I was luxuriating in an email from a favourite writer the other day.
Her words sizzled, crackled and sparkled at me.
That takes some doing, given the numbness I feel at most stuff on my screen.
It got me to thinking about some elements that make a great message:
- Short sentences, long pauses. Give us time to breathe
- Emotive adjectives. Try Peachy, Wonderful, Estimable, Exquisite and Virtuoso instead of merely Great
- Alternative verbs. Chowing Down, Munching, Gobbling and Wolfing usurp Eating for eye and brain candy
- Inventive metaphors. “Waves of spam inundate my inbox” beats “I get lots of junk mail”
- Tell a story. The more intense, surprising or plain weird, the better.
- Ask questions, then answer them. Even “Guess What?” make the reader go, yes, what?
- Most important: grammar, punctuation and spelling still DOES matter, and you’ll lose creds if you’re off-point.
Here’s to your sparkling prose!
Jonny
PS: My Monday Masterclass season gets underway with a one-hour special called Effortless Content Creation at 15.00UK on the 16th November. Want in? Reply with “Master” and I’ll make sure you get the link.