Book Review & 27 Writing Tools: How to Write & Sell Greeting Cards, Bumper Stickers, T-Shirts, and Other Fun Stuff by Molly Wigand

How to Write & Sell Greeting Cards, Bumper Stickers, T-Shirts, and Other Fun Stuff by Molly Wigand

A fun-filled book featuring a variety of writing tools, tips on writing different kinds of greeting cards and social expression products, with witty examples illustrating each concept!

In this article, I am sharing 27 writing tools I extracted from the book. Bookmark this link and save the list for your own writing practice!
#1 Empathy and persona jumping – Cultivate the ability to empathize, to enter the mind – and heart, of the consumer through the doorway of imagination. Learn to jump from one persona to the other
#2 Make an idea sheet – Jot down the raw thoughts that you want to communicate through your writing
#3 Word associations – Every word or idea has a wheel of associated words or ideas around it. Jump from wheel to wheel making associations.
#4 Tone and style – Determine the tone and style of your writing. For example: formal, informal, humorous, colloquial, conversatiional, satirical, lighhearted, serious, etc.
#5 Writing humour
Expose yourself to a wide range of funny stuff in the world, putting this big databank into your subconscious hoping that it will resurface in new, unusual ways.
#6 Ask “what if?” – a question that will start the creative ball rolling
#7 Allegory, Metaphor and Simile
a. Allegory is using something to mean something else
b. Simile is something is like something else
c. Metaphor is something is something else
#8 Alliteration (words tha begin with the same sound – Ex: hungry heart, wondrous warmth, love life, etc.)
#9 Idea substituition and parody – ex: Happy birthday to you - Happy chocolate to you!
#10 Flip-flopping – When you’re stuck on something, go around to the back door. Think opposites. (divergent thinking) – Ex: Ask “what is not friendship?”, ”when is a cat not a cat?”, etc
#11 Begin each stanza with a common key phrase
Ex:
I love you so much
that I could climb mountains
I love you so much
that I could bring stars from the space to you.
#12 end each stanza with a common key phrase
Ex:
You have taught me
the art of life
thank you Mom
You have made me
who am i
thank you Mom!
#13 Use parallel phrases
Ex: like firelight fills a home
with special warmth,
your love fills my life
with meaning and joy
#14 Use imagery from nature
Ex: sparkling morning sun reflected on the dewdrops making diamonds of each one!
#15 Use affirmations
Statements of personal dreams, abilities and empowerment
#16 Be silly
Remember the things you giggled about when you were a child
#17 Write like a child talks
Raw emotion expressed in childlike imagery…
#18 The marriage of words and pictures
Start with the image/pictures or start with the words. Switch back and forth between visual images and verbal ideas.
#19 Use anthropomorphic characters
Attributing human qualities to non-humans – Ex: an anthropomorphic mouse baking choco-chip cookies
#20 Negative-positive sentence switch
Ex: You are a very sick person. – You are a very sick person, just what I am looking for in my Valentine!
Jalapenos, salsa, garlic spread… - Jalapenos, salsa, garlic spread, you, happy birthday hot stuff!
#21 Exaggeration
Ex: You’re like a cat’s pyjamas, or rather you’re like a cat’s bathrobe.
#22 Understatement
Ex: I miss you all the time, and all whenevers in between
#23 Repetition
Ex: Don’t think of it as just another birthday card, think of it as just another birthday present
#24 Parody
Ex: We were born to run, of course that was many years ago
#25 Write the way people talk
People talk differently from the way they write. Capture the sincerity and spontaneity of a warm heart-to-heart talk
#26 Keep a research file and organize it in categories
#27 Keep a dictionary, rhyming dictionary, thesaurus, magazines and industry publications

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