How to get an audience to see your point of view.

(c) Simon Cook 2017

Rhetoric, sarcasm and reminders can often sway an audience to see your point of view and create angst against your enemies. Mark Anthony used a funeral Oration for Caesar to turn the crowd against Brutus and his fellow conspirators. By calling them ‘honourable men’ he used implied sarcasm to force the crowd to see these men in a different light.

These techniques are used by politicians and journalist to turn the tide of opinion, and to make people think in a certain way.

So as writers, how can we use this to our benefit when creating posts on the web?

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of being persuasive (usually with writing or speaking); it’s often thought of having little meaning, but for me it’s a tool that can emphasize something, and make the listener come to a conclusion he or she may not have.

As an example – take my picture above. I could say:

“This is a beautiful sunset picture.”

However, it may be more effective to use rhetoric:

“Do you not think this picture demonstrates God’s canvas in the most effective way?”

Not only have I elevated my picture by saying it’s part of God’s canvas – but by framing it in a question, I’ve also made the reader think about my picture in an entirely different way.

Sarcasm

This is perhaps more difficult to use effectively as there’s a fine line between sarcasm and being rude.
You could say:

“Even the English would appreciate the beauty of the sunset”.

(I am English BTW) The implication being that the English are usually blind to beauty. However, this implied sarcasm is perhaps too direct.

Instead, try:

“Even the English, surrounded by their luscious valleys and hills, would be able to appreciate the beauty of this sunset.” This is a bit more subtle. I’ve commended the English for being surrounded by beauty, but there is a subtle dig saying that they really don’t see it.

Reminders

Again reminders can often be difficult to use, but when used properly they can stir emotions.

As an example, the following stirs the emotions a little:

“Isn’t this sunset beautiful?”

Instead, try to create a vision in the reader's head:

“As I stared out over the fields, sharing the moment with a solo bird, I reveled in the intensity and power of the last vestiges of the day; as the sun gloriously set, I was reminded of the wonderful day with my family, and was enchanted by the promise of tomorrow”.

For me this stirs far more emotion as it reminds the reader of a great day with family, but also points out that nature is one with us.

Conclusion

I am not a great writer – I’ve learned a few lessons over my years of attempting to write on the web, and from the greats like Shakespeare. As Niumians, we strive to stand out from the rest – these three tools can hopefully help you engage the reader, and make your work stand out more.

Why I write.

Words and photo (c) Simon Cook 2017

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

If you look at my posts on the web, you probably think my first love is photography – but to be honest, I’ve only just discovered the delights of photography. My first love is writing.

I’ve been an amateur writer ever since I could write; I always was an avid reader, and loved the stories by Enid Blyton – they stretched my imagination and let me live, at least for a few hours, in a different world. There was something about being in the mind of another person and seeing what they saw that really appealed to me.

Some of my favorite memories of early childhood were of writing stories for my English class and having the teacher read them out in class. I vividly remember my teacher asking the class whether she should stop reading, but the class shouted ‘no’, they wanted to hear the end of my story.

It was very thrilling for me to see the joy I was able to give other children with my stories and my words – my teacher once complimented me by telling me I was a natural story teller. For some reason I never ran with this, and headed for a career in accounting and computing – sure I am talented in these, but they truly do not give me the same thrill.

The result over time is that I still love writing, and have self-publishing novellas and poetry – however, with no formal training I understand that even if I am a very good story teller, I will never succeed as a writer unless I learn how to write.

What is interesting is that this truly does not bother me – I write for myself, and if a few other people end up being thrilled by what I write, then great – the key for me is to create something that I am proud of, and that I can say ‘I did that’.

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”

― Toni Morrison

Like my photography, I like to try and be unique with my writing. I take a genre that I love, and then twist it so that it becomes something different – it still has all the expected elements, but I throw in something of Simon.

It’s this method that keeps me interested and keeps me trying. As long as writing stays interesting then I’ll tap away at the QWERTY keyboard – and who knows, one day I may create a masterpiece!

Until then, I’ll combine my love of writing and love of photography and keep myself amused!