What is beauty?
The Irish poet John O’Donohue said:
“Beauty is that in the presence of which we feel more alive.”
I like that. I can feel the presence of beauty when sun rays peek through the trees. I can hear the beauty in the raw voice of 71-year old Johnny Cash singing We’ll meet again. I can witness beauty in an unexpected gesture of kindness.
In such moments, I feel fully present, and I feel alive.
Beauty is not a luxury.
It’s an essence of life. A moment of wonder. Yo-Yo Ma calls it the moment a transfer of life takes place.
And beautiful writing?
I used to think that beautiful writing was just about a poetic writing style.
Beautiful writing is vivid, concise, and rhythmic. Each word is chosen with care.
But the more I think about it, the more I realize there’s more to beautiful writing than style.
Beautiful writing is alive. It’s human. It has depth—there’s thought and meaning behind it. As a reader you feel connected to the writer, you sense their presence. And yes, there’s that transfer of life.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, then you might know I’m a fan of Apple’s copy. I’ve called Apple’s copywriters the poets of the marketing world.
But is their copy beautiful?
It’s certainly compelling. It has rhythm. There’s rhyme and a playfulness with words.
But of course, it’s only marketing; and there’s a superficiality to it. You don’t feel the real presence of the person who wrote it.
So, that’s not quite what I mean with beautiful writing.
This is beautiful …
I recently read The Light of the World, a memoir by Elizabeth Alexander.
I read it in October and then again a couple of weeks ago. It’s rare that I read a book twice.
Alexander loses her husband due to a cardiac arrest shortly after his 50th birthday. But more than a story of loss, her book is a story of love, and how love sustains us and provides solace. As Alexander suggests in her opening sentence:
The story seems to begin with catastrophe but in fact began earlier and is not a tragedy but rather a love story.
Her writing touched me more than anything else I’ve read this year.
There’s an art to vivid writing
Writing vividly is not about picking as many details as possible to describe a scene.
It’s about picking the most fascinating or the most characteristic details that can help convey your ideas.
For instance, here’s how Alexander describes Ficre—her husband:
His teeth were straight, white, and bright without benefit of American orthodonture. In photographs he disdained “cheesing” and set his lips firmly closed, but his smile was quick and shone full sunshine. He shaved his head on account of his receding hairline, and surely no one ever looked more beautiful bald—brown like a chestnut, clear brown, like topaz or buckwheat honey (“Did you know that buckwheat is neither grass nor wheat and is closely related to rhubarb?” I can hear him say).
I love that note in parentheses. A small detail that says so much.
Ficre was an artist and a chef. He ran a restaurant together with his brother, and this is what Alexander writes about his cooking:
Ficre created legendary dishes such as shrimp barka that existed nowhere in Eritrea but rather in his own inventive imagination. Women called for it from St. Raphael’s and Yale-New Haven Hospitals after they’d delivered their babies; people said they literally dreamed of it, a fairy food that tasted like nothing else.
The more I read, the more I realize how good writers pay attention. First, to what happens inside them and around them—what they hear, see, feel, taste, and smell. Next, they pay attention to how to express that in words:
Ficre, you would love this macchiato: perfectly smooth, strong but not sharp, fortissimo but shy of bitter, with a sexy plouf of milk foam dead center in the tiny white cup.
I’m not a coffee drinker. I’ve never had a macchiato in my life. But reading that, it feels like I can almost taste that cup of macchiato. I certainly smell the coffee, and I can feel the milk foam against my upper lip.
The writing gets even better when it’s about love …
How can you describe love?
I once read that you can’t describe love with words. It’s always cliched. I am hopeless about keeping track of quotes and can’t find the source anymore.
But whoever said it, is wrong.
Alexander shows us how to describe love without resorting to cliches. She describes meeting her husband for the first time:
That was always a good story: an actual coup de foudre, a bolt of lightning, love at first sight. I felt a visceral torque, I would tell people, a literal churn of my organs: not butterflies, not arousal; rather, a not-unpleasant rotation of my innards, as never before.
There’s so much tenderness in the writing:
He had a scar on his hip from a dog bite in his childhood. Our first night together I kissed it and he breathed the most profound sigh and asked how did I know exactly where he wanted to be touched, that no one had ever touched him there. Our romance was like that, healing every old wound with magic disappearing powers until they were all tended.
