Who’s your favorite character? What character do you know well enough to write from their point of view?
I’m talking about characters from plays, movies, TV shows, books. The can be fictional or real people. Pick someone you’d like to be, someone you have a special affinity for, a classic character who has inspired you, or one who would be appropriate for your client’s business.
People to whom I’ve taught this technique have written from the point of view of Ebenezer Scrooge, Ferris Bueller, Norman Bates, Inspector Clouseau, Peggy Olson (Mad Men), Hermione Granger, Winston Churchill, Huckleberry Finn, Forest Gump, etc.
Note: you don’t have to make the commercial about the specific character you’ve chosen, or produce the commercial using the character’s voice or accent. You can, but it’s not a requirement for this to work.
Adopting this character as the spokesperson for the commercial is to help you write from an unexpected point of view.
What you want to embody in your message is the attitude of the character. As you write, experience life through their eyes; through the filter of their experiences, biases, relationships, proclivities, preferences, dislikes, education and environments.
I’ve found that this will give your message more bite, more edge, a unique angle. It’s a fun way to break writers’ block, and I think you’ll surprise yourself, your client, and your audience (in good ways).
Guess whose P.O.V this was written from? Email me:
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