Thesaurus Mad Libs

So I wrote this blog post, and then I went back through it and replaced some of my words with synonyms that drastically change the meaning. It goes to show how a thesaurus can break you if not used with caution. So maybe this post will make no sense to you, but it’s fun, like playing mad libs. Try it!

As a writer, sometimes you might feel like…like… oh shoot, what’s that word I’m watching for?

It happens. We know there’s an expression in the English language that will utterly fit what we want to say, but it just doesn’t come to us. That’s when a Thesaurus can be a really great reference engine (even though it sounds like the name of a dinosaur). It can liven up text and make writing much richer. But proceed with caution and don’t use the Thesaurus as your holy bible because it can and will fail you many times over and you’ll start to resent it like a deceitful ex-boyfriend.

So here are some forecasts for using a Thesaurus:

1. Know what the hell you’re talking about! Make sure you know not only the solution of the word, but the feeling of the word as well. “Unsettled” and “frantic” are technically synonyms but the words evoke very different suspicions  am I right? Just because your trusty Thesaurus tells you it’s a synonym doesn’t mean it has the same connotation. This could get you in some genuine doo doo (eww).

2. Dig around. The great thing about Thesaurus.com (which just introduced a new interface) is that you can bang on synonyms of words to find their synonyms and so forth, it’s eternal. Sometimes it takes a few clicks to find the splendid word you’re looking for, but it’ll pay off when you do.

3. Make your own synonym. Seriously, the good looks of the English language is that it’s so flexible and dynamic. The word spectactacle isn’t a word, but you can probably make an enlightened guess about it’s definition. And if not, substance clues will totally give it away.

 

Try making your own Thesaurus “fail” and tweet them to me @Bpaigecopy. You never know what kind of word combinations you may discover. I kind of like “reference engine”. Vroooom! 

 

Run to Your Ideal Client

Running. Think about that word. What kind of feelings bubble up when you think about running?

For me, I get a whole panorama of feelings: health, pride, freedom, accomplishment, dread, insufficiency, pain, guilt, repetition, horror, sorrow. Yeah, it runs the gamut. This Nike commercial hits all those nails on the head, and I love it for that reason:

Outside the box, right?

The one thing I don’t associate with running, however, is FUN. No way have I ever thought to myself, “what is the most fun thing I can do right now? Oh yeah: RUN!” Eating copious amounts of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and spritzing myself to suffocation with all the fragrances at Sephora always trump my urge to go for a run.

But watch out, because I’m about to turn your world upside down.

There’s a 5k in town that’s changing the way you’ll feel about running. They’re making it fun, and they’re doing it with fantastic COPY and BRANDING! No kidding. It’s called The Color Run (peek at their website; it might change your life), and this past Saturday morning at the ripe hour of 8:00AM (in blistering humidity, mind you), I ran about 3.1 miles and I had a smile on my face the whole time. The concept is simple: each kilometer, you are showered with a non-toxic powder in a different color. By the end, you are covered from head to toe in the stuff (I think I still have some behind my ears), and then you party. They give away boatloads of free stuff while the DJ amps up your post-run endorphin high with the hottest top 40 jams. The party area is packed with photo-op signboards that say things like “high five” and “run baby run”, creating the perfect backdrop for any instagram picture.

When running a business, it’s so important to think about your ideal client. It’s like creating a vision board of what you want in life (didn’t you ever watch Oprah?). And it’s a great way to figure out your niche. My business is all about writing for creative, outside-the-box, fun companies, and The Color Run is an example of an ideal client for me.

So I’ve come up with some better taglines that are just screaming to be plastered all over these signboards. Hey, Color Run people, pay attention. You might want to use some of these:

-Tickled Pink. And Yellow. And Green.

-You got a little schmutz on your face.

-Looking a little blue. And loving every minute!

-Hey mom. I just ran through a rainbow.

-Glad I wore my old sneakers.

-Do I have something on my face?

-This town painted us.

-I see the world through rainbow-colored glasses.

-Happiness. It looks like this.

Ohhh, puts a nice taste in your mouth, doesn’t it? Just a little taste. And I have an even better idea in the works that deserves it’s own hashtag. So, hey if you’re one of the big kahunas over there in your rainbow thrones at The Color Run offices, email me. I love what you do and I’d love to be part of it.

Learning From Failure

Building a business from scratch is no easy feat. I know; I am working to build this one. It takes a certain kind of person, one who can hear “no” over and over and over again, and still keep climbing to the top. There are tons of people out there who probably think we’re crazy. And you know what, they’re not far from the truth. You have to have a little bit of the crazies in you to quit a cushy desk job and invest your time and money into something that could crash and burn.

A few years ago, I worked for a start-up website in New York City. It was a fresh, young company with three (yup, three) very sharp and ambitious CEOs. I took charge of a few street marketing campaigns, one in which I strutted through the streets of Soho wearing a wedding dress and handing out postcards, and despite the high failure rate of many start-ups, I was convinced we were going to succeed. We didn’t. The company went under and we all went our separate ways. It’s easy to look back on the experience and see where we went wrong. Shouldn’t have put money into this, should have focused on this instead, could have done more of this: your mistakes are always clearer in the rear-view mirror.

Failing is part of growing and learning to dust yourself off and keep on climbing toward your goals. The people who succeed in spite of failure are the ones who outlast the others. So there’s my “wonder years” lesson for the day! Now it’s time for recess, kids.