What you focus on will grow!
Very often we think long and hard about the words we use in copy or content with the audience in mind – but how often do you think about the effect that they’re having on you?
Tiny seeds
My garden and my allotment are a source of inspiration and integral to my practice as a writer. One of the things I’m most fascinated by are seeds. Filed away over winter in Tupperware, you open one of the packets and inside find little dry pockets of promise. Into the soil they go when the time is right and with a little water, the outer ruptures, sending up two starter leaves. From these come the first proper leaves and it looks more like a plant than an alien that’s burst out of the earth.
At this stage, the seedling is quite vulnerable. You need to protect it from drought and soaking, slugs, birds and cold. Within weeks, plants like beans and courgettes can be wide and high, swaying in the breeze and it seems impossible to think that they were ever so fragile.
The words you focus on will grow
Apologies for the horticultural interlude, I could talk about it all day. What does all this have to do with writing?
The stories you tell other people, you are also telling yourself. The words you choose to relate your tales, they’re the seeds that will germinate and take hold inside of you. Nurture their tiny stems, their delicate roots and their fresh, soft leaves and soon they will flourish in the warmth of your self-love.
Find the words that bring you power, that reflect what you do for a living, that lay bare your joy. Authenticity is everything.
Too often I talk to clients who’ve worked with a portrait photographer to get just the right business pics for their website and they’ve worked with a coach on their goals and how to achieve them but when it comes to their writing, their words just don’t seem to hit the spot.
Do not despair, the solution is in your hands. Start with finding your little seeds of wonder and the rest will follow.
If I’ve inspired you to get out into the garden to do some weeding today, or to plant on your squashes, then all well and good. If you’re going to sit down and write a word bank as well, even better. And a glass of something cool and bubbly in the back yard as the sun goes down? Oh go on. Whatever you choose to do, be happy doing it.
If you’d like a little inspiration to get you started, I’ve just the blog post for you, please click here.
Amanda Fearn
About Amanda Fearn
Amanda is a copywriter, brand language consultant and writing coach. With twenty years experience, she s written for multinational insurance giants, household names and government agencies. She s also enjoyed working with therapists, coaches and even a brewery. Whether her words have ended up on a website, in a high-street holiday brochure or on a bag hang-tag, she likes to think her words have helped people make sound decisions on how to use their time and money wisely – as well as building brand reputation and authority.
