Cutting Chai Stories: Write copy that feels good

Welcome back to the third episode of this fiction mini-series by Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, all about objects that come to life and surprise a podcaster trying to record an episode about traveling to Paris! 

This series is written and performed mostly by children: Samika Kapadia, Samaira Parikh, and Riaana Bajaj.

This mini series is the result of a six-week writing and podcasting course taught by Jayati Vora in November and December 2021. The children collectively decided on a theme, wrote their stories, with some editing help, and performed them. If you enjoy it, please do share it with the children in your life. 

We'll get back to the copywriting tips in Season 4!

Welcome back to the second episode of this fiction mini-series by Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, all about children who discover magical portals inside their closets and go on an adventure in fictional and real story books! 

This series is written and performed mostly by children, who also star in their own stories. Our heroes are Amay Maller, Aanya Somani, Sejal Bansal, and Samyra Chaudhary. 

Additional voice talents include Jack Berengarten, Agastya Patel, and Suraj Andra. All the children, including Aadhya Guruprasad, helped make several of the sound effects. 

This mini series is the result of a six-week writing and podcasting course taught by Jayati Vora in November and December 2021. The children collectively decided on a theme, wrote their stories, with some editing help, and performed them. If you enjoy it, please do share it with the children in your life. 

We'll get back to the copywriting tips in Season 4!

Yes, this is Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, but this, the very first of a four-part fiction mini series written and performed mostly by children, is not about copywriting. In this episode, a meteor lands on earth and a cave full of mythical creatures is revealed. 

Our heroes, Agastya Patel, Jack Berengarten, Aadhya Guruprasad, and Suraj Andra, each star in their own episodes.

Additional voice talents include: Aanya Somani, Sejal Bansal, and Amay Maller. 

This episode is the result of a six-week writing and podcasting course taught by Jayati Vora in November and December 2021. The children collectively decided on a theme, wrote their stories, with some editing help, and performed them, including some of the sound effects. 

If you enjoyed it, please do share it with other children. 

In this break between seasons, stay tuned for a mini-series by my students, ages 7-12, of fictional narratives written and voiced by them. 

For all those times you have to send an email to your list or post on social media, but you don't know what to say... you'll want to take notes for this one.

In it, I cover 3 prompts each for if you're planning a launch; if you're announcing a sale (hello, holidays!); if you're writing a welcome email; or if nothing much is going on and you're fresh out of ideas.

Also, this is the last episode of Season 3, but not to worry, I have some bonus episodes coming your way to tide you over. They're performed by the little humans taking my creative writing + podcasting class, and are fictional narratives that feature storybook portals, mythical creatures, objects coming to life, and fractured fairy tales. So if you like the Wright Brothers and want to see an alternate ending to Cinderella, stay tuned!

Finally, you may have noticed I've been playing with the description to this show every now and then in Season 3, and I came up with something new again. Here it is, and if you like it, or hate it, would you drop me a line and let me know? I'd love to know why you keep tuning in to Cutting Chai Stories, what has you coming back, and what you find here that you don't find anywhere else.

Here's the reworked intro: Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the delicious and bite-sized copywriting podcast full of writing tips for business owners who want to elevate their copy and attract more customers.

I’m your host Jayati Vora, and I’m here to be your editor in your pocket, your guide to the written word, and your shot of confidence that you can show up, as imperfectly perfect as you are, and attract your dream customers using ethical marketing tactics and getting your masala on.

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In the meantime, if you want to stay in touch and get more writing goodness like this, subscribe to my email newsletter at cuttingchaistories.com SLASH subscribe. I send out emails twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, and bring more writing prompts, writing tips, and funny stories from my life and the business lessons I draw from them. Come hang out!

Let's talk about mediocrity. What do you do when creativity takes a hiatus, when every single word you write seems trite, when your music is lame, when your art is uninspired? How do you coax your creativity out of hiding?

Creativity ebbs and flows. And as creators, we feel the need to share our creations with the world. How do you live with creations that aren't your best work, and ship your work anyway?

Listen to this episode for my top tips on how to trigger your creativity and how to keep up with it when it's uncorked.

And if you liked this, and want more writing tips like this, plus a free four-video mini tutorial on how to uplevel your writing right away, subscribe to my email newsletter at: https://www.cuttingchaistories.com/subscribe

Hello hello and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories. I'm your host Jayati Vora and this isn't a true episode. It's Thanksgiving here in the U.S., which is a pretty major holiday, and I'm taking advantage of the four-day weekend to travel, BUUUUUUT I didn't want to leave you hanging.

So here's a writing prompt for you. Take either the word "Thanksgiving" or "November," and make a poem out of all the words you can think of from rearranging the letters.

Here's what I wrote from the word "November":

Never more. Never ever.
No bone nor robe
Nor mob or ember
Bore reve or roe
In November.

*reve is a French word meaning "dream"
**And ok, fine, I cheated by using the word "in" so you get a pass of one word, too.

Now it's YOUR turn!

And a PSA: Next week, on Nov 30, Dec 1 & 2, I'm teaching a LIVE workshop over Zoom called Masala Sales Emails.

In it, I teach business owners who have an email list they haven't been ignoring how to write a sales email sequence for their next launch, whether it's for a product, a course or a program. 

