Free-Reprint Article Written by: Mark Silver
See Terms of Reprint Below.
*****************************************************************
*
* This email is being delivered directly to members of the group:
*
* internet_marketing_articleblaster@yahoogroups.com
*
*****************************************************************
We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article.
Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS
OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you.
This article has been distributed by:
http://Article-Distribution.com
Helpful Link:
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Article Title:
==============
How Your Writing Can Have Impact For 2700 Years
Article Description:
====================
How many times have you picked up a book or an article, and just
couldn't get into it? You got through a sentence or two, and
then... you suddenly found yourself scrubbing the toilet, or
eating a sandwich (but not at the same time, please), instead of
reading. The reading didn't hold you. Why not?
Additional Article Information:
===============================
835 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2006-07-25 11:12:00
Written By: Mark Silver
Copyright: 2006
Contact Email: mailto:mail2@heartofbusiness.com
For more free-reprint articles by Mark Silver, please visit:
http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Mark_Silver
=============================================
Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters:
=============================================
TEXT Copy-and-Paste and HTML Copy-and-Paste
Versions Of Article Are Available at:
http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/s/generational-impact-of-writing.shtml#get_code
If you use this article on your website or in your ezine,
We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let
us know where you have used this article, and we will
include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com:
http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=3203&p=load
---------------------------------------------------------------------
How Your Writing Can Have Impact For 2700 Years
Copyright � 2006 Mark Silver
Heart Of Business
http://www.heartofbusiness.com/
As taught to you by Homer. Not Homer Simpson, but Homer of that
2700 year-old ancient Greek epic The Illiad. You may turn up your
nose at ancient texts, but a lot more people have read Homer than
have read you.
And if you are trying to use your writing, on websites, in
articles, or in advertising, to build your business, well...
you'll want to listen to old Homer (in this case translated by
Samuel Butler):
"Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that
brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did
it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a
prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove
fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men,
and great Achilles, first fell out with one another."
"And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel?..."
You might be as surprised as I was to see how engaging this
classic is, right from the very first paragraph.
Why Is It Still So Engaging 2700 Years Later?
How many times have you picked up a book or an article, and just
couldn't get into it? You got through a sentence or two, and
then... you suddenly found yourself scrubbing the toilet, or
eating a sandwich (but not at the same time, please), instead of
reading.
The reading didn't hold you. Why not?
It has to do with some very simple truths about human intimacy
and connection. Ignore them, and your writing may also be sent
'hurrying down to Hades' or left as 'prey to dogs and
vultures.'
Everyone Needs Connection And Belonging.
'Belonging' is a simple need, that, if unfulfilled through your
writing, will leave you without readers. How did Homer help you
feel like you wanted to belong in his writing?
Bored Belonging = (Details + Familiarity)
The last time you felt like you belonged somewhere, I'm betting
that many things felt familiar. And what felt familiar? The
details. At a friend's house the couch is always in the same
place, and you know where the bathroom is.
The problem is when too many details become too familiar- they
become a little boring. You tend not to see them anymore, and,
when someone brings them up to you- you don't care.
Connected Belonging = (Details + Familiarity) / Curiosity
Connection happens when you engage with something larger than
yourself; the Great Unknown, the natural curiosity in your heart
to learn and grow and adapt. And that's a key to avoiding
boredom in your writing.
To make the leap from boring writing to belonging, you need to
bring in familiar details. But to create truly connected writing,
you also have to add a dash of curiosity.
How do you do this?
Keys to Writing a Classic
* Dump the introduction- In media res instead
Homer just jumped into the middle of it all. He starts discussing
the 'countless ills' and the 'anger of Achilles' without
bothering to say: "Look, ten years ago this guy Paris stole King
Menelaus' wife Helen." 'In media res' is Latin for 'In the
middle of the thing.'
By starting in the middle of something, you treat your reader as
if they are already an insider- they already belong.
* Bring in just enough familiarity.
The truth is that Homer's Iliad may be a little unfamiliar to
you, and so it may not engage as powerfully as it could. However,
it's lasted as long as it has because enough people are at least
passing familiar with the Trojan war, and the hero Achilles, if
no one else.
Notice that even if the only person or thing you are familiar
with is Achilles, it can be enough to keep you engaged through
some of the other details. As long as people have one or two
details that are familiar, they can tolerate a fair amount of
newness.
* Connection/Disconnection
Connect your paragraphs. Meaning, find an important word in the
last line of the previous paragraph, and include it in the first
sentence of the next paragraph. Notice in the Key above how I
repeated 'Achilles' and 'familiar' in the last sentence/first
sentence to create connection.
From time to time disconnect your paragraphs. In the first part
of this article I was running along happily about Homer and the
Iliad, and then suddenly I ask a question "Why is it still so
engaging 2700 years later?" But the next paragraph has
(apparently) nothing to do with the question, Homer, or the
Iliad.
This disconnection, after providing a certain amount of
familiarity and belonging, invites you to be part of something
larger- to learn, to grow, to adapt. To be curious.
Try writing a short article, and put these three pieces into
practice. Notice the -zing- that comes into your writing? You are
on your way to writing a classic, the foundations of your
business legacy.
My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your
Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your
Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line.
He has helped hundreds of small business owners around
the globe succeed in business without losing their
hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online:
http://www.heartofbusiness.com
--- END ARTICLE ---
Get TEXT or HTML Copy-and-Paste Versions Of This Article at:
http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/s/generational-impact-of-writing.shtml#get_code
.....................................
TERMS OF REPRINT - Publication Rules
(Last Updated: May 11, 2006)
Our TERMS OF REPRINT are fully enforcable under the terms of:
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.2281.ENR:
.....................................
*** Digital Reprint Rights ***
* If you publish this article in a website/forum/blog,
You Must Set All URL's or Mailto Addresses in the body
of the article AND in the Author's Resource Box as
Hyperlinks (clickable links).
* Links must remain in the form that we published them.
Clean links should point to the Author's links without
redirects having been inserted into the copy.
* You are not allowed to Change or Delete any Words or
Links in the Article or Resource Box. Paragraph breaks
must be retained with articles. You can change where
the paragraph breaks fall, but you cannot eliminate all
paragraph breaks as some have chosen to do.
* Email Distribution of this article Must be done through
Opt-in Email Only. No Unsolicited Commercial Email.
* You Are Allowed to format the layout of the article for
proper display of the article in your website or in your
ezine, so long as you can maintain the author's interests
within the article.
* You may not use sentences from this article as an input
for any software that steals sentences from others in
order to build an article with software. The copyright on
this article applies to the "WHOLE" article.
*** Author Notification ***
We ask that you notify the author of publication of his
or her work. Mark Silver can be reached at:
mail2@heartofbusiness.com
*** Print Publication Reprint Rights ***
If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT
publication, you must contact the author directly
for Print Permission at:
mailto:mail2@heartofbusiness.com
.....................................
If you need help converting this text article for proper
hyperlinked placement in your webpage, please use this
free tool: http://thephantomwriters.com/link-builder.pl
=====================================================================
ABOUT THIS ARTICLE SUBMISSION
http://thePhantomWriters.com is a paid article distribution
service. thePhantomWriters.com and Article-Distribution.com
are owned and operated by Bill Platt of Stillwater, Oklahoma USA.
The content of this article is solely the property
and opinion of its author, Mark Silver
http://www.heartofbusiness.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
---------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Yahoo! Groups gets a make over. See the new email design.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/WktRrD/lOaOAA/yQLSAA/7VpplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet_marketing_articleblaster/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
internet_marketing_articleblaster-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
No comments:
Post a Comment