And after his death:
As I make the pasta I remember Ficre in our kitchen teaching me how to more adeptly use a knife, to preheat a pan, to press garlic cloves so the paper jackets slip off, to simmer tomatoes until they turn sweet and roast beets until they are like candy. The boys and I eat our delicious spaghetti until sated. Our whole bodies are warm. Ficre is in our stomachs.
I love that: Our whole bodies are warm. Ficre is in our stomachs.
I can’t do Alexander’s writing justice with just a few short quotes. I feel touched by her writing, the vivid imagery, the tenderness, the loss, the love woven through her words.
Love and loss connect us all
And writing this post made me wonder …
I know most of us write for business but let’s forget about AI and upping our productivity for a moment.
What if we all put a little more humanness into our writing?
And dare I say it: What if we all put a little more love into our writing?
In our anxious world, could our writing build some bridges? Could our collective writing be a force for good?
Maybe I’m a hopeless idealist, but I’d like to think so. There can be so much power in writing. A spark. A sense of connection.
That magical transfer of life.
Recommended reading on writing like a human:
How to write from the heart
How to write like a human
How to write with compassion
la leo y no dudo es su autenticidad. En letras más allá del marketing. Sí, la apoyo en colocar ese grano de corazón al escribir. En que tengamos esperanza en aportar a la humanidad en las letras. Muchas gracias.
I’m glad you enjoyed this, Carlos.
I love this. Upon your suggestion, I’m reading her book now and true of any well written poet, Alexander conveys a mountain of emotion with a molehill of words. I’ve always admired poets for their ability to do that. We can learn a lot about writing from reading her work. Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2023 is “authentic.” No surprise with so much artificial everything swirling around us. Alexander’s writing is purely authentic and a joy to read. Thank you for the recommendation.
I’m glad you love Alexander’s work, too. So much to learn from.
And yes to more authenticity, more humanness, more love in our writing.
Thank you for stopping by, Mary Ann. I appreciate it.
I recently signed up for your Snack Series of emails and I have to say it’s probably one of the best things I did.
I love the way you write, and I also love the way you teach this wonderful craft.
With any luck, your teachings will help me to improve the content on my site, and at the same time, get more traffic. Thank you so much for taking the time, and putting so much effort into this.
It is truly appreciated!
Thank you so much, Drew. Lovely feedback.
Agradecido pelo seu email, faço questão de abrí-lo sempre que aparece em minha caixa principal. Tenho tido dificuldades em escrever desta forma, as vezes sinto-me bloqueado e sem inspiração! As palavras não fluem om naturalidade. Sempre recorro a arquivo de furto. Como posso melhorar minha forma de escrever?
Thank you for reading my work. I wrote about improving your writing style here: https://www.enchantingmarketing.com/how-to-improve-your-writing-style/
Reading this felt like taking sips from fine, beautifully-aged wine.
Wonderful.
That’s a lovely compliment. Thank you, Ebube.
I was beginning to think AI will take over our writing and have no more use for us humans, but after reading your inspiring story I doubt whether we can ever be replaced. Thanks Henneke for sharing.
I like what Nick Cave said about AI songwriting: “I’m a songwriter who is engaged, at this very moment, in the process of songwriting. It’s a blood and guts business, here at my desk, that requires something of me to initiate the new and fresh idea. It requires my humanness.”
Hi Henneke,
Came to this article by searching for “how to write beautifully” in Google (you’re ranking top 10 in USA haha, nice!)
I was asking ChatGPT to make my content more beautifully, but after 100 prompts I realised only real human can put their heart in it to make a difference between good and beautiful content.
You inspired me with:
“Writing vividly is not about picking as many details as possible to describe a scene.
It’s about picking the most fascinating or the most characteristic details that can help convey your ideas.”
Thank you! Gonna try to make my content more beautiful, even though it’s a non-romantic subject haha.
Good day!
Yes, you can put your heart into any piece of writing; it doesn’t need to be romantic. You just have to show your reader that you care about them. Happy writing! And thank you for stopping by.
Well I certainly didn’t expect to end up crying reading your email but here I am.
Thanks for the inspiration.
I’m sending hugs! ♥️
Henneke,
I’m so glad l clicked the link in your email. This is a great post and I’m happy that you (who write beautifully) have shared another person’s beautiful writing.
And I enjoyed reading the other comments too!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Leena. I appreciate it!
Your last concluding paragraph – gold! Thanks for bringing this to our attention, couldn’t agree more. Book now on wishlist!
I’m so glad you agree, Virginia. Thank you!
Thanks Henneke!
Between all the Black Friday emails.