You'll learn what goes into an effective sales email sequence, what to write, how to write it, and in what order to write it.

You'll actually get all 5 emails written, in the workshops themselves as well as in an additional 2-3 hours at home.

And, best of all, you'll get MY EYES on YOUR DRAFTS on Day 3. 

Three days, ~6 hours, and you leave with 5 solid sales emails in your pocket. Pretty neat, huh?

For more information and to sign up, please visit: https://www.cuttingchaistories.com/masala-sales-emails/

And if this doesn't seem right for you, but you have a friend who's an entrepreneur who might benefit from it, won't you share this with them?

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, where we are continuing with this theme of preparing for a successful launch of a product, a course, a program. 

I'm your host Jayati Vora and last week we talked about a free and fun strategy to suss our market interest in an idea before you invest time and resources in putting something together that your audience doesn't want.

This week we're talking about three things you need to do BEFORE you start writing your sales email sequence.

The beauty of selling over email is that you don't need fancy tech skills or a website, even. All you need is an email list that's been hearing from you consistently, and a series of well thought-out emails that prime the pump for you to sell your thing.

In this episode, I cover three things you'll need to know before you start writing those emails, but if you want more help, I'm holding a 3-day workshop at the end of the month over Zoom, in which I will:

1. Go over the contents of a 5-email sales sequence

2. Have everyone write the damn emails, so you have concrete drafts 

3. Give you feedback on your drafts on day 3 so you're hitting send with confidence

To learn more about the workshop, called Masala Sales Emails, visit: https://www.cuttingchaistories.com/masala-sales-emails/ 

And if you have a bestie who's a business owner who might benefit from this, would you do me a solid and send this to them? Thanks in advance!

Hello hello and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the ONLY podcast that gives business owners PRACTICAL, hands-on writing advice, with examples, in only 15 minutes or less. If you’re paralyzed by fear that you won’t sound professional, if you don’t know what to say and how to say it, if you have an email list you don’t use enough or a social media account that isn’t getting the engagement you want, you’re in the right place, because I can help you with that.

I’m your host Jayati Vora and today I want to talk about how to build success into your new launch or offer.

Which means, I’m gonna be talking about what you do BEFORE you craft your offer or program, before you devise emails to sell it, before you create a landing page on your website.

I got this idea from Miles Hanson, who did something similar on his Instagram feed, he’s @milestones_co. And I think *HE* got the idea from @thelizwilcox.

You’ll want to take notes for this one, it’s SUPER practical.

So what it was, was a series of 11 Instagram story slides that was designed to do in seconds what it usually takes market research calls or surveys MUCH longer—AND it had a better response rate, because it was EASY, and it was FUN.

So it’s FREE, it gives you AWESOME engagement, and it helps you shape your current offer PLUS gives you ideas for what you want to offer next.

Listen to the episode for a detailed walk-through of the strategy, plus pitfalls to watch out for.

ANNNNNDDDD if you want the actual slides I used that produced all this engagement, it's available to email subscribers as a PDF guide, with my notes coaching you on how to replicate this strategy for yourself. (Note: You do not *need* the PDF guide, but if you're a visual learner like I am, they'll be super helpful.)

To get the slides for yourself, just subscribe to my mailing list at https://www.cuttingchaistories.com/subscribe and check the entrepreneur box. Then hit reply to the welcome email and ask me for them! That's it!

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the only podcast to give business owners without copywriting experience practical, hands-on writing advice, with examples, to uplevel your copy right away.

I'm your host Jayati Vora and today we're talking about how to inject more fun into your marketing.

Because someone having fun is the most attractive thing, ever. 

Listen for five ideas to kickstart your fun marketing plan!

And if you found this episode useful, I have an email newsletter you might enjoy. It's called Chai in your Inbox, and I send emails twice a week with copywriting advice, writing prompts for your business, and new podcast episodes. Plus, strange stories from my life and the business lessons I learned from them! Sign up here: www.cuttingchaistories.com/subscribe

And if you check the "entrepreneur" box, you'll ALSO get a free mini course on how to connect with your customer in your business.

Hello hello and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the ONLY podcast that gives you PRACTICAL, HANDS-ON advice, WITH examples, to elevate your copy so that it reflects your brand, reflects YOU, and feels like a natural extension of your personality.

I'm your host Jayati Vora, and today we are talking about the second subject line you may not know about.

But first, a note about my November-December creative writing classes for kids, that begin Nov 2. I'll be teaching how to write for podcasts, and at the end of this special, 6-week session, we'll be recording the kids' stories to be PUBLISHED as a special episode of Cutting Chai Stories. If you have kids or have friends with kids who might be interested, please go to www.cuttingchaistories.com/shop and pick the appropriate age group to sign up.

Back to our topic: email subject lines. In today's episode, I cover preview text, which is the line that shows up in your inbox AFTER the subject line. If you don't set it, your email service provider will pull it for you from the first sentence of your email, which is such a waste.

In today's episode, I show you examples of preview lines, good ones, bad ones, and different kinds of ones.

And if you want the email I sent out last week—the free gift that was ONLY for subscribers—sign up to my email list and ask me to send it to you. You can subscribe at cuttingchaistories DOT com SLASH subscribe. Don’t forget to check the “entrepreneur” box when you sign up!

