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Make Your Copy More Creative

It’s like …

Get great metaphors from GistOut Find analogies, metaphors and similes at GistOut. This site uses Google Custom Search to find metaphors for your topic that have appeared online. For instance, when I type in insulin, I get: "Insulin is like a key that opens the doors to the cells of the body." "Trying to burn glucose without insulin is like trying to cook food without … [Read more...] about It’s like …

Play the metaphor game

Practice creative analogies like Hemingway In A Writer’s Coach, Jack Hart shares this story: "In A Moveable Feast Hemingway recalls the days when he and Fitzgerald careered through the Spanish countryside in an open car, playing the metaphor game. One would point to an object as it came into view. The other would generate a figure of speech involving it. If he succeeded … [Read more...] about Play the metaphor game

Extend your metaphor

Explore the base Once you come up with an analogy, you can make more of your metaphor by extending it. “If you want to try an extended metaphor, think carefully about your comparison entity,” writes Nancy Kress in Writer’s Digest. "Choose something that is specific and concrete, like a diamond. Then jot down three or more similarities between that and your original … [Read more...] about Extend your metaphor

Cast in concrete

Tangible news stories get remembered People remember concrete news stories 60% better than abstract ones, according to a study by a professor at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. Adding photos to news stories increased recall by 65%. For the study, professor Prabu David had 24 journalism students review 32 100-word news … [Read more...] about Cast in concrete

‘I’m so excited’

Executives are in a tizzy over their announcements Have you noticed how excited corporate spokespeople are these days? And if not excited, how pleased, proud and delighted they are? Some are even thrilled. Or at least that's what they say in their executive quotes. In one 30-day period this spring, Business Wire was thrilled to post: 1,284 releases using … [Read more...] about ‘I’m so excited’

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Jan. 31, 2025

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