13 Jun How To Create Your Copywriting Masterpiece

Writing is an art. Learn how the masters transform their creations from ‘meh’ to ‘wow!’

Written by Daniela Cavalletti

Each creative act is enhanced and completed by understanding and applying the correct tools and techniques.

Whether it’s The Girl With The Pearl Earring, a Mondrian, The Birth of Venus, Dalí’s – somewhat cumbersomely entitled – Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, or the Mona Lisa: a painter creates a masterpiece step by step, stroke by stroke.

While it takes an imaginative spark to create art, practical considerations will make a masterpiece. Choosing the correct brush, mixing the colours just so, then putting the paint in its most optimal place on the canvas.

When a maestro is finished, technique as much as genius delivered a result that clearly communicates what they were trying to say to the audience.

How to Write Like a Genius

Exceptional writing evolves the same way an extraordinary picture does. Every word fits. Every punctuation mark is carefully chosen and placed. Tone and consistency are carefully guided and coaxed along. Then, when your (master)piece is ready to publish, its message and voice are unmistakable.

Just as an artist has brushes and spatulas, technique and mediums, there are a multitude of tools that you can practice to put together a written gem. Professional writers in Australia and all over the world (independent of language or field of expertise) know that one of the best brushes to paint a vivid picture with that are analogies.

Why You Should Use Analogies

An analogy, the comparison between two seemingly unrelated things, is a simple yet powerful tool to explain, clarify and boost comprehension.

For instance, if grandpa doesn’t quite get Facebook, how can you help? He knows what a journal, a diary or a photo album is. You record your thoughts, you preserve memories. And you can show them to others. Each entry is something happy, silly, sad, or interesting that happened in your life. Imagine Facebook like a public diary, where you can store and share the things that matter to you, Pops. And it gets better: people you chose can see and comment on your journal entries if you wish!

You can go wild dreaming up analogies, but keep in mind that they need to be easy to understand and serve purpose. In this article, we won’t cover in-depth how to write analogies, rather why you should use them. But here is an absolutely fantastic article on how to successfully do so: How to Create Killer Analogies by Relating Anything to Anything Else.

Now, back to the why of analogies: how can they help you in your writing; and when are they best avoided?

When to Use This Colourful Master-Writers’ Tool

#1. Introductions


Your written content stands and falls with engaging your audience. Telling a story creates that precious connection with your readers. Using an analogy, a form of storytelling, can be a fantastic way to introduce your article, book, white paper or other content by grabbing your readers’ attention and imagination right from the word go.

#2. Comprehension


Whenever you’re tackling a complex subject, analogies can boost your readers’ comprehension. They’re especially useful if you’re writing technical stuff for a non-technical audience. When jargon is necessary to a point, but no one will likely fully understand it.

Take this analogy, allegedly created by Albert Einstein to explain to people how radio works: “You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. […] And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat.”

#3. Perspective


When correctly implemented, much like carefully placing colours and strokes on a painting, analogies can change the reader’s perspective on a subject. Think of it as the way we see ourselves reflected in a professional photograph versus the way we look in a drawing or a caricature: same subject, different perspective.

#4. Emotions


When we connect two things through an analogy, we’re essentially drawing on the experience that the audience has with subject one, and transferring it to the second subject. So if the reader has some strong emotional reaction or connection to the first subject, they will essentially connect that to the new subject, often without realising it. Ask any international or professional writers here in Australia: we take emotional connection and how to create it very seriously – especially when doing persuasive writing.

#5. Perception

Analogies can also be used to lighten the tone and change the reader’s perception of a certain subject. If you’re dealing with, say, a heavy subject matter like personal debts or death, but want to avoid leaving your audience sad or fearful, you can attempt an analogy. A light or even humourous comparison can lighten up your piece a bit and make it more accessible. Just remember to keep it appropriate … or your analogy may backfire on you.

When Analogies Are Best Avoided

There are times, when it is simply better to not even go there, though. Analogies add colour to a piece, yes, but you have to apply your master-stroke selectively and carefully. Every tool has its best and appropriate uses, and analogies aren’t for every situation.

#1. Audience


When you’ve got a very wide audience – with a huge variety of backgrounds, needs and likes – consider to skip the analogy as a writing device. While it’s not impossible to find something that most of your readers have in common, every time you try and choose a single common experience for a wide range of people, you are going to exclude some. Don’t force it; sometimes analogies just won’t suit your written piece … or audience.

#2. Cliché


Beware the overused, clichéd analogies. Instead of adding a wow factor, they may just draw a groan from your readers due overuse. At best, they won’t be effective; at worst you just killed your article. If you are an advanced writer, one way of adding spice to your content is to twist known analogies to add your own flavor. But use this sparingly and with care.

#3. Too Complicated

If your subject and your analogy are too forced and complex, your reader is going to get lost. The beauty of analogies lies in their immediate recognition and connection. Labour your point too much and your masterpiece will eerily start looking like a doodle. As a bunch of experienced Australian professional writers we advise you to just let it be. Beauty lies in clarity and simplicity.

#4. Arguments


Be very, very careful when using analogies to argue points or support one position in a dispute. Here, they can often blow up in your face because someone will be sorely tempted to use the same comparison, the same analogy, to topple the tower you just built. Consider your options well before using an analogy in an argument.

The Final Stroke …

Overall, analogies, when used well, can be the ingredient that turns a sketch into a fully-fletched artwork. Just as any painter will tell you – each stroke has its place.

Every analogy does, too.

If you struggle to create your very own masterpiece, let our team of Australian professional writers help you.