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the only podcast that gives grossed out business owners concrete and ETHICAL copywriting tips that they can use in their marketing RIGHT AWAY. In episodes of just 15 minutes or less.

Today I want to talk to you about ethics in marketing, because let's face it, the online business world is FULL of sleazy marketing tactics. But it doesn't have to be. You can learn the triggers that marketers use to make you buy their product, and follow other ethical marketers so you see a different way of running your business.

Here are the ethical marketers I follow:

1. Cathy Heller (Instagram @cathy.heller)

2. Tarzan Kay (Instagram @tarzan_kay)

3. Maggie Patterson's podcast, “The B.S.-Free Service Business”

And I make a pledge to you to be ethical in my marketing. 

Link to study about supermarkets' use of soothing music and its connection with how much shoppers spend in their store: http://freakonomics.com/media/Using%20Background%20Music%20to%20Affect%20the%20Behavior%20of%20Supermarket%20Shoppers.pdf

Hello hello and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the only podcast that gives overwhelmed business owners concrete copywriting tips that they can use in their marketing right away, in just 15 minutes.

I’m your host Jayati Vora, and I’m here to be your editor in your pocket, your guide to the written word, and your shot of confidence that you can show up, as imperfectly perfect as you are, and put your heart and soul into telling the world who you are and what you’re about and attracting your dream customers in your unique, authentic voice.

We’re at roughly the halfway mark of Season 3 and so far it’s been JAM packed with practical writing exercises and prompts and tips, and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling like I already have too much information being thrown at me, and at some point I have to take a step back and absorb what I’ve learned, and budget in some time to put it into action and apply it to my business, otherwise it’s just run-off.

It’s time wasted.

So I thought, instead of peppering you with more learning, and therefore more homework to USE that learning, I’m going to share with you the things I use to keep my business going.

For my podcast:

1. The Samson Q2U mic, purchased for less than $100
2. The free software Audacity to record and edit my shows
3. Zencastr, also free, to record interviews
4. Anchor, a free podcast distribution platform
5. Quicktime Player, free for Mac users, to edit clips for social media
6. The free tier of Headliner, to create audiograms for social media

For my email marketing:

1. The paid tier of MailChimp (roughly $15/month), though until a few months ago I used the free version.
2. The services of a virtual assistant to help with email sends

For my social media:

1. The free version of Canva to create my Instagram posts
2. The free version of Taplink to create a landing page of links for my Instagram bio

For my website:

1. Paid for my domain name, cuttingchaistories.com
2. Paid for website hosting
3. Pay for a few Wordpress plugins
4. Paid for a Wordpress developer
5. Paid for a logo

There you have it! I hope the list was useful. Notice how many of the resources I use are free or have free versions.

Before I go —

This podcast is run on grit and passion, and I show up every week during the season to give you practical ways to uplevel your content and improve your marketing. It would mean SO much to me if you check out the newsletter that goes with it at cuttingchaistories.com/subscribe. I email you twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, with more marketing advice, writing prompts for your business, and storytelling emails that show you how to sell with story. It would mean the world to me if you signed up. If you check the “entrepreneur” box at sign-up , I’ll also send you a FREE mini course on how connect with your customers through your copy.

Thank you for tuning in, and until I see you next Thursday, tell me: Is there an app or a service that you can’t live without in your business that I DIDN’T mention? DM me on Instagram @jayativora and tell me!

In marketing they call it a hook.

In school I called it “in medias res.”

In journalism they call it a lede.

It’s all the same thing and in today’s episode I wanna talk about why using it can significantly increase your readership.

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the only podcast that gives overwhelmed business owners concrete copywriting tips that they can use in their marketing right away, in just 15 minutes.

I’m your host Jayati Vora, and I’m here to be your editor in your pocket, your guide to the written word, and your shot of confidence that you can show up, as imperfectly perfect as you are, and put your heart and soul into telling the world who you are and what you’re about and attracting your dream customers in your unique, authentic voice.

In this episode I show you WHY you need to write a hook, and what it is, exactly, with examples.

Stay tuned till the end for a guided writing prompt of how to write a compelling hook for YOUR content.

This podcast is run on grit and passion, and I show up every week during the season to give you practical ways to uplevel your content and improve your marketing. It would mean SO much to me if you check out the newsletter that goes with it at https://www.cuttingchaistories.com/subscribe. 

I email you twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, with more marketing advice, writing prompts for your business, and storytelling emails that show you how to sell with story. It would mean the world to me if you signed up. If you check the “entrepreneur” box at sign-up , I’ll also send you a FREE mini course on how to write better copy.

See you next Thursday!

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the only podcast that gives overwhelmed business owners concrete copywriting tips that they can use in their marketing right away, in just 15 minutes.

I’m your host Jayati Vora, and I’m here to be your editor in your pocket, your guide to the written word, and your shot of confidence that you can show up, as imperfectly perfect as you are, and put your heart and soul into telling the world who you are and what you’re about and attracting your dream customers in your unique, authentic voice.

Today I want to talk to you about how to let your personality shine through in your emails—the antidote to sounding like a robot.

Sometimes we have had the personality beaten out of our writing in our jobs. Maybe we pepper our sentences with jargon and buzzwords without even realizing it. Maybe we were trained in writing in college, where passive tense ruled and sentences were unnecessarily complex. Neither of those help you sound like yourself, help you sound conversational, help you connect with your readers.

