Let’s be honest.
It happens to the best.
You’re blogging about your expertise. And you’re reading blog posts, books, and magazines about your field of expertise.
You want to keep up to date, don’t you?
But without noticing it, a tad of dullness sneaks into your writing. You start to sound a little like all the others in your industry.
We all get influenced by what we read. We absorb writing styles, phrases, and words when reading, and then blend them into our writing. That’s how we develop our voice.
But sometimes we need new sources of inspiration. To reinvigorate our writing. To revitalize our voice. To regain the joy of writing.
Below follow 6 unusual sources to infuse your writing with new styles, crisp words, and fresh phrases.
1. Cosmopolitan magazine
Would you like to write headlines that grab attention and arouse curiosity?
The editors of popular magazines know which headlines make people buy their magazines. Almost every Cosmopolitan cover, for instance, features a numbered list. That’s because numbers stop wandering eyes – on magazine racks and on the web.
To borrow from Cosmopolitan’s writing prowess, select a headline that grabs you and replace a few words to create your own:
- 21 Mind-Blowing Sex Moves You’ve Never Tried Before could become 21 Mind-Blowing Headline Templates You’ve Never Tried Before
- 263 Hot Looks & Sexy Hair Secrets could become 263 Hot Bloggers Share Their Writing Secrets
- Trick Yourself into Going to the Gym could become Trick Yourself into Writing Faster (and Better!)
Don’t want to buy magazines? Browse covers on Magazines.com or try book titles in the self-help section on Amazon instead.
2. Film reviews
Film critics have a knack for choosing the right words – words that attract attention and that make you feel or picture something.
A few phrases from The Times (UK) – the words in bold caught my eye:
- The Desolation of Smaug (…) sags under slow storytelling and murky 3D sludge.
- Jeune et Jolie feels like a French film dredged up from another era.
- (…) Statham’s many, many fight sequences (…) are pulled off with bone-crunching, face-splattering efficiency.
Beware: sometimes reviewers go over the top and their writing becomes bombastic. Don’t stuff your writing with too many sensory words and unusual phrases. Just add a dash of vividness to liven up dull writing.
3. Children’s books
As part of my cartooning course, I’ve been copying illustrations from children’s books. I’m practicing and improving my sketching skills by imitating the masters. That’s the quickest way to learn. And of course, while copying the illustrations, I’ve been reading the stories, too.
And when you’re alone there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
~ Dr. Seuss
Was Dr. Seuss writing for online entrepreneurs?
Don’t forget:
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
~ Dr Seuss
Children’s books simplify complex and abstract concepts. They tell engaging stories in simple words. And they are a pleasure to read for grown-ups, too.
4. Poetry or song texts
To write your enchanting blog posts, you need to pay attention to sound and rhythm.
Vary the length of your sentences and paragraphs to allow your reader to rest their eyes and move through your posts at a pleasant pace – sometimes accelerating and sometimes slowing down.
Choose words not just for their meaning, but also for their sounds. Play around with alliteration, repetition, and rhyme to draw attention to certain parts of your writing.
Even Apple borrows techniques from poets for their web copy:
Retina display: So much to see. So little to hold.
Do you read your draft posts aloud? Do you notice how melodious it sounds?
5. Real life conversations
Sometimes you can learn more from a brief conversation with a reader than by consuming 10 blog posts or a whole book from a guru. Skype makes it so easy to talk to people. Why don’t you arrange a call next year?
Learn the problems your readers face. Hear the phrases they use. Discover why they don’t understand your explanations, what’s holding them back, and why they struggle to apply your advice.
6. Random sources
What happened to serendipity?
In a busy schedule we work so hard to make every moment count. We read stuff because it’s useful, because it can teach, inspire, or enrich us.
But why not read something completely random, and see how it inspires you?
Inspiration can come from unexpected sources – even from stuff you don’t particularly like.
Keep your eyes and ears open. Appreciate the beauty of language. Make a note of phrases that catch your attention.
Create your own collection of favorite words and phrases to spice up your writing next year.
Recommended reading to inspire your blog writing:
47 headline examples: How to boost social shares and readers
How to captivate readers with your opening lines
17 blogging prompts to spark a wave of creativity
Henneke, a great post to end the year. Thank you for all the advice and tips. I hope you enjoy your break in Holland. Merry Christmas!
Thank you, Mark. Good to see that you’re still around 🙂
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and merry Midsummer!
I admit I frowned a bit when I saw Cosmopolitan as your first tip. But then I remembered how I tend to forget to use numbers in my titles.
