The Iceberg Theory of Writing

Ernest Hemingway's story Hills Like White Elephant is about a man and a woman talking and drinking together as they wait for a train.

Below the surface, there is a question of whether or not the woman will have an abortion.

Hemingway never uses the words "abortion" or "pregnant."

This is his theory of omission. Also known as the iceberg theory of writing because icebergs have more hidden beneath the waterline than what is revealed above it.

The warm wind blew the bead curtain against the table.

“The beer’s nice and cool,” the man said.

“It’s lovely,” the girl said. 

“It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,” the man said. “It’s not really an operation at all.”

The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on.

“I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.”

The girl did not say anything.

“I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.”

Then what will we do afterward?”

“We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before.”

8 Follow-up Questions Every Interviewer Needs

When conducting an interview, to get below the surface follow up answers to your questions with more questions. 

Here are 8 follow-up questions to open up the subject and get to information that will make a difference in your piece:

• Why do you feel that way?

• What makes you say that?

• Would you agree that [clarifying point]?

• Could you think of any other situations where this would also be relevant?

• What does that mean for you?

• Why does that matter?

• How could that change in the future?

• How does that make you feel?

What is a Carrotdangler?

Carrotdangler is just one of the ways I describe what I do for a living as a marketing writer. 

Why?

In the old days, if a pack animal such as a mule or donkey, stubbornly refused to move, they would dangle a carrot in front of it ... just out of reach. The mule would start walking forward to reach the carrot.

As a marketing writer, I find similarities with my job and the job of the mule drivers:

I'm paid to write an offer that is so enticing it causes the target audience to move towards it.

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NOTE: If you're curious about any of the other descriptors, such as forestseer or stickweilder, ask away: ScottFroth@FastForwardResults.com  

ANOTHER NOTE: I was recently asked about my self-given title of wordwrangler on my LinkedIn Homepage. Cowboys in the USA are often referred to as "wranglers" when they work to get herds of cattle moving in an orderly fashion towards a common destination ... by using wordwrangler, I'm suggesting I do the same thing with words as opposed to livestock

Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Writers in 2023?

About 12 months ago I wrote a blog post with a similar question about 2022. Looking back, not too much has changed, but we have more experience with AI through offerings such as ChatGTP from OpenAI. 

In regards to 2023, I don't know how AI will develop in the long term ... but for the foreseeable future it will need an experienced writer to input the right info for the directions/prompt and then edit/rewrite the output to humanize it and to check facts (AI pulls from the Internet which includes info from unreliable sources).

In other words, AI alone cannot yet be as effective as it needs to be without a properly trained/experienced writer ... it's a tool, not a replacement.

In the words of Paul Smart: "When AI can do subtlety, humour and nuance. In context. I'll hang up my pen. But until then ..."

That being said, don't ignore it.

Learn how to use it.

'Cause it's not going anywhere.

Make sure you're not either.

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The Test

I prompted a popular AI site to write a blog post based on the keyword: Best Copywriting Books. Here it is. The copy is unedited. The only thing I added was the artwork.

The 10 Best Copywriting Books to Help You Become a Professional Copywriter

The reason I chose this prompt, was that I had recently written a blog post on the same subject and thought it would make an interesting comparison:

17 Books Writers Must Read in 2023

I have some definite opinions about the AI written piece, including that these books are being recommended by an entity that hasn't read them and has no ability to determine if they are actually the most helpful for copywriters. I'll spare you a full breakdown, but ...

The most most concerning observation is how quickly it cranked out a 1,000 word article that would be considered acceptable by many people. 

This leads me to believe that the internet is about to be overwhelmed with a deluge of underwhelming content.

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What is ChatGPT Doing ... and Why Does It Work?