Listen to the episode for 5 ways to NOT sound like a robot when you write. 

Thanks to Vibha for the question that spurred this episode!

Resources:

If you want help on how to *format* your copy for maximum effectiveness, check out my guide on formatting tips here: https://www.cuttingchaistories.com/formattingtips

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, the podcast that shows entrepreneurs how to uplevel their email marketing, social media, and website copy with practical tips and concrete examples from your host, Jayati Vora.

This episode is dedicated to Laura and Oswald, who told me they missed the creative writing focus of the earlier seasons, and especially to the idea that sometimes, to be creative in business, you have to step AWAY from business.

So thank you, Laura, for inspiring this episode, and here are three big ways you can recharge your creative batteries -- and bring all that creative energy back to your business!

Stay tuned to the end for my announcement of the winner of the giveaway challenge, and thanks to all of you who responded to my request for feedback about the show. 

If you haven't responded yet and would like to, please DM me on IG @jayativora to let me know:

1. Why you listen to Cutting Chai Stories and what you get here that you don't get anywhere else

2. What you want to see more of in coming episodes

3. Anything you'd like to see less of

This is your chance to have a voice in what I cover in the upcoming season, so don't hesitate to reach out, I *love* hearing from you!

Here are my favorite three songs without lyrics to dance to when I need to move my body:

1. Por Una Cabeza, by The Tango Project

2. Tango to Evora by Loreena McKennitt

3. Tango, Que Misterio by Tango Jointz, Ricardo Ricardito Reveira

Hello hello and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories, where the episodes are short, and sometimes sweet, just like the half-servings of milky tea we call cutting chai back home in India. I'm your host Jayati Vora and today I want to talk to you about flipping the writing process backwards when you are writing an email (or social media post, or blog post, or maybe even podcast script) to your list. 

Most of the time, we start with the CTA or call-to-action, which is the action we want our readers to take after reading our email. But when you don't have a major launch or announcement, when you're out of ideas for what to write, you can start writing backwards. Instead of starting from the reason you're writing the email, and then ending with a subject line, you can start with the subject line, and let the CTA come organically.

In this episode, I take you through how to do it, step-by-step, and show you an example of how I did it, with the email and CTA that resulted. Be sure to listen to the whole episode for ideas for where to get inspiration for your subject lines.

Hopefully this has helped you come up with email content ideas. But if you're tired of all the things you have to do and just want someone else to take care of the heavy lifting for you, I can help.

You can sign up for Million-Dollar Emails: https://www.cuttingchaistories.com/milliondollaremails

Where I'll send you

*5 gold writing prompts a month

*with questions designed to elicit a personalized story from your life or biz

*that lead to a variety of CTAS

*PLUS the icing on the cake, 2 LIVE editing calls with me each month where you'll get my eyes on YOUR copy. 

It's a steal, it's like having an editor in your pocket. And it's $75/month, cancel anytime, or $750 for the year (that's TWO whole months free), with no refunds.

PLUS if you subscribe now, you get one month free. What are you waiting for? Subscribe here: https://www.cuttingchaistories.com/milliondollaremails

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories. I'm your host, Jayati Vora, and today I want to show you how to write so that people who don’t like to read will be enticed to read what YOU write.

This is part one of a two-part episode on this subject, so make sure you tune in next week for the second half.

There’s no trickery involved in getting people to read what you write, just 4 simple writing tips that ensure that readers won’t miss the crucial bits of information you want to convey—and that *everyone* absorbs the information more readily.

1. Put the important bits up top and down low.

2. Vary the lengths of your sentences

3. Use ellipses in different ways, but intentionally.

4. Make your paragraphs short.

For more detail on each of these, including examples to see them in action, listen to the full episode.

If you liked this episode, would you leave a review for Cutting Chai Stories on Apple Podcasts? And have you subscribed to the show yet? It’s free of cost, and will make sure you never miss an episode.

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories. I'm your host Jayati Vora, and today I want to talk to you about writing better headlines. Here's what we cover in this episode:

Brainstorm 30 headlines. Sometimes quality comes from quantity.

7 things NOT to do:

1. Don’t be boring. 

2. Don’t be overly clever. 

3. Don’t use too much jargon. 

4. Don’t use headlines that give away everything. 

5. Don’t pull a bait and switch. 

6. Don’t use cliches. 

7. And don’t overpromise and underdeliver.

8 things to do to write better headlines:

1. Use verbs. 

2. Use questions. 

3. Open a curiosity loop with statements. 

4. Use quotes. 

5. Be descriptive. 

6. Use lists and numbers. 

7. Be controversial. 

8. And finally, answer the question—what’s in it for the reader?

If you found this episode helpful, share it with a friend and tag me on IG @jayativora and I'll repost. Let's grow the community!

Hello and welcome to the last episode of Season 2 of Cutting Chai Stories! I'm your host Jayati Vora and on today's show, I speak to playwright and director Shivani Tibrewala, of No License Yet productions, who explains the peculiar tension between dialogue and subtext in theater, and how to create it. She reads an excerpt of her monologue, Avoid the Void. And she recalls her part in the nascent slam poetry scene in Mumbai. 

