- Kristof Nemeth
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- I’m definitely NOT qualified for this…
I’m definitely NOT qualified for this…
I’m definitely not the guy who you should take writing classes from(writing, not copywriting)... because I’m not qualified for it.
My writing is not THAT good yet. And I also fancy copy more.
But… I’m still gonna do it.
Why?
Because even though we are copywriters... we are still writing damned words and most of our writing isn't that good to not find use for some writing tips.
So today I thought I would share one you may already know, but most likely not applying.
I only started looking out for this rule and applying it like a month ago.
Yet I can say to you that it makes a profound difference.
So here’s it:
“Kill your adjectives, and replace them with verbs”
You already heard this one, right? Good, now you only need to apply it. But don’t worry I will give you some tools to make that step easier for you.
Anyhow, why would I even want to replace my adjectives and adverbs with verbs and nouns? Why would that make any sense?
Very simple.
Adjectives are weak. They don’t say much to the reader.
The only thing they do is fool you into thinking you are writing the best piece you ever wrote. But there is a good possibility your reader will think the exact opposite of that.
Adjectives are not good for what we usually want to use them for.
They are too generic, weak, overused, and don’t paint a picture in the reader's mind.
Verbs and nouns on the other hand are the real powerhouse of writing. Most people overlook them, so you will stand out only by swapping most of your adjectives for verbs or nouns.
And the best feature(or benefit is we want to stick to copy…) of verbs? They paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind.
They leave a mark.
Here’s a quote I heard recently that sums it up pretty well from the book “Elements of Style”:
“The adjective hasn’t been built that it can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place”
Read that one again. It’s worth it.
Now… How am I doing it?
I write everything down into the first draft so my flow doesn’t get broken by me looking to swap some adjectives.
Then I plug my writing into the hemingway app and replace the adjectives there.
If I can’t think of a verb or noun to replace my adjective with… I use this thesaurus. And if that doesn't satisfy my imagination either, I call to help ChatGPT to swap that one word.
Be sure to tell CrapGPT to only look at that one word, otherwise, it will turn your writing on its head.
And pretty much that’s it.
Now your writing will hold much less empty hype and will be way more punchier.