Metacopywriting. Mindfulness in advertising text. Natalia Maiorova

will get tired of writing that stuff, and you will begin to write something important.

      – My thoughts move faster than I can write.

      – I see. I am writing this book like that: I describe the dialogue with you, but sometimes, new ideas come to me. That’s okay. I just make some notes, a couple of words in the margins, and I write the dialogue again.

      – What if the article is quite long? I can not write it all at once.

      – You can write it till your thoughts run out. If you feel it is enough for today or you are tired, you can stop. I wrote my novels this way. It is a whole story, but every chapter is separate. Every film script consists of about forty scenes. More or less, every scene is a finished story, so at first, a screenwriter works on a synopsis and describes the whole plot, and after that, he writes one scene at a time. A landing page is made the same way. It consists of about eleven blocks, and it is possible to work on every block separately. I finish one block, and I continue onto the new one later. It is important to bring your work to a logical end before you can take a break.

      – Should I think about the idea in advance?

      – I recommend that you do not do that. If you think about the idea in advance, it will be boring to describe it, because you already know it. It seems like you have already told the story to your best friend, and telling it again to someone else would be tiring. You have already expressed your feelings, used your jokes, mimics and intonations. It is boring to repeat it. If you have already found the answers before you write, you can not invent something new. Writing is thinking. It is living; it is not a rehearsal. You can realize the theses, the structure, the plan, but never think about the text before writing. Do not pronounce the text out aloud and do not use the recorder, because you will forget this text, and it will be a pity that you can not say it better. So, it is better to open your notes and start writing the whole text from the beginning.

      – What if I have a lot of ideas, separate notes, and thoughts? How can I link them together?

      – I would rather not link them. As I said, you should write until you run out of thoughts. It is very important. When you run out of ideas and the text comes to a logical conclusion, interest also ends. Your thoughts are running consistently and a structure is being made by itself, while you are writing. So, actually the structure is built intuitively. I have used the passive voice not in vain: it is created by itself. The brain thinks in holistic stories, and the thought process moves along this structure; it cannot get off these rails. This does not mean you do not have to pay attention to the structure and the logic. But if you try to build the structure in a more unnatural way, from the different pieces, you feel terrible, because the puzzle does not fit together. Of course not – the pieces are from different sets.

      – So, we do not compile the text from different pieces? We write the whole text or do freewriting the first time. What about editing, then?

      – I do not read the text while I am writing it. There is a time to write. There is a time to read. Each process takes its own time. When you are writing, do not stop while you have the interest, an idea and something to say. But if you revise every single paragraph you have just written, your courage will be lost, and it will be difficult to write further. Why? Because you will certainly criticize yourself, correct some parts, and change some words – and your text will no longer be smooth. The editing is important, but it is another type of work, and it needs to be done at a different time. It probably won’t even be you who does the editing.

      – But what if I edit or rewrite someone else’s text?

      – We do not edit someone else’s text. We read the whole text and other materials. We choose the facts and information. If there is a lack of information, we ask a client (a person who we write for). We write a new text, based on this information and facts. We do not amend texts. It is another profession. I do sometimes, because I already have the skill, but you are at the beginning of copywriting, so you have to study how to write from the very beginning; from an empty, white sheet with the same dynamics, style, rhythm and structure.

      Right state and comfortable position

      Usually, every coaching session starts with the words: “Hello, nice to see you, and now sit comfortably, please”. Most people change their position, despite the fact that they have already sat on their chairs.

      – Why were you sitting uncomfortably before I asked? You didn’t even notice it. Why didn’t you sit comfortably in the first place?

      Why do you not write easily from the very beginning? It is important to remember: if it is hard it means you are doing something wrong. It should not be hard. Imagine: you want to shake out the bag of a vacuum cleaner and you are trying to pull the container out. Is it hard? Perhaps you are pushing something the wrong way. You will break the plastic if you do not understand the design.

      What could be wrong when you are writing? Three things:

      – lack of interest and waiting for inspiration;

      – state and position;

      – lack of information and wrong meaning.

      Right place

      I decided to create my writing lessons when my friend asked me how I wrote. He was a coach and he started to explore my writing approach. Modeling in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is not only copying something but obtaining a certain skill through the gathering of criteria: internal (beliefs and values) and external (specific rules and actions/behavior). So, he watched everything I did while I was writing.

      We noticed that I sat fixedly. My legs and body did not move; only my hands and eyes were doing the work. It might be obvious to you, but my friend was surprised. Normally, when he was writing, he constantly changed his position; his hands were on his face, lips, keyboard; he was bending his legs or sitting with his feet on the floor. He fidgeted.

      The beginners’ mistake is that they do not pay attention to the right place, position and condition (state). That is why they think they need ‘patience to work’. When the body is resting, the head is working, productivity is higher, and attention is more focused. The body does not ask for comfort, food, convenience – it is fine. It is in a trance. A trance is achieved when you can fully concentrate on writing, excluding everything else. It is a state of focusing completely on one thing – in our case on writing. It is the only way to love it. But how can you find this state?

      Look for a comfortable body position while you are working. Think about your favorite place: the chair, the sofa, the floor? How do you prefer to sit: foot on foot, legs straight, legs under your bottom? Or maybe you like to lay down? Which sounds help you: silence, classical music, office noise, subway noise? What do you want to see around you: a mess, an order, a beautiful interior? Or where do you like to be: at home, in the office, in a cafe, in a co-working studio, in a park, in the countryside? Analyze and prepare your place for work. You do not live in outer space or in a prison, I hope, so you can always leave, change your setting, and arrange a work space, or… just go into a trance. I can write anywhere; I do not care what is around me. I just open my laptop and start to work. My body is still, and my breathing slows down. I achieve a trance-like state and do not notice anything around me. Nothing can irritate or distract me. Remember that a trance is a full mental concentration on one object. It is natural to all of us when we read, watch a film or drive a car. It is natural and useful when we are writing, and it helps us to be more focused on something and, thus, to be calm and productive.

      If you know a comfortable place and a body position you can work in while relaxed, you should sit the same way and in the same condition next time. It seems easy: the body can always be seated in the right chair, with your arms and legs perfectly aligned. Well, what about the state then? It is vulnerable and has no shell.

      The right state can be achieved as soon as you get into the right place. Actually, the state is achieved with the right pose: when your body is relaxed