In our journey as professional copywriters and content writers, we’ve encountered various clients with diverse requirements and expectations. However, we never anticipated meeting a perfectionist client who would change our approach to writing forever.
This is the story of our most challenging yet rewarding client, who pushed us to explore and adopt creative writing techniques that transformed our work.
It all began when an entrepreneur wanted to create a content platform for entrepreneurs. He commissioned us to write a long-form article about alternative ways for entrepreneurs to raise capital instead of asking for VC funds. Despite our enthusiasm for the subject, our first draft didn’t impress him. At all.
His main concern was that the article lacked a strong beginning. Little did we know this seemingly impossible-to-please client would become our most valued teacher and mentor.
After hours of research and reading, we discovered five powerful creative writing techniques that have since reshaped our writing process:
Seduction, Sustain, Farewell
This classic narrative structure is essential for an engaging story. The beginning should captivate the reader with something impactful. The middle should unravel the story with challenges and growth; the ending should provide closure and leave a lasting impression. By viewing these stages as seduction, sustain, and farewell, we learned to focus on the reader’s experience throughout the narrative.
Start Strong
To hook our readers, we learned to create an opening paragraph that intrigues, builds tension, and arouses curiosity. Instead of overwhelming readers with too much information, we now concentrate on three key elements: a character, a place, and an object. Establishing a clear direction of travel or transformation helps lay a solid foundation for the story and keeps readers engaged.
Craft a Solid Body
The middle of a story is where the protagonist undergoes significant transformations. We incorporated tension, conflict, and high-stakes choices into this section, leading to character growth and relatability. Adopting a ‘beginning, middle, end’ structure helped us emphasize our characters’ internal struggles and challenges.
Deliver a Powerful Ending
We discovered the importance of differentiating between the story’s climax and ending. Providing closure and considering the emotional tone we wanted to leave our readers with became a priority. Crafting thought-provoking or open-ended conclusions allowed our stories to resonate with readers long after they finished reading.
Use Objects to Dramatize Story Action
Incorporating objects into our writing proved a powerful technique for bringing stories to life. Objects can represent conflict, symbolize internal struggles, or be used in rituals. By using objects and their associated verbs to create action and interaction, we effectively dramatized our stories and made them more engaging.
Our client’s quest for perfection taught us invaluable creative writing techniques that have enriched our work. We’re grateful for the challenge he presented to us, as it has ultimately made us better writers. Thanks, Andrew!