To contact Shivani, you can email nolicenseyet@gmail.com

About Shivani:

Shivani Tibrewala is a poet, playwright, and screenwriter from Mumbai, India and an empaneled artist with the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. She is the founder-director of No License Yet, a theatre company known for producing socially relevant pieces of theatre such as Retellings (a feminist interpretation of the Ramayana), and has herself written, directed and produced 10 plays since 2002 starring some of the biggest names in the Indian performing arts such as Tom Alter, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Mallika Sarabhai, Preeta Mathur, Utkarsh Mazumdar, Meenal Patel, Mona Ambegaonkar, Denzil Smith, Quasar Thakore Padamsee, Avantika Akerkar etc. Her plays has been published by Writers Workshop India, on Muse India and in a Croatian anthology featuring works by Women Writers from India. She has been commissioned to write plays by Theatre Royal Plymouth (UK), Flinntheater (Germany), The Moving Image Factory (Canary), etc. and her plays have traveled far and wide both in India and abroad and have completed over 500 shows. She has written for various television series including the kids daily "Hello Dolly" based on The Princess Diaries, and  a few feature films, including a comic musical for kids called "Music School" (based on The Sound of Music) the music for which is currently being composed by the maestro Ilaiyaraaja, a biopic on the life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw currently being produced by Ronnie Screwvala, a medical thriller based on her critically acclaimed play "The Laboratory" which was shortlisted by Sundance, a horror film called "Sex on the Beach" that was one of the ten stories in the feature "Dus Kahaniyaan" produced by Whitefeather Films, and numerous other screenplays she is currently pitching to producers.

This week I was stuck when it came to what to talk about on this episode, and I thought: Might YOU be stuck too? So I made a list of the things I do to get inspired when I'm feeling anything but, how to actually DO the writing -- in other words, stop daydreaming and start day-doing -- and my top tips for rewriting or editing your work. 

The writing prompt, too, is inspired by this list of tips.

So listen, follow along, and then tell me: Which tip resonated the most for you? Which one landed and got you off your butt and into your chair? Did you finish that writing project you were procrastinating on doing?

The folks in my paid writing challenge, 25 Days to Done, are getting these tips and more, my personal attention and feedback on their work for the duration. If you're interested in signing up the next time I hold it, ping me at cuttingchaistories AT gmail DOT com. 

Why do I like mango but not watermelon? Why do you read sci-fi but not magic realism? Why this and not that? AND--why are we spending an entire episode talking about something as obvious as our likes and dislikes? Everyone has them. SO WHAT?

I'll tell you so what. We can lean into our inner freaks, embrace the little weird quirks and mannerisms that we might otherwise try to hide, and use them as our own personal Bat signals to call out to the other freaks who are our perfect audience. Instead being bland, beige, and blending in, why not get our freak on so we can attract our ideal clients? It's WAY less exhausting than attracting a huge audience and having to cull them. 

In this episode, I look at two examples of copy on the websites of two successful online businesswomen. One is freaky, the other is not. Both work. But I'm more attracted to the freaky one.

What about you? 

All of us have probably heard that adage of good writing from an English teacher in our childhood: Show, don't tell. 

But what does it mean? Is "telling" the enemy? (No, it isn't.) 

HOW does one show and not tell? 

Can you give me examples?

All these questions answered in today's episode, and more, plus a writing prompt that will give you the opportunity to show off your newly acquired "showing" skills.

Passages quoted are from Rabih Alameddine's "The Angel of History;" and two restaurant reviews by the then New York Times food critic, Frank Bruni, here (https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/dining/reviews/the-steady-center-of-an-expanding-universe.html) and here (https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/reviews/07rest.html).

This is a different kind of episode. In it, I talk with my business coach, Rayna Jhaveri, about how, as entrepreneurs, as course creators, as teachers, what we teach or what we sell is just the gift wrapping for who we are. She talks about the power of energy and how that affects the way your audience will perceive your creation. And she talks about finding another way to reach customers than pain points. Listen in for her unashamedly non-mainstream approach, her wisdom in all things business and human, and her special Rayna magik.  

You can follow her on Instagram @the.punkmonk or check out her culinary talents on the TV show Milk Street. 

Hello hello and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories!

First off -- you are invited. I'm hosting a DRESS UP YOUR WRITING party. It's going to be loads of fun, nerding out on words, and not needing to mingle. We'll meet on Zoom -- all you need is a fancy dress from your closet to channel your inner badass, a drink in your hand, AND an email to your list that you want to workshop. I'll bring the funfetti and best of all, will do hot seat coaching on how to bring your badass self into your writing!

Email me at cuttingchaistories AT gmail DOT com to RSVP and for the deets.

For today, we talk about the use of contrast. Why use it, what we can do with it, and examples of effective contrast in writing fiction and ad copy!

In today's episode, the chai is made with a different recipe. I'm working with a coach and doing a lot of internal work, and I wanted to share an insight with you today. We all have our own internal narratives of ourselves as people, as entrepreneurs, for our businesses. These are words that others have called us, or that we at some point in our lives have called ourselves. These words can define us, knowingly or unknowingly, and can and likely do affect every aspect of our lives, personal and professional.

