When Italian Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo was asked how he carved his famous masterpiece marble sculpture “David” he replied, ‘I simply took away everything that wasn’t David.’
I love this quote because it shows that the sculpture was hidden within the block of marble the entire time and it took the skilful hand of an artist who knew exactly what to chip away to set it free.
These wise words should apply to your copywriting whenever you are editing and refining your work. In fact, editing your copywriting is a lot like the process of creating a sculpture. Here are a few things that the fine art of sculpture can teach you about editing your writing:
Carve Away Anything Unnecessary
Imagine a first draft of an article or a blog post is a roughly hewn block of marble. Your task is to carve away everything which isn’t brilliant and well written article.
Cut out anything which is repetitive.
Slash anything which is weak or passive.
Chip away anything which is confusing or vague.
Scratch off any extra adjectives, adverbs or descriptors which are not needed.
If you can do this, you will be left with something truly impressive because all of the awkward parts will be removed letting the best parts shine.
Keep the Most Vital Parts Strong
Just like the sculpture of David needs the legs to hold it up, you need to keep the essential parts of your writing strong so that they can hold up the rest of the article. If you start hacking away too much you can be in danger of cutting out the most crucial points of your writing, which will leave is structurally unsound and at risk of falling.
Identify what the main thesis and the most important points of your writing are and be very careful to preserve their integrity when writing. You can carve away everything else; as long as these key features remain standing strong.
Pay Attention to the Overall Form and Shape
When sculptors are making a piece, such as a vase or a freestanding figure, they need to think about the overall form of the structure. It must be balanced and be able to support itself without being unsteady. A sculpture with a thin and narrow base and a heavy and wide top will fall over and break.
The same applies to your writing. Make sure that your paragraphs are evenly weighted and balanced from top to finish. An article which is very heavily weighted at the start and then fizzles out at the bottom will not be balanced enough to support itself.
Don’t Forget the Finishing Touches
After the marble is carved or the clay is set, the artist then goes in and polishes the material until it is the perfect smoothness. They add embellishments and engravings, taking the time to perfect the small details which add to the impressive power of the artwork.
When you are writing, this is another aspect to the editing process. Go in and look closely at your copywriting to see if there are any sentences which you can polish so that they flow more smoothly. Look for places where you can change a boring word into a more interesting one to make the writing more intricate. These little finishing touches can make a huge difference in the overall impact of the writing.
Now that you have finished editing your copywriting, you will have a beautifully written and highly polished masterpiece which is ready to be published!
Have you ever realized that editing your SEO copywriting is similar to carving a sculpture? Here are a few things that sculpting can teach you about refining your writing.