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NOTES FOR

CREATIVE WRITING

WHAT AREAS WILL CREATIVE WRITING HELP YOU COVER:

  • Live and pre-recorded copy commercials
  • On air prep
  • Phone crosses (outside broadcasts)
  • Station liner and stagers
  • Community notices

Practical creative writing will increase your skill levels and get you thinking quicker, on promoting and talking about a service, a product or an event.

THE ORDER OF THINGS:

  • Sales Rep signs up the ad and gets a Creative Brief
  • Delivers it to the Creative Writer
  • Writer writes the commercial and confirms it with the client
  • Production person makes the commercial and puts it to air

Account manager’s get the client and begin a long relationship (hopefully). Apart from their service skills it’s up to you as a writer to help keep that relationship on going.

TYPES OF RADIO COMMERCIALS:

  • Humour
  • Non humour
  • Public service,
  • Music (jingles)
  • Sound design

  • Information sells! The secret to making good ads is telling the listener something he doesn’t know - information - radio to inform and entertain.

YOU CANNOT FIND OUT TOO MUCH ABOUT YOUR CLIENT OR THEIR PRODUCT.

You are writing for the consumer - the buyer. Each ad should look at

WHY WILL THE CONSUMER BENEFIT?

  • A reason to buy
  • A reason to visit
  • A reason to look

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME:

  • You buy a product because it can do something for you
  • You write a good ad for your client so it can do something good for them
  • Get increased revenue

Basic copywriting rules:

Keep it simple (KISS)

One idea per sentence

Short Sentences

Write as people speak

No big words…stumble words. Rambunctious, Obsequious

Write for the ear - you only have SOUND to work with

Don’t write in the first person unless it’s a testimonial

Write in the present tense

Write copy to proper length

Double Space. Not indentations

Correct Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation

No short forms ….. St. for Street - Co. for Company. Write out the full word

Avoid cliches - “Will not be undersold”, “For fast, friendly, efficient service”, ”over 65 years combined experience. For all your plumbing needs

Types of Commercials:

  1. Straight
  2. Comedy
  3. Dialogue
  4. Multi Voice
  5. Testimonial - Endorsement
  6. Character - Famous impression
  7. Public Service Announcements
  8. Real Life

Types of Reads:

Soft Sell - Perfume, Retirement Home

Medium Sell - FoodTown, McDonalds, The Warehouse

Hard Sell - Rock Concert, Raceway, Wrestling Event

TERMINOLOGY:

SFX = Sound Effects

MVO = Male Voice Over

FVO = Female Voice Over

Multi Voice - V1, V2, V3, MVO

Jingles:

Very effective, popular and memorable

The Warehouse, the Warehouse, where everyone gets a bargain…..(and a money back guarantee)

0800 838383 Pizza Hut. Y’Eaten?

Kinds of Jingles:

Full Sung - All vocal - no room for copy. Well known companies can afford to do this.

Donut - a gap in the middle for the voice over. Vocal / Bed / Vocal

Inverted Donut - Vocal in middle. Bed / Vocal / Bed

COPY POWER

CHECK YOUR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR

This is really a basic point, but it is very important that you spell correctly. If your copy is full of errors, it is difficult for the announcer to read … and it doesn’t exactly inspire your client with confidence either.

WRITE FOR THE EAR .. AND THE EYE

Everything you read about writing reminds you that you’re writing for the ear … that you should write conversationally, with clear, easily-understood words. AND of course you should be writing for the eye as well because everything you write has to be read by someone. Therefore it not only has to be easy to say, but also easy to read.

Scan what you write. Is there anything you might read incorrectly … anything that makes you stop.

When you use repetition, be sure your copy is set out so the announcer won’t accidentally skip a line because the words look the same.

You might also help the announcer by underlining for stress words.

