One of the greatest threats we face is simply put – bullshit.
We’re drowning in it. We’re drowning in rhetoric that is just true enough not to be a lie.
People don’t believe facts; they believe ‘experts.’
Every time you come across a long or fancy word in your writing, spend 15 to 30 seconds to think of a one-syllable version.
Advertising Concept Book (Second Edition) by Pete Barry
It’s not that words like ‘went’ or ‘cut’ are particularly boring, but they do miss the opportunity to describe how someone/someething went or cut.
For example:
Went: slid, bounced, waddled, jetted…
Cut: hack, dissect, bite, saw…Note, too, that verbs like these create faster pictures than adjectives.
Advertising Concept Book (Second Edition) by Pete Barry
At the very least, compare and contrast by taking any words like ‘great’ and ‘tasty’ out (of your copy) before putting them back in.
As a definite rule, honest humanity beats phony every time.
Advertising Concept Book (Second Edition) by Pete Barry