Status Updates From Writing to Persuade: How to...

“Many people believe anecdote and stories before they believe facts, because stories are real to them.”

We’re not born scientists for sure.

Bland, boring book, with a bunch of trite suggestions, be positive, use genuine flattery, don’t argue

Caitlyn Jenner, born Bruce, said, “My brain is much more female than it is male.”

Billionaires have wealth addiction and they need court ordered sanctions and rehab. “There’s no 12-step program for money addicts because our culture lauds the behavior.”

You know who needs to write a best seller about unfair inequality in America? A billionaire, a Gates, or a Buffet, or a Bezos, when presented by someone that can’t be accused of being bitter or jealous.

“ No one cares what a high school student thinks about the path to peace in the Middle East” likewise no should care what a basketball player thinks about climate change or vaccines. No one should care what a political pundit thinks about abortion, no one should care what a country music artist thinks about gun control. We should care what the experts think, experts with credentials, climatologists, etc…

Chapters 3&4, the power of big names and celebrities and the audience interest. Ugh, I want experts, their credentials and expertise. A celebrity’s opinion on anything other than their craft is not worth hearing.

Chapter 2 was a short jaunt on another uninteresting section of the trail. Toss out jargon, omit tired words. As a writer she would agonize over the facts, as a good writer should. Editing was more relaxing. She was eye-witness to good reporters mangling the facts.

Preface has list of 15 principles for persuasive writing. I found it idealistic. Chapter 1 was a slog, the infidelity of her father, her tenous relationship with her mother while growing up in northeast PA, misogyny in her workplace. Unsurprisingly, she discovered she was a better writer than many of her peers, and by 32 had an article on the front page of the WSJ.