Whenever I get chatting to someone about qualifications, the fact that I have a Masters degree always comes up. More specifically, that my Masters is in writing for children, which always seems to throw people. But kids’ stories is what I do in my spare time, and you’d be surprised just how many of the fundamentals are the same. In fact, I’d wager that if you’re a good children’s writer, then you’d be a good copywriter too. The two go hand in hand. And to prove it to you, I’m going to let you in on a little preview of my upcoming book, ‘How to Write a Kick-Ass Children’s Book’, and show you just how much the basics apply to your business writing.
The Rule of 3
Three. It’s the magic number. And while you might be cursing me because you now have that song in your head, it is absolutely true. I mean, haven’t you ever wondered by its Goldilocks and the THREE bears, the THREE little pigs or the THREE Billy Goats gruff? It’s because all of these highly successful children’s stories (and stories in general) follow the basic rule of 3.
The rule of 3 is idea that events, characters or themes introduced in 3’s are funnier, more effective or just more satisfying to the human mind. The reader is also more likely to remember the information if it is conveyed in a three, or three times. And, to be honest, there is something hardwired in our brains to make threes very appealing. This goes double for children. Children, particularly very young ones, love patterns. They love being able to identify what’s coming next and join in with the story. Adults also enjoy this pattern, and being able to feel the resonance we have with three’s deep in our gut.
If you really think about it, the rule of 3 is all around us. For example, in photography the ‘rule of thirds’ dictates that the most visually striking elements of the picture should align with a set of theoretical lines that break the photo into thirds. In interior design, objects are often grouped in threes. Architectural designs will often feature threes too – for example a large central arch frame by 2 small ones, to help balance the focal point of the room. It’s in religion – with the father, the son and the holy ghost. There’s even something called the ‘three schema approach’ in software engineering (though don’t expect me to explain what that means).
The point is, the human brain is wired to think threes are ideal. It is an attractive number, which is why it features so heavily in our storytelling. You can use the rule of three in a few different ways, depending on what you’re trying to do. You can use descriptive groups of three, set three images on one page, have three central characters, or even repeat the same thing three times to create a little motif. The reason the rule of three is one of the basic principles of children’s writing is because it works incredibly well to gain and hold children’s attention, and get them actively engaging in the story. Who didn’t read along out loud when Goldilocks was testing the three bowls of porridge, or the three beds?
You can do the same thing in your business writing – three problems, three solutions. Three points in a blog, 3 different ways to achieve one goal. Sprinkle a little three magic, and see what happens.
Show Don’t Tell
Anyone who has ever written a story while in the education system – whether at school or in university – will have had this barked at them at least once. It’s one of the harder elements of good writing, and is the biggest piece of advice for writers at every stage of their career. As the writer, you should aim to ‘show’ your reader as much as possible, rather than ‘tell’ them. You might not always be aware of its application when you’re reading, but you’ve probably been acutely aware of its absence when watching a poorly written film or TV show (because those are visual mediums). It’s the part where all the characters stand around a tell you what’s going on, rather than the camera just showing you. It’s all of those infamous, explaining-the-plot-while-running scenes in Dan Brown movies. Or as I call it, ‘The Exposition Fairy’. So, what’s the difference between telling and showing, and how do you show more and tell less?
Telling is a basic, straightforward explanation of what’s happening. ‘There is a dog in the next room’, for example. Showing is conveying the exact same information, but in a more indirect way. So: ‘Sniffing and scratching could be heard under the door of the next room, punctuated by the occasional bark or whine.’ Of course, there I a bit more to it than just taking a different path to the information. Take a look at the examples below, one of which is showing, the other telling, and decide which you enjoyed reading more:
- She knows she need another coffee, so she walks over to the machine, punches in the order and pours herself a cup.
- Amanda re-read the same line on the email for the fifth time, holding her head in her hands. Feeling her concentration waning again, she decided it was time for that second mid-morning cup of coffee. Phil helpfully filled it up a few minutes ago, and she could already smell the familiar, earthy aroma wafting through the office to her cubicle. Getting up from her desk, she slipped on her heels and did her ceremonial wiggle to get her pencil skirt to sit properly before sidling over to claim the first cup from the new brew.
There’s a huge difference, right?
Even though they both convey the same action (a woman getting coffee), the showing example is much deeper. By showing your reader what is going on, you can layer more exposition and insight into the same basic actions. It allows you to give character insights, motivations and sneak exposition into the story when no one’s watching. For example, what do we learn about the woman from those 96 words? We learn that:
- Her name is Amanda
- She usually has at least 2 cups of coffee every morning
- She works in an office, in her own cubicle
- She has a co-worker called Phil, who is quite helpful
- She works at a computer
- She is wearing a pencil skirt, so dressed quite formally for work
- She wears high heels, but kicks them off under the desk
We also learnt:
- That it was mid-morning in the office
- That there was a fresh pot of coffee brewing
- What that coffee smelt like
So how do you learn how to show and not tell? Well, the easiest way is to do the same exercise I did just there. Write out a scene by telling it, and then rewrite it to show instead. It helps if you think of the difference between the two as cause and effect. A cause can be an action, a need, a feeling or a line of dialogue (your telling scene). Once you have identified the cause, you can work out what all the possible effects of that cause are (the showing scene). So in the example above, the cause is a woman wanting and then getting a cup of coffee. The effects of her wanting coffee are her feeling like she’s losing her concentration and getting distracted by the smell of fresh coffee in the air. The effect of her getting that coffee are having to readjust her skirt before she gets up and wanting to get the first cup before anyone else does.
So you see, showing instead of telling is a powerful tools for authors. It helps you cram in a tone of information without overwhelming the reader, and makes your stories really come to life. But don’t show all the time – sometimes there is nothing wrong with a bit of direct telling. Just don’t go overboard!
If you apply that to your business writing, it’s about showing your readers what the solution is, that it works, and that you can provide it. Giving away information without telling them ‘this is the best thing come buy it’, and leading them to that conclusion on their own.
I hope you’ve enjoyed part 1 of this 3-part series! If you have questions about any of these principles, or how they apply to business writing, I’m always happy to chat about them with you. If you’re lucky, you might even get to know more about my upcoming book!
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