WRITE FOR THE LISTENER

Read your copy aloud with the listener in mind. If you write that a product is “attractive and effective” you might startle a listener into thinking your commercial said “attractive and defective”. So read aloud, and have someone else read it aloud to you, to be sure you haven’t fallen into these traps.

WRITE WITH CLARITY

Another basic. This is the first requirement of all forms of writing. In commercials, try and mention your product name at least 3 times. If you use dialogue, make sure you use natural everyday speech.

MAKE EVERY WORD COUNT

When you write for radio, every word must have a purpose and a value. You only have 30 seconds generally to get your message across. Remember that you are speaking to an audience that is almost always involved in other activities. Attracting and holding attention is the important part of being a writer. No matter how well you can use sound effects or music, it is your words that ultimately carry your message.

WRITE WITH SIMPLICITY

Contradictorily, this is one of the more complex rules to achieve. Here are some dangers to avoid to keep your copy simple:

AVOID LONG SENTENCES:

Ideally your sentences should each contain just one idea. If you begin to add to that single idea, your listener has to stop listening to sort out his thoughts.

AVOID LONG WORDS:

While not every long word is a bad choice, look through your copy to see that you haven’t used too many. Words are fun, and it’s a rare writer who doesn’t love them. But your audience is an extremely varied one, and not everyone is going to understand that when you write “antediluvian” you mean “old-fashioned” or that by “recalcitrant” you mean “stubborn”.

AVOID DIFFICULT WORDS:

Not all short words are neither easy, nor all long words hard. Some short words may not be familiar to your listeners either … “svelte” or “onus”.

WATCH THOSE CLICHES:

It is easy to slip into the habit of leaning on clichés, especially when a deadline is short, but remember that some phrases are so familiar to your listeners that they are simply no longer heard. A list is provided for your attention. Using clichés is verbal junk shopping. For your own sake as a writer, get more value into your commercials by using fresh, clear phrases you have chosen yourself.

WRITE IN THE THIRD PERSON, NOT THE FIRST

Otherwise it sounds like the announcer who is voicing the commercial is endorsing the product

AVOID EXCESSIVE DETAIL:

Remember that your listener cannot absorb the kind of detail that is common in print. If your brief forces you to use a number of facts, or items and prices, try to space them a line at a time, one to a sentence, and use repetition to make sure your audience gets the point

KEEP YOUR STYLE INFORMAL

Talk how your audience talks. Don’t try and be too clever … be clear and relatable.

IN SUMMARY

1.Write simply. Use nothing without a reason

2.Write conversationally, but with economy

3.Minimise use of of difficult words and sounds

4.Avoid unneeded adjectives

5.Avoid excessive detail

6.Use the right words. Know the words you use

7. Know your audience

SAY IT LIKE IT IS:

LikewiseAnd

In additionPlus

FurthermoreThen

For this reasonSo

ConcludeEnd

FrequentlyOften

Speak as you speak - not as you write

You would never use the expression - For all your automotive needs

What’s a better way of saying that?

Freds Service Centre has everything for your car.

Avoid Negatives:

This dreadful heat is so depressing so buy a Goldair Fan

Stay Cool with a Goldair Fan

Write in the present tense:

Radio’s greatest strength is immediacy! Write in the present tense whenever possible so listeners feel they are there with you……..

Foodtown will be dropping prices this weekend ………

Foodtown is slashing prices.

Use Contractions:

It is very hot today …….

It’s very hot today.

Be Direct:

If you want to save money, then you should go to Harold’s.

Save Money. Go to Harold’s.

At Harold’s they offer alterations at no extra charge.

Harold’s give free alterations.

Talk to One Person:

If any of you out there have been affected by the power cuts….

If you’ve been affected by the power cuts.

Eliminate Unnecessary Words:

The doors will be opened at 9am this Tuesday morning.

Doors open at 9 Tuesday morning

(discuss the am - pm - 10 am till 5pm - 10 till 5 today).

Clarks will not be undersold……

Clarks….NEVER undersold!

