in the story.” – Ernest Hemingway.
I’d say for decades everyone has tried to emulate Hemingway. Myself included. You see people in the marketing/copywriting world to this day, run their copy through the Hemingway editor.
(Which has sadly been bastardised even more cause they decided Hemingway needed to be A.I. integrated)
But as much as my days of trying to be the next Hemingway are behind me.
The last sentence hits one of the most important things…
“I was writing about up in Michigan and since it was a wild, cold, blowing day it was that sort of day in the story.”
Being present. Taking what’s happening to you or around you and incorporating it into the writing you’re doing there and then.
Your social media posts. Stories or even your ad copy.
This works especially well if you’re trying to talk about what prospects are going through in your ads. It takes a little digging and it’s not always going to be easy to hit them where they currently are.
If you’re writing songs or making visual art. Learn to add your day to day story snippets into your work.
If you want to get people addicted to your work, this is the easiest way to do it.
You don’t have to be incredibly detailed about it.
Stephen Walker.
P.S. Here’s a couple of examples just to give you an idea of what I mean…
Art Collection Release
” ‘Morning Rituals’ / Oil on Canvas, 36×48
Created during this winter’s first snowfall, while my hands were wrapped around a mug of chai tea. The steam inspired those ethereal wisps you see dancing across the top third of the canvas. You’ll notice the colour palette is unusually warm for a winter piece. That’s because I painted this in my sunroom, watching the cold world outside while basking in a patch of surprising January sunshine. Those who’ve followed my work know I rarely use such bold oranges, but sometimes comfort comes in unexpected places. Like many of you who’ve messaged me about your own morning rituals, this piece captures that sacred moment when the world is still quiet, and possibility hangs in the air like morning mist. Limited to 50 prints, each signed while listening to the same playlist that inspired the original work.”
(I remember having a chat with Colin Theriot. And as a fellow art nerd he always said. It’s not about the actual art. But being able to bullshit about your art is what got those art critics and professors interested in your work)
Pain Relief Product Ad Copy Example:
“It’s 6 AM. I’m writing this from my kitchen counter. Hunched over like I’ve been most mornings lately. My back is screaming. The same way yours probably is right now. The coffee maker is gurgling, but I can barely focus on the sound because of this familiar, unwelcome companion. You know the one. That constant, nagging pain that makes even reaching for your morning cup feel like a marathon. But here’s the difference between my morning and yours… Three weeks ago, I discovered [Product]. Now, I’m still at my kitchen counter at 6 AM, but I’m standing straight. The coffee maker isn’t just background noise to my pain. Now it’s just making coffee. Imagine that. Just a normal morning, being normal. Remember those?”
(These types of micro stories work well in direct response email format because you can just casually link them to the sales page of the product. You’re not really selling them anything you’re telling them a story and they’re going to investigate on their own. The product sales page will be doing all of the heavy lifting for you)
Learn to tell stories. Micro stories that include little bits of your day, or whatever it is that’s going on in your clients world into the work.