Use these 100 power words to boost reader interest

Power words are words that most effectively convey an action or an emotion in order to drum up strong emotional responses. Masterful writers know that when they inject passionate words into prose, blog posts, articles, etc., that they are able to craft a predictable response from readers. Want to rile up some anger for a cause? Use power words. Want to pull on heartstrings? Use power words. Want to bore your readers to death? Avoid power words.

This week on Maine on the Blogs we take a look at 100 words that can effectively change the tone or underscore the emotional drive of your blog post to captivate your readers.

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For your blogging convenience we broke up our 100 words into 5 of the most popular blog topic categories here at the Maine blog network. In each category we chose power words that are effective at adding color to your voice, dynamic tension to your text, and interesting visuals for your readers. We also chose examples from some of our great bloggers!

FOOD

Example: Maine Course

“In this Brussels sprouts recipe, fresh shredded Brussels sprouts (slice them thinly with a knife or use the slicing attachment for your food processor) are mixed with sweet clementine segments, tangy dried cranberries and meaty pecans before being tossed with a tangy shallot vinaigrette.”

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

Example: Accidental Adventure

“My trips are planned, researched and organized as much as possible — for all the good any of that does. More often then not, my trips turn into equal parts comedy of errors, wrong turns and distractions by shiny objects. In other words, Accidental Adventures.”

HUMOR

Example: Housewife Plus
“Oh, yeah. Let the muffin top spilleth. Let the flab jiggle. Let your body relax into the safety of privacy under all the beauty of that giant pillowy winter coat!”

EMOTIONAL / PERSONAL NARRATIVE

Example: STEED
“At the core of that statement is the spirit of an impotent white boy terrified of being called out. You’ve got racism, an assumption of possessing women, white fear of being exposed as a fraud, and so much more all in one.”

EVENTS

Example: Culture Shock

“Friday night in Bangor there’s a host of good shows, including Portland alt-folk ensemble the Ghosts of Johnson City (pictured at left) at Nocturnem Drafthaus, Bangor rockers Chamberlain and songwriter James Reiss at Paddy Murphy’s, the wildly diverse open mic night at the Central Gallery, and up in Old Town, there’s Ragged Jack at Boomhouse.

A power word can be a noun, verb, or adjective. Any word, really, can be a power word if used correctly for the intent behind a power word is to reinforce a feeling or an idea. As a writer you are trying to create and exchange ideas that have the perfect blend of emotions to convince the reader that what you are trying to say is interesting, important, and worth considering.

The next time you find yourself at the keyboard and wondering how to use power words, we hope you’ll remember that as long as you infuse passion with your text then your words will indeed carry all the power you will need to effectively communicate with your readers.

For more tips, tutorials, and examples of our fabulous bloggers, we hope you’ll drop by and leave us a comment here or on our Facebook Page.