When our own stories are the most important that we'll ever get to tell, why are we letting others define our narratives by choosing our words? Today I offer my own example and give you a suggestion for how to tweak the story of your life by changing one small word. 

And a note on The Words Will Come, the program for entrepreneurs I've been teasing for a few weeks now. 

Hello hello and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories. This is the first episode of 2021, and I want to start it off with a great big hug of a thank you to all of you, my listeners, who tuned in to nearly 250 minutes of episodes, stuck with me through the hiatus between Season 1 and 2, from 37 different countries! Plus, Cutting Chai Stories was #19 in Spotify's India charts for a whole month in 2020! I can't think of a better way to start the new year than with this validation that you all are liking what you're hearing. So thank you.

In today's episode, I want to give you back a sense of control over yourself in a time where things seem to be spinning OUT of control. We do a future pacing exercise -- a fun one, I promise! -- that's an origin of the YOU you will be in 2021, and it all starts with choosing a word of the year to set your intention for 2021, for how you want to show up these next 12 months, the energy you want to bring to the world.

I also share an excerpt of a powerful column by Bombay-based journalist Sameera Khan, who was inspired by a Season 1 writing prompt of mine; her story was published in The Indian Express. You can read the entire piece, and follow her, on Instagram @samjourno123.

As always, if you feel inspired to share what you wrote, or how it made you feel, I'm on Instagram @cuttingchaistories and on Facebook in the Cutting Chai Stories Facebook group -- come join us!

It's the end of 2020 and it feels like a momentous occasion, given what a hellish year this has been. But all that pressure to produce something profound bottles up the words instead. Here's a short piece about another moment like that I had this past summer, when I had promised myself and all of you to write something original every single day for 31 days in a row. 

What I'd like you to take from that is that sometimes, if you go with the flow, you might get something different than what you had originally planned, but it might still be good. If you have writer's block, try to talk it out, take a break, take a walk, or just release yourself from those expectations and go with the flow. (But if you have a deadline, please meet it -- that's the editor in me talking!)

And if this frustrated feeling sounds familiar to you; if you, too, have stared at a blank page in frustration because the words just won't come, and if you're an entrepreneur who wants to write better for their business, I might have something for you. I'm launching a new digital course on January 25, 2021, called "The Words Will Come."  In it, I will help you channel your natural speaking voice in written form, and teach you the art of storytelling. You'll need both to stand out from the crowd and sound inimitably YOU. 

Visit my new website, www.cuttingchaistories.com, for more information. 

Hello from Jayati, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories! Today I talk about how to speak directly to customers in an authentic way, with plenty of examples of how other companies are doing it, and a path for you to figure out what your own natural voice sounds like. 

Think about unexpected places you can stand out with your copy
Write from a place of genuine feeling and you won't sound fake
Write down the bones (and this exercise will help you whether you're trying to tell your entrepreneur's or brand's story, or whether you just want the words to talk about why you do what you do, whatever that is)

Head to my brand-new website for more information on how else I can help you with your writing struggles: https://www.cuttingchaistories.com

And if you want to get in on my limited-time, small-group founding member discount, sign up for the waitlist to The Words Will Come, my new digital course for entrepreneurs who want to learn to write better for their business, and email me at cuttingchaistories AT gmail DOT com for more information. 

Welcome back to Episode 9 of Season 2 of Cutting Chai Stories! It felt like it had been a while since I had stuck to my original structure of story, writing technique, and writing prompts, so I made this for all of you who were missing it. In this episode, I share a short story about jumping puddles in the rain in New York, and how that evoked memories of splashing about during the monsoon in my hometown of Mumbai. I try to recreate the feeling of monsoon -- the sounds, the smells, even the tastes it brings back -- while also carefully choosing my words to make them pleasing to the ear.

Writing from a place of strong emotion, as I did, can often unblock your creativity. But using these writing techniques will help elevate that writing and give it more of a punch. A dhishoom, even, you could say!

Connect with me on Instagram @jayativora and @cuttingchaistories

And if you like this podcast, would you consider leaving me a review at Apple Podcasts? 

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories. I'm your host Jayati Vora, and today's episode is short, sweet, and oh so necessary! I talk about five kinds of words or phrases that we need to CUT from our writing. There are unnecessary introductions, ungrammatical phrases, long-winded ways of writing that we need to rewrite, adverbs that should be on the chopping block, and excessive description.

Listen in for explanations of each point, along with examples of what I mean. Then look back at your OWN copy and do this exercise — what did YOU cut out of your copy?

ANNNNND, I have an actual website. We're still working out the kinks, but I have some freebies up, and an exciting announcement to make in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the site at www.cuttingchaistories.com.

If you like this podcast, if anything I've ever said has helped you become a better writer, or a prompt has inspired you to write something, would you please take a minute and rate and review Cutting Chai Stories on Apple Podcasts? It helps to grow our community, and I would be ever so grateful. 

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora. If you haven't already listened to last week's episode, my interview with Zahir Janmohamed chock-full of tips and strategies on how to do personal storytelling better, you're missing out. Stop right now and go listen to that one first. If you did already, wonderful. I thought Zahir's tips were so useful that I adapted them for entrepreneurs. 

