2 types of good writers
Last night, I was talking to my friend Sam about a book I read recently.
It's called Still Life With Woodpecker.
It's written by a madman named Tom Robbins.
And it is an absolute trip.
"I think there are two types of good writers," I told Sam.
"The first type is writers who get the fuck out of the way and just tell the story. That's generally your popular fiction authors. People like Stephen King, etc.
"The second type is writers who you know are there. They have a very unique style and voice and you can tell they're in the pages when you're reading. That's people like Joan Didion, Ernest Hemingway, etc."
(Sidenote: I edited that second description slightly from what I said in real life to be more accurate/helpful for this email.)
What it all comes down to is what I call "the tree trunk analogy."
The high-level version of the tree trunk analogy is this:
A written story is like a tree trunk wrapped with vines.
The real difference between the two types of writers I mentioned above is that "Type 1" writers have bigger tree trunks in their writing...
And "Type 2" writers have more vines in their writing.
When it comes to longer pieces of writing -- like books -- Type 2 writing can be hard to get right.
You'll know you're reading a "bad" Type 2 writer when you find yourself thinking:
"Jesus, [AUTHOR], will you just get on with it already?"
That's why, if you're a newer writer, and you want to write stories for the purpose of earning money -- whether as a copywriter, business owner, or even popular fiction author...
I think you should lean toward "Type 1" writing.
Over time, though, as you get more experience...
As you read more good Type 2 writers...
And as writing becomes more enjoyable for you...
You'll start to develop your own unique voice and you might lean more toward Type 2 writing.
This is not necessary to become a "good" writer (I consider Stephen King to be mostly a Type 1 writer, and he is successful as shit)...
But it's sometimes a natural evolution of falling in love with the craft of writing.
Here's the other cool thing about the tree trunk analogy as it applies to email copywriting:
Since emails are a much shorter format than a book...
You get more leniency with Type 2 writing.
This is especially true if it's your own email list. Since people are on your list to hear from YOU.
That means that, if you have a story that feels too short for an email...
You can add "vines" to it to make it long enough for an email.
And vice versa, too.
If you have a story that feels "too long" for an email...
You can remove vines to make it short enough for an email.
I know that might sound a bit esoteric, but I explain how to do it in my course, Stories That Sell.
So if that's something you're interested in...