So I went and changed my most recent title straight away 😉
Thanks once again Henneke!
I’m glad you read on and didn’t click away after seeing the Cosmopolitan subheading! 😉
I wish to join everyone else in their praise and gratitude, Henneke.
I have so far to go, but I’m enjoying learning – and the journey.
Two tips resonated for me – from the above. Reading aloud, and maintaining ‘awareness’ for inspiration. My greatest opportunities are recognised whilst clearing my head from ‘stuff’ when taking an hour to walk – mindfully! I get to clear the ‘sludge’ and make space for fresh inspiration. Works every time. (Wish it worked so well for my grammar!)
Best wishes for the holidays, and 2014.
With gratitude.
Bob
Enjoying the learning and the journey is so important. When writing becomes a chore, your readers will notice a lack of enthusiasm.
Thank you for your kind wishes.
Happy 2014 to you!
Dr. Seuss is the best. Succinct, yet poetic. It’s possible: rythm, simple words and profound meaning in 10 word sentences. Or less.
Yes, I agree. He’s my favorite; and I love his drawings, too.
Hmm. I just posted a new one. Might need to go back and reconsider every word. 🙂
Sometimes we do need to stop with editing. It’s easy to keep polishing and polishing. We do need to move on sometimes to the next blog post.
Good to “see” you again, Katharine.
I know in my own writing, the more diverse my “sources” or reading, the better my writing. It’s easy to just read about writing, but the more you expand your interests and indulge your curiosity, the richer your writing becomes and the more correlations you have.
Exactly! Well said.
Thank you for stopping by, Robyn 🙂
That’s a fantastic tip to borrow heads from mags like Cosmo. I’ve always had a sneaky fondness for the heads on the front covers of women’s magazines (I never read the articles, of course 🙂 ).
The heads on men’s mags seem to rotate between Build Big Biceps to Get 6 pack abs in 6 weeks. Hey! Just realised: Alliteration! That works in heads too – and in copy too if you’re careful. Something Dr. Seuss used to great affect.
Also, I like to look for phrases I can use from listening to other people who write and work
in marketing and blogging. I’ve found some real cracking phrases this way. Sometimes, I
rework them to fit what I’m writing. Sometimes I just quote them.
Great tips Henneke. Thanks.
Men’s health mags can work, too:
Instant Workout Fixes – 10 Ways to Get Ripped Faster could become Instant Blog Fixes – 10 Ways to Get 1,000 New Blog Readers
Thank you for stopping by, Tom 🙂
Another fun post which reminds me of the scope of the English language to inform and entertain. Don’t you just love words like “sag”, “sludge” and “dredge”? Thanks for all your posts this year. And have a great Christmas in Holland!
Yes, I feel it’s important to refresh our active vocabulary. It’s easy to start using the same words again and again. With this post I was also reminding myself to keep collecting new words. 😉
Thank you for stopping by, Caroline, and Merry Christmas to you, too.
Hi Henneke,
My favorite suggestion out of the many that you wrote about is where you said to “read your post out loud”. Personally, I have never thought of that before. I do edit my posts, but I just read mine to myself to correct any grammatical or spelling errors. I shall now read everything that I write “out loud” and hope that my writing is as melodious as yours are.
Thanks again, Henneke for sharing your knowledge with us,
Diane
Reading out loud really helps me to spot where sentences don’t work or where they just don’t sound right.
Thank you for stopping by again, Diane 🙂
Yes, I agree Diane, reading your writing out aloud really helps. I use it a lot. I’d recommend it to anyone. Another good addition to reading your writing out aloud, and one I use, is to get a friend to read it out to you. That can be even more useful; hearing your words spoken by another person. Try it and see if it works for you.
I agree. I also find errors when I read aloud. Something about connecting the voice to the eyes forces a slowing and noticing, like nothing else can.
Do you know Henneke there is one thing that stands out in your Blog posts. They’re always magnetic; like one would say “Oh I’ll read that later (about 100 times a day) but I just can’t bypass this because it’s that Henneke person again.” I always absorb so much in just one post I can’t come back to it later no matter how hard I try!
Have a great break back home, and I look forward to reading (and absorbing) more from the Enchanting Stable next year.
Thank you, Robin. At least “that Henneke person” gets out of your inbox for a couple of weeks now 😉
Excellent piece – a reminder to “color beyond the lines” and not get into a rut in terms of our inputs.
It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. That’s why I like to take a break now and then, too. I feel that my writing is fresher when I come back.
Thank you for your comments this year, Hillary. I hope to see you again next year!