FOMO Overload on Steroids.
And me trying to make sense of how to use AI to not feel totally left out of the human race in the race to advance professionally as a copywriter your post saves this day.
I went to the library. (Boycotting buying stuff from Amazon for at least half a day. No Way?! At this time of year?!)
Yes, I travelled to the local library, a beautiful, magnificent building. A physical structure and found this book on the shelf.
Before I checked it out I sat down and lost myself for the first half of it. I didn’t even notice the intense stench of the homeless person slumped over in the desk next to me until I couldn’t figure out what was louder their snoring or my stomach rumbling.
Or was it their tummy? At that moment maybe we synched on hunger?
Probably not. I realized I shouldn’t bitch about most things.
Especially after reading from this gift of a book about lose and gain.
Thanks again,
I hope this message finds you well.
Phil
Ugh. Black Friday emails. I find the craziness overwhelming so tend to ignore almost all of it. I don’t send out any Black Friday or Cyber Monday emails myself.
And how nice to have such a beautiful library nearby. I hope you got yourself something to eat!
Thank you for stopping by, Phil. As always, I appreciate it.
PS I also like your intention to boycott Amazon for a while. I wish I wasn’t so much addicted to my Kindle. Otherwise, I do try to avoid them.
Henneke, Your thoughts are amazing as always. Being human and writing like a human… isn’t easy. I’ve been wanting to ask you, have you read Trust by Hernan Diaz? To me, its local construction is oatmeal with diamonds. Hard to plow through storyline dotted with sentences that capture a lifetime of insight about human thought and experience. Like, screetch, let me think about this one for days kind of sentences. And the overall plot design (discovered at the end) is something I haven’t seen before. Also magnificent. When I read it I wondered what you thought about it.
Hugs, Louise
Hi Louise, How lovely to see you pop up here again. I haven’t read Trust but you’re making me curious! I’m adding it to my reading list. Thank you. A good book recommendation is like a gift.
Your “Maybe I’m a hopeless idealist, but I’d like to think so.” brought tears to my eyes.
And, thanks for sharing Alexander’s beautiful writing Henneke, I look forward to reading the book.
I’m starting to think that maybe it’s okay to be an idealist. The sentiment here seems to resonate with quite a few people. (More than I had expected.)
I hope you’ll love Alexander’s book as much as I do. Thank you for stopping by, Joan.
Wow! This is really beautiful and evocative writing. I must seek this out. Thanks for the recommendation and the wonderful analysis.
I hope you’ll love her book as much as I did. It’s even better than what I shared here. I might want to reread again soon.
Thank for sharing the words from Alexander’s book. I’m always on the hunt for beautiful words, and these were stunning. I found a used copy and can hardly wait to read the book.
The quote from O’Donohue inspired my writing for today. And that Yeats quote…goodness, you hit the mark on so many levels today, Henneke. Thank you!
That O’Donohue quote struck me so much, too. It really helped me rethink beauty (and life!).
Thanks so much for stopping by, Kathryn. I appreciate it.
Dear Henneke… you are a unique soul creating little islands of perfect prose in the turbulent seas of noisy, attention-grabbing, time-gobbling content. This is such a joy to read. Thank you.
I think you will love a beautiful book that comes from the other side of the coin – written not by the bereaved husband, but by the terminally ill wife.
I was so inspired by this gem of a book that I wrote about it from the heart and have received wonderful affirmations from people who knew her. I hope my post will persuade you her book is worth reading.
https://suebrett.link/Sophie-post
I remember reading this post from you before and admiring your courage and also your generous review of Sophie Cabbage’s book. I’ll check it out. Thanks you!
Oops, I forgot that I’d shared it with you already! Enjoy.
Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s good to share again, especially as it’s publicly here. Maybe others want to read it, too. I just wanted to let you know I do pay attention and appreciate what you’re sending me.
That is beautiful. A beautiful tribute and such a lovely sentiment. Thank you Henneke x
Thank you, Sue xx
Elizabeth Alexander’s words and thoughts are, as I perceive them, poetic prose.
My Santa hat off to you, Henneke, for giving me and your readers an opportunity to benefit from, and experience, the wealth of “The Light of the World”. I look forward to reading it.
Elizabeth Alexander has published several works of poetry. Some of the best prose seems to be written by poets.
Thank you for the introduction to Elizabeth Alexander and her unique voice. I’m so inspired by this article. And grateful to you for demonstrating how to hold up another’s work as an example. And finally, so glad for this reminder to embrace our own humanness as we take the opportunity to write.