Click here to download your FREE guide for an entrepreneur's storytelling cheatsheet: https://mailchi.mp/8296ca2d0bcb/storytelling-cheatsheet

I found them so valuable that I wanted to share three of those tips in this episode: namely, it's a snapshot, not an autobiography; the self is a stand-in for something larger; and anchor your story in specifics. 

In this episode, I take you why these pointers are important, and how to incorporate them into your business content (*cough* About Me page *cough*).

If you'd like more in-depth guidance on writing your About Me page, you can get it here: https://gumroad.com/cuttingchaistories#GVPlPj 

As always, if you like this show, if you find it valuable, will you consider rating the show on Apple Podcasts and leaving me a review? It helps other people find Cutting Chai Stories, and maybe they'll like it just as much as you do. :)

Welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora! Today I make good on something I've been talking about the last few episodes, which is to also give writing tips to entrepreneurs who are struggling with how to write copy for their business. 

I also share not one but TWO stories, both produced during a class on writing the personal essay. The first one is by Sara Afshaar, a former immigration attorney and current MFA candidate at the University of Michigan. Sara's work has appeared or is forthcoming in Slice, McSweeney's, Sporklet, and has been installed in Boston City Hall. 

You can find her on Twitter: @afsharknado.

The other story is by me, and both of us wrote about the uncertainty and anxiety and pressure we were all feeling the week after the U.S. presidential election. 

What makes the stories different is their use of "you"; both of us talked about ourselves in the second-person perspective. That was the prompt by the teacher of that class, Zahir Janmohamed (interview with Zahir coming soon on the show--stay tuned!), but what felt so good was how liberating it felt to dissociate yourself from the "you" on the page. I was not me, I was an anonymous you. Try it yourself and see!

For entrepreneurs who are wondering how they can use this writing tip, I say, use it in your description of your ideal client--and be specific. It's how your target audience will know you're talking to them! If you're the kind of entrepreneur who is helping people who have the same problem you used to have, you can even use this technique to write about yourself, back when you were struggling with this problem, and capture even more effectively the challenge that your ideal client is facing right now.

Meanwhile, if one of the things that you, dear listener, are struggling with is even getting started, if you're thinking, How can I write? I didn't go to school for this!, well, I have something for you. Here are my top 5 myths of good writing that need to be busted, and I'm giving it away just for you: https://mailchi.mp/c800156aa787/busted-5-myths-of-good-writing

Finally, if you liked this episode, if you learned something from it, would you please subscribe and share it with a friend? If you tag me on IG @jayativora and @cuttingchaistories, I'll reshare your post. 

Welcome to Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora. In today's episode, I talk about the opposite of a cutting chai story -- that is, how to stretch a story like a rubber band. While most of my episodes feature short stories under a 100 words long, sometimes that word count can be limiting. So how do you take one small moment and expand on it, make it interesting to your listener or reader, and keep them hooked? Listen to the episode to find out. 

My creative writing classes for children are open for registration for the November session; the topic of the month is Fairy Tales. Register your kids here: https://www.gumroad.com/cuttingchaistories

I tease a writing class for entrepreneurs in this episode; email me for more information and to be put on the founding members' list. 

Welcome back to Season 2 of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, a short-form podcast dedicated to breaking down the mysteries of writing. Every Thursday, I'll be bringing you a short story, teaching you some of the techniques used, and giving you a writing prompt to write a story of your own. This season, for the first time, I'll also be exploring how to use those writing techniques in writing for your business -- that is, copy you can use as an entrepreneur. 

Episode 1 is all about the rule of threes: what it is, how to recognize it, and why you should make it an essential part of your writing repertoire. Thanks so much to Diane Stinnett for sharing her story with us! Diane is a graphic designer and social media manager from Louisville, Kentucky, who is rediscovering the passion for writing that she says got lost somewhere in her 20s. She was one of many writers who participated in my July 2020 #astoryaday writing challenge in my Cutting Chai Stories Facebook group. This story is from that period. I hope it inspires you to write your own. 

If you liked this episode and want to continue the conversation elsewhere, join the party in my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cuttingchaistories
Or sign up for my email list: http://eepurl.com/hb6oOP
Or follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayati-vora

My creative writing classes for children (7-10 years) begin again in November; the theme is fairy tales. Register here: https://www.gumroad.com/cuttingchaistories

Follow Diane on her Facebook page, Running Lessons, here: https://www.facebook.com/runninglessons

Listen for a sneak peek into Season 2 of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, coming October 22nd, 2020.

Helloooooo! I made you a bonus episode because I missed you so much and I wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about you. This one is all about sound words, or, if you want to sound fancy: onomatopoeias. Listen to the spooky story my 9-year-old student from Texas, Hansika Shankar, wrote, and learn how she used sound words to chilling effect. 

Coming soon: Season 2! Stay tuned!

And if you can't wait till then, follow me on Instagram @jayativora (https://www.instagram.com/jayativora/) or join me and a growing group of writers in my Facebook group, Cutting Chai Stories (https://www.facebook.com/groups/cuttingchaistories), where I share writing prompts that don't get shared in my podcast!

Also, I'm doing some exciting new things in this hiatus between seasons that I can't wait to tell you about! More soon.  