Keep numerals consistent. Write numbers or words throughout copy.

Don’t use phone numbers in your copy. Only ever do it if the whole ad is based around a phone number. It is better to say - “For Jim’s Hardware, looking under J in the white pages”.

Don’t make references to the yellow pages unless client insists. All their competitors are in there.

Know your audience. Write to them. Don’t write hard rock copy if it’s an easy listening station.

Be careful with sexual innuendos, drug and alcohol reference.

Read copy ALOUD and TIME it. Read it at the pace you think the person voicing it will read it. Emphasise words and change sentences if they are too long.

DO USE SOUND EFFECTS:

To same time and words. Instead of saying “Don’t you hate winter and the latest stretch of miserable weather" can be replaced by a second or two of a cold wintry blast to create the desired image.

TO INJECT DRAMA:

Audiences have come to expect a bit of drama in the media. Drama that reinforces your message can grab the attention of your target listeners. Can you picture for example the kind of audience and kind of message that would be matched up in a commercial that features: the sfx of a baby crying, of a sports car engine, of a rocket taking off.

WHAT WILL THE STATION EXPECT OF YOU?

  • That the ads are written on time to go to air at the scheduled date.
  • The ads are correct.
  • That you are nice to clients
  • That the ads do not lose listeners by being offensive, sexist, racist etc.
  • Give full support and co-operation to station promotions and on air staff.
  • Write something creative now and again.

SPEED AND TIMING OF RADIO COPY:

With practice, the radio writer will develop an accurate sense of timing for copy. That is s/he will know how many words will fit into a given length of time.

Depending on what you’re writing, leave enough time in your copy for pauses and natural voice emphasis. Also, in the case of commercials, leave enough time for sound effects and music stings.

This guide is useful:

  • A reading rate (aloud) of 160 to 180 words a minute is about average
  • A single line, in average typeface, should last three to four seconds.
  • A double-spaced A4 page of 27 lines (about 270 words) is about one and a half minutes
  • A 30-second voice report should contain about 85 words.
  • A 15-second radio commercial, station promotion, or community service announcement (live or pre-recorded) should contain 25-30 words.
  • 30 seconds should contain 70-75 words.
  • 45 seconds should contain 90-95 words
  • 60 seconds should contain 120 words.

REMEMBER, THIS IS ONLY A GUIDE.

Don’t make the mistake of actually counting your words when you’re checking for time. Check it by reading aloud, and read it at the correct on-air pace. Don’t merely skim through it at a quick mumble. Read it at the pace you’d expect to hear it broadcast.

This way you’ll find whether it ’reads’ well, and you can also make an accurate assessment of its timing. Then make any necessary adjustments.

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RADIO COPYWRITING:

SOME IMPORTANT RULES

BE CONVERSATIONAL

Write for the ear, not the eye. Radio copy needs to be conversational, so use elision (the omission of a vowel or consonant), e.g.

you’llNOTyou will

don’t “do not

they’re “they are

shouldn’t’ve “should not have

won’t ‘will not

etc

This is the way people talk and the announcer must sound as if he or she is talking, not reading, when selling products or services in a commercial.

For this reason, avoid the long, complex, stilted, unconversational word. Use the simple, more common conversational word, e.g.

AVOID
Purchase your requirements ………..
Are you contemplating the purchase of……
The well-informed consumer ……..
At this point in time ……………..
Are you endeavouring to ascertain………..
Commence ……………
Conclude ………. or ….Finalise ………….
Select ………… or ….Selection ………..
Beyond your financial resources ……………. / USE
Buy what you need ………….
Thinking of buying ……………….
The person who knows ………………
Now ………………….
Are you trying to find out …………..
Start ………… or….. Begin …………..
End…………... or … Finish ………….
Choose ……… or .. Choice ………….
More than you can afford ……………..
etc

Always look for the simple, conversational alternative.

Avoid pompous, pretentious words, “journalese” and cliches.