I’m so glad this resonated with you, Joanne. Here’s to more humanness in all of our writing. Thank you for stopping by!
You’re so good. Thank you for the reminder that we can each do more with our words. Intentionally.
Peace
Peace to you, too, Keith. And yes, we each can do more with our words. Me, too!
I love this post, Henneke— and your call to action! More love in our writing could light up the world.
You are a beautiful example of that.
Thank you, Christy. That’s a lovely compliment.
Wonderful! Write from the heart, not from the mind.
Your description of the book, and your quotations from it, compelled me to buy it immediately. I`m sure I will love reading. And be inspired by it.
Every year on the birthdays of my five grandsons, I write to them. We live far away from each other. They are in the United States, and my wife and I live in Brazil. I think of them, open my notebook, and write what comes from my heart. I feel plenty. And they feel touched.
Thank you very much for this beautiful blog.
What a beautiful tradition to write to your grandsons on their birthdays. Personal letters can be such a treasure.
I hope you’ll love Elizabeth Alexander’s book, too.
Such warmth, tenderness and love whirling from her writing; I ran straight to Amazon for my fresh copy.
Thank you, Henneke for your amazing, genuine writing, and bringing equally awesome people to us! ❤️
I hope you’ll enjoy Elizabeth Alexander’s writing, too. Thank you for your kind words, Aisha. ❤️
Hi Henneke, when writing takes us to a whole new level of feeling, it’s so powerful. Humanness and storytelling are so so important, especially in business, where in this age of AI, everyone’s content might appear a bit samey. When we get it right, it feels like we’re doing a beautiful favour to humankind.
Only yesterday I posted about the heart-tugging storytelling by Charlie’s Bar in their social media video. Another story related to grief – a lovely thing. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/markyreynolds_storytellinginbusiness-videostorytelling-activity-7134916540398735361-FLxT
Yes, that story made me cry! “There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met.” ~ W.B. Yeats
Yes, so well put together. It seems to be easier to create emotive content with video than words. But it’s challenging to do it well in whichever form. But Elizabeth Alexander shows the heights and depth we can achieve with writing – beautiful. Hopefully, as AI takes more and more attention, many more writers/creators will draw on their life experiences to truly take readers/viewers to another place.
The pub manager who came up with the idea for the viral video said…”The idea came really from what we have seen over the years in the bar.”
I hope more and more creatives over the coming years draw on their own experiences to create beautiful stories. Here’s hoping.
I think you might be right. It’s probably easier to create emotive content with video.
Still, I would say that Elizabeth Alexander’s writing touches me on a much deeper level than any video I’ve ever seen. I don’t know whether that’s just my personal preference? You’ll find me sooner with a book than watching TV.
We cannot let AI take over and take all humanness out of our writing. It would be a great loss.
Will AI get really good at storytelling? Probably. What does that mean for creativity? Maybe creativity will only truly exist in the prompts used to create great stories. Is that sad? Yes. Will we lose all sense of what is human in content? Maybe. How will humans use their creativity when creating content? In forming a concept or idea of something, rather than its execution? Crazy times. Among the challenges, I’m sure there’s creative opportunity. There will be plenty of years ahead where creative human brilliance will still cut through the AI noise. Will AI take humanness out of writing… or will it make it easier for people to add more beauty to our writing? [Controversial. I’m now hiding under tin hat!]
You don’t need a tin hat here! I wouldn’t call it controversial; it appears to be the majority view.
Many people will be glad to outsource writing to an app. I understand that, and that’s fine with me.
But for me, writing is a way to connect and engage, and I couldn’t outsource that to an app. Writing is also a way to be creative; and it makes me feel alive. I’d feel lost without it. Writing is a form of personal development. It helps me discover my values, my true self. I wouldn’t and couldn’t outsource that. And as far as I know, AI also can’t be a thought leader yet.
I hear you Henneke, it’s all so interesting. Thanks for sharing your take on it. Continuing your point with an appropriate analogy (I think)…fast forward 50 years… when ‘we’ are having a real-life conversation with family or close friends, would we outsource our side of the conversation to a robot? Yes, the bot might do it perfectly well, but we would lose so much of the experience. As you say, we wouldn’t feel alive. Some people might be okay with that, I’m hoping many won’t. So, in the future, if it’s via written word or talking (or in other forms), whether it’s with family, friends, a business audience; if we care about them, ourselves and the relationship, maybe creative, beautiful writing will always be here to help us truly connect and engage? I love your point Henneke. Very true.
today I instinctively read your post and was glad to because it is about love and writing with love. I loved it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your experiences on reading the book. I was touched by this post. 🌹
Thank you, Smita. My email announcing this post probably didn’t do it justice. I’m glad you clicked to read anyway.
