Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that the last verse should be like the first.
Speaker 1: Writing gets better when you repeat or invoke the beginning
Speaker 1: of the work in the end. This feels more satisfying
Speaker 1: to the reader, or at least reminds them of what
Speaker 1: you said. This week, I am sharing several of my
Speaker 1: favorite writing strategies. Even if you don't write for a living,
Speaker 1: you might need to write reports or emails or articles
Speaker 1: for industry publications. A few strategies can help make all
Speaker 1: writing more compelling and clear. Some writing feels more well
Speaker 1: constructed than other work. You feel like the writer is
Speaker 1: in control and knows what they're doing. One of the
Speaker 1: best ways to make readers feel this way is to
Speaker 1: repeat or invoke something from the beginning at the end.
Speaker 1: So if you are writing an article or op ed
Speaker 1: that quotes people or tells stories, you could revisit the
Speaker 1: opening anecdote in the conclusion. Even quoting the same person
Speaker 1: can echo the beginning. If you're writing an email that
Speaker 1: gave some bit of news or a particular greeting in
Speaker 1: the opening line, you could mention that again in the
Speaker 1: sign off. Using a few of the same words can
Speaker 1: approximate this as well. It's not quite so obvious, but
Speaker 1: this can still create a sense that you have come
Speaker 1: full circle. There's a famous writing principle attributed to Chekhov
Speaker 1: that if you introduce a gun in the beginning of
Speaker 1: a work, then it needs to go off shortly thereafter.
Speaker 1: The idea is that details aren't there for no reason.
Speaker 1: Even if they're there mostly for color, they need to
Speaker 1: do more work than just appearing Once. I tried to
Speaker 1: take that to heart in a novel I wrote where
Speaker 1: a random item that the main character sees in an
Speaker 1: antique store window and wonders who on earth would buy that,
Speaker 1: winds up with that item in the staged home that
Speaker 1: she buys in the end. When the last verse is
Speaker 1: like the first, the reader knows that you thought about
Speaker 1: what you were doing. You thought about the beginning and
Speaker 1: made sure to bring things full circle by the end.
Speaker 1: When the reader knows that you thought things through, they
Speaker 1: give your writing more respect. They are more likely to
Speaker 1: listen to what you have to say. Repeating the beginning
Speaker 1: is also just more sad us fine as humans like repetition.
Speaker 1: Now we don't like too much repetition. That's boring. But
Speaker 1: when we come back to the same thing after a journey,
Speaker 1: we feel like we've come home. That's why some hymns
Speaker 1: have first and fifth verses that are very similar. Now,
Speaker 1: I know that you are probably not writing hymns, But
Speaker 1: if you are writing an email welcoming someone back from
Speaker 1: a vacation and getting them up to speed on something,
Speaker 1: mention the vacation again in the closing line. If you
Speaker 1: are writing a lighthearted email apologizing for something silly, you
Speaker 1: might open with talking about how you have egg on
Speaker 1: your face and then sign off with something like still
Speaker 1: cleaning up the egg over here. People tend to remember
Speaker 1: the endings of things more than the beginnings. We put
Speaker 1: a lot of effort into beginnings, but less into the end.
Speaker 1: By evoking the beginning at the end, not only is
Speaker 1: the end easier to write, people will remember what you said.
Speaker 1: You've given them two opportunities, one to raise the idea
Speaker 1: and one to cement it. That helps make your point
Speaker 1: and just makes people enjoy your writing more. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making the.
Speaker 2: Most of our times. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 2: from you. You can send me.
Speaker 1: Your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four than Breakfast pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts.
Speaker 1: At iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.