Fiction Writing For Non-Fiction
For the first couple of months of this blog, I have been stuck. I write fiction. I write non-fiction. I write copy, and I write how-tos. Those things have rarely met. As it’s the New Year ,I’ve been introspecting. I don’t really want to manage completely separate careers forever.
As I was thinking about it though, there are a lot more parallels between fiction and copywriting than you’d think.
1. Characters
In fiction, you have to build characters that matter. They have to be relate-able, with their ownmotivations. They have to be realistic (most of the time.) They have to behave in a particular way, otherwise you lose your reader.
In non-fiction and sales writing, you have to do the same. At the very least, you have to target your material. If I write an änti-acne” sales page, then it is going to be very different depending on whether I am writing for a teenager (social issues, poor dating prospects) than it is if I’m writing for a fifty year old with chronic acne (more about the health.) Either way, you are building a character. A flaw most copywriters make is by trying to cast a wide net. If you are paying for trafic, you have to narrow the net down before you pay for the traffic, otherwise your copy is less effective and you waste money.
2. World building.
Again, you have to build a reaslistic world for both your characters, readers and your potential customers in copy.
We have all seen those long form sales copy things where the writer is trying to paint a mundane problem as an apocalyptic one.
” You know that girls love expensive shoes. Only one percent of guys ever get a girlfriend, and thats because they wear these shoes.”
That sort of copy-world-building is going to alienate everyone who can look aroud and say, ” But that’s not true!” You have built an incredible world. Build a credible one.
“Studies show that guys with great shoes do better in speed dating than guys in reeboks.”
Same trigger, more credible world.
In ficiton, it’s like creating a sci-fi world with intergalactic travel where they still use a horse and cart to carry their groceries home. It’s incredible.
3. Structure.
In fiction, you have a three act structure, generally. Character is in real world. Character goes on an adventure. Character changes the world and it’s happily ever after.
In copy, you have a similar thing. It’s not going to always be three acts, but then neither is fiction.
What both have in common is that you are leading a person through the same stages.
Build the world (or, place their problem in context.)
Set the stage for the event (Talk them through what the product is going to do.)
Characters life changes (Give them the benefits)
Wrap it up in the new golden era (call to action as the person leaves your sales copy.)
4. You do the same thing.
I speak to a lot of writers. One thing that blows my mind every time is that most writers never want to step outside their comfort zone.
I’m not even suggesting that fiction writers write copy or copywriters write fiction. I mean, a lot of writers would rather starve than write romance, or would never compromise their art by writing genre fiction.
Writing is writing. It’s arranging words. Ultimately, if you’re writing fiction, non-fiction, copywriting or writing a shopping list, you are sat at a desk arranging words, and the outcome is a finished sentence, paragraph, chapter or product.
If you have trained yourself to do one of those things, you can do all the others. And you probably should.