Think You Have Nothing To Write About? Think Again

Barry Davret
Aug 26, 2017 · 4 min read
Source: Stencil

Bloggers and content writers face a common struggle.

“What do I write about today?”

I once faced the same struggle. It all changed when I began to include personal anecdotes into my daily writing. The formula is simple. You can read about it in detail here.

In a nutshell, it works like this.

Journal your life. Pick what seems most interesting. Tie it in with a lesson on your area of expertise.

When I explain this to others I often get this response.

“Sounds easy in theory but difficult in practice. Show me how you do it?”

I picked five experiences from my journal last night. Each one of these could be transformed into a story.

Looking At Model Homes

Experience: We’re down in Florida visiting family. For fun, we looked at a new housing development. There were four model homes available to see. Each one was nicer than the one before it. All of them far exceeded the luxury of our current home and for a lot less money. We couldn’t contain our excitement. Our kids jumped up and down begging us to buy one of these homes. My wife and I talked as if we already had ownership. It’s one of the more powerful persuasion lessons.

Lesson: Stoke your prospect’s fantasies. Tempt them with all the benefits they get from your product. That’s exactly what these perfect model homes did to us.

Son Pee’d In Model House

Experience: In one of these homes, my seven-year-old son had to pee. He didn’t tell anyone. He figured he’d just use the bathroom. I should add that he didn’t flush the toilet. The handle had a locking mechanism. When he told us, we cringed. Embarrassment swept over the two of us.

Lesson: Embarrassment is a key emotion that drives many decisions. All the experts preach about greed, power and love. The secondary emotions like embarrassment, loss of dignity, jealousy and resentment often play a larger role in decision making.

A Glass Of McClelland’s Scotch

Experience: Just after 8:30 PM and the kids are all in bed. My brother in law poured me a glass of McClelland 12-year-old Scotch. I like the occasional glass of scotch. I don’t do it often. A small sip warms my body as it travels down my throat. It comforts me.

Lesson: For some products and services, comfort appeals to your audience more than the usual appeals (money, sex, appearance). It often goes hand in hand with status. It also helps when you sell something not normally associated with comfort. An Indian company advertises its lower cost medical procedures compared to the states. The comfort and luxury of the post surgery experience is a key selling point.

Tickets Won At Game Room

Experience: We took four boys, all under eight years old, to a game room. Most of the games give out tickets. You exchange these tickets for a cheap 10 cent toy or two. The older kids figured out how to game the system. They got the most tickets. We knew this would cause a riot among the five-year-olds. We divvied up all the tickets so that the older kids would get more tickets but the same number of prizes.

Lesson: When someone violates our sense of fairness we take steps to equalize the injustice. In the case of five-year-olds, they cry until they can’t cry anymore. Since the five-year-olds couldn’t figure out how to game the system, we restored fairness by adjusting the distribution.

Oil Under The Pizza

Experience: A bunch of us sat down at an Italian restaurant. We ordered two pizza pies. They looked amazing when they brought them out to us. When I picked up the first slice, I lost my appetite. A big pool of oil rested in the spot where this pizza had been. I looked at the bottom of my slice. Grease saturated every crevice. I felt disgusted.

Lesson: The feeling of “disgust” serves as the root for some of the most powerful metaphors. You can express moral and physical disgust in the same terms. These type of metaphors allow you to express feelings of disgust with clarity and brevity.

“I won’t dirty my hands.”

“He has a potty mouth.”

“That sounds fishy.”

Any one of these five examples could have been an entire story/lesson on its own. Pay attention to the world around you. Document your life. You will find an abundance of things to write about.

Call To Action

I share my best creativity and persuasion techniques. Find it here.

One more thing. If you found value in this story, please click on the “clap” button below. That helps others find it. Or, share it on social media. Let me know what you think on Twitter @barry_davret

surTHRIVAL Skillz — By Barry Davret

Next Level Skills For The Modern World

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Barry Davret

Written by

Writer. Experimenter in life, productivity and creativity. Contact: barry@barry-davret dot com.

surTHRIVAL Skillz — By Barry Davret

Next Level Skills For The Modern World