In this, the last episode of Season 1 of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, I speak again with Nadine Kenney Johnstone (if you missed it, check out her interview with me last week on episode 19). Nadine is the author of the memoir Of This Much I'm Sure, writing coach and writing professor, and on episode 20, she generously takes us through a thought exercise designed to have you visualizing what you want to write before you ever pick up your notebook, helping greatly with the common problem of writer's block. Grab a pen or a laptop before you listen, pause as and when you need to, and spin the mental exercise out for as long as you need--by the end of it, you'll have constructed a whole scene in your head, with setting, characters, dialogue, and more. 

This is the last episode of Season 1, it's true, but I'll probably pop in here for a bonus episode or two before we get to Season 2. In the meantime, do keep in touch via Instagram (I'm at @jayativora) or in my Facebook group, also called Cutting Chai Stories. 

Thank you to all of you who have been listening, all of you who wrote to me, all of you who came on my podcast to share your energy and wise words with my listeners!

To learn more about Nadine, you can visit her website: nadinekenneyjohnstone.com

Connect with her on Instagram:@nadinekenneyjohnstone
Sign up for her newsletter where you'll be the first to know about her workshops and get her free journaling guide: https://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/community
Read her memoir: Of This Much I'm Sure
She is also doing visualization and writing sessions every Monday at 12 p.m. CST; sign up for her Writer Workout Membership between Aug 18 and 24 here: http://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/workshops/writer-workout-membership

Surprise! I'm dropping this "bonus episode" today because it has been a week since I started my writing challenge, writing something original every day, posting it to social media, and sharing a writing prompt in my Facebook group, Cutting Chai Stories -- EVERY DAY for four weeks, you guys. And I'm not alone! There are a bunch of folks also sharing their work in our group, and I'd love nothing more than for you to come join us. This is Day 8, and you can go back and do the first seven, or just start from whenever you feel comfortable. Just use the hashtags #cuttingchaistories and #astoryaday.

To give you a little bit of inspiration, here's the story I wrote to kick off the writing challenge last week, which stems from one of my biggest sources of inspiration. What's yours?

The writing prompt comes courtesy the artist Racquel Keller, who put her own colorful spin on the writing challenge. 

And finally, if you like this show, or have learned something from one of my episodes, won't you drop me a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts? Or share with a friend and tag me on Instagram (I'm @jayativora) and I'll reshare your post. 

Ok, that's it for me. Back to your regular programming on Thursday -- that's episode 17, part 2 of my interview with the inimitable Jerry Pinto. You don't want to miss it!

In Episode 11 of Cutting Chai Stories, host Jayati Vora shares a short story she wrote more than 3 months ago, which feels very relevant today. Sometimes it's not about agonizing over every word, but about writing from a wellspring of emotion. The words flow more easily and you know just what to say. For the writing prompt, I ask you to dig deep and let yourself be vulnerable. This is an intense one, folks. Be warned. 

On this episode of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, you get two stories based on last week's prompt: being grateful for something about the place you live, and writing a love letter to your town, city, neighborhood acknowledging your gratitude. Jayati writes about community, and Deeba Syed writes a love letter to her hometown (also Jayati's hometown) of Bombay aka Mumbai, India. Learn about stream-of-consciousness writing and how a flow of thought can impact pacing. The writing prompt for next week is to think of a song, any song, and write a story of under 100 words inspired by the song. If you write, and would like to share, you can email your story to cuttingchaistories AT gmail DOT com.

Also, this week is Jayati's 5-day LIVE creative writing challenge on her Facebook group, also called Cutting Chai Stories, and on her Instagram feed, at 12 p.m. EST April 27 through May 1. 

On this episode of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, we'll talk about building description into your writing, and how that can be different from just using adjectives. You'll hear two mini stories sparked by last week's prompt of looking for treasure, one by me and one by Shabnam Faruki. And you'll get a writing prompt for next week: Write a mini story, 50 to a 100 words long, about a recipe. It could be in actual recipe format, with ingredients and instructions, or you can use the idea as a springboard. If you write something, do send it to me at CuttingChaiStories@gmail.com. I'm on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jayativora and I have a Facebook group, also called Cutting Chai Stories, where I'll be making an exciting announcement about new offerings for later this month. 

This week we talk about how to make an impact with the simplest of words, how to use contrast effectively, and the power of a twist at the end. Thanks to Trushna Jhaveri for sharing her story that imagines the first day out after being under lockdown for the rest of 2020. And here's a writing prompt to kick off your mini story: Write about a time that you discovered treasure. It could be something physical, or something abstract. What does treasure mean to you? 

If you do write something and feel like sharing it, or even if you just want to drop me a line, you can reach me at cuttingchaistories@gmail.com. 

And if you liked this podcast, share it with a friend! See you next Thursday.

Imagine a world where we were all locked down for the rest of the year. What would the first day of freedom look like? That's the thought that prompted these two stories, one from me, and one from another writer. Get some writing tips to help you write your own mini story, the perfect length to enjoy over a half-cup of Indian tea, otherwise known as cutting chai. 

Cutting chai, a half-serving of chai, is for those in-between moments—a caffeinated gulp without the guilt of multiple cups. Join Jayati Vora as she shares her short stories, roughly 30 seconds long, about topics as universal as friendship, nostalgia and loss, and as quotidian as parenting or the quiet beauty of a walk in spring. Each episode also features a writing prompt for listeners. Episodes air every Thursday.