Henneke, thank you for this beautiful post. I resonate deeply with what you are offering us [and have put this book on my list for Santa!]. This transfer of life you speak of is such a wonderful way to describe what happens when we experience art that moves us. That touches more than just our logical brains. I started following you as an entrepreneur who wanted to learn to write more effectively for her business, but over the years I have discovered a longing for more reading and writing that offers this sense of aliveness you describe. When I truly let go of any agenda, and write from my heart and embodied experience [not that my writing is anywhere like as beautiful as these examples] I have found that it can create deep connection. With myself, with my readers, with my experience of life, readers with one another. My sense is that many people are longing for this deeper sense of connection and aliveness, and if we provide a service -as you and I do – allowing ourselves to write from this place is a gift to us and others. It takes longer and does require love and patience but in the end it can be what has us stand out. You truly stand out for me as a teacher of writing, because I can feel the love you pour into your work. Thank you.
You put it so eloquently, and this is something I struggle with: I tend to think people follow me for persuasive writing tips. So, what am I then doing writing a post about love and connection? It doesn’t feel business-like, and it made me feel surprisingly vulnerable to publish this today.
Yet, I agree with you that many of us are longing for this deeper sense of connection and aliveness, and it feels important to me to write about this even when I feel hesitant. And yes, it’s about writing from the heart and writing as a more embodied experience. And it’s not necessary to write poetically. We can make deeper connection if we’re more real, more human. Our writing will enrich both our readers and ourselves.
Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and write your comment, Claire. I much appreciate it.
It’s my pleasure…And what you say about writing even when you feel hesitant – it is so important. When we write what feels hard to write, it is an ‘alive’ place to write from. A mentor of mine says – “write from the edge of fear.” It allows readers to see more of us, and the experience of reading this ‘alive’ kind of writing allows the reader to see and appreciate more of themselves.
It also occurred to me that what you do – writing about what is not obviously linked to ‘business writing’ is a ‘poetic’ act. It’s what poets do. Bring together unlikely and new combination of subjects. See meaning through their own unique human lens, that might not be obvious to other people, and create something from it so we can all appreciate a new perspective on the ordinary, everyday parts of life 🙂 This is so needed in our world.
I’ve also learned that nervousness is usually a good sign. It’s a sign that I publish something that matters to me and I’ve put my heart into it. I like how your mentor phrases that: Writing from the edge of fear. A wise mentor. And I appreciate your sharing this.
I also very much like how you see creating new combinations of ideas as poetic acts. It seems there’s such a strong current against us as the advice so often is: Write about what’s popular. But it’s important to give ourselves permission to follow our curiosity, to rewild our attention (rather than slavishly follow what the algorithms serve us), and to write what matters to us. That’s how we find our voice and discover our unique perspectives. It’ll make the world richer and more colorful if we all do a little more of that.
Yes, I believe people are looking for hope, for inspiration, for their wholeness. Writers can give that gift.
I always open, no matter how busy I am, only 4 newsletters. Yours is one of them.
You not only educate, dear Henneke. You inspire.
Thank you for your beautiful words.
Thank you so much, Maggie. That means a lot to me.
You also make me curious. Which are the other three? Maybe I’d like to start reading them, too.
Haha. 🙂 Well, it’s like standing on the shoulders of 4 giants. So, there is you. Then Ann Handley. Laura Belgray. Andy Crestodina. I wouldn’t be surprised if you follow them as well. 🙂
P.S. I love your books.
Yes, you’re right. I love Ann Handley’s stories. I always read her newsletter. And Andy Crestodina’s content marketing tips are so so useful. I know some of Laura Belgray’s work but don’t follow her religiously. Maybe I should. I’m honored to be in such great company.
I must admit Laura is not everybody’s cup of tea. A bit too aggressive marketing at times. But I love how witty she is and her writing style.
Indeed you are in great company and for a reason! After following you for so many years, I finally took the courage to comment. Should have done it sooner. 🙂
Have a lovely holiday season, dear Henneke.
Thanks again for, well, for being you.
I’m glad you picked up the courage to start commenting, Maggie. It makes a real difference for me.
I hope you’ll have a lovely holiday season, too.