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Make Your Writing Come Alive

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by Dawn Goldberg, Write Well U (reprinted with permission from Fuel)

Writing is more than just packaging your words. Those words are the meat of your project and your message. You have to think about content and your audience and writing it well and getting your readers’ attention and keeping your readers’ attention and…. The list goes on and doesn’t ever seem to stop.

If you write well, then your writing will accomplish all those goals: getting your readers’ attention, keeping their attention, and meeting their needs. Now, we’re not talking about correct grammar and sentence mechanics, although that is important to writing well.

We’re talking about how to make the writing come alive, to be yours and yours alone.

  • Be creative. Whether you’re writing titles or giving examples, come up with your own ideas. It seems clever to riff off the “Got Milk?” slogan, but after a while (and sometimes a very short while), that gets old. You don’t have to worry about your writing being cliché or old when you come up with your own creative ideas.
  • Be yourself. You’re not the answer for everyone, and not everyone is going to be attracted to your stuff. However, if you write authentically, then you have a better chance of people sticking around to see what you have to say. It’s basic Law of Attraction.
  • Be original. You don’t have to do it like everyone else. You don’t have to follow all the rules. Just because you get great advice from E-zines and books on writing, it doesn’t mean you have to follow all of it. Do it your own way and stand out from the crowd. If you’re like everyone else, what would make people gravitate toward you? Give them a reason to pick you.
  • Be strong. Choose a stand and believe in it. If your writing is filled with “I think” and “I guess” and “I believe” and “it seems,” you come across as wishy-washy. Take those words out and stand firm. Say what you believe and believe what you say.
  • Be human. We all make mistakes. Don’t try to pretend you’re perfect. If you make a mistake, own up to it. Your audience wants someone to whom they can relate. If you come across as perfect, how can they relate to you? Admit your weaknesses and be authentic.
  • Be fun-filled. Enjoy what you’re writing about. Write from the heart. Be passionate. If you like humor, be funny. If you like word play, add a few puns. If you’re thrilled with what you’re doing, let that joy come out in your writing.

The point is to throw yourself into your writing. It can be scary, yes, but you’re more likely to grab your readers and have them follow you rather than get a lukewarm or so-so response. Take risks. Be yourself. Let your words be powerful.

Which “Writing Well” tips do you find most helpful? Share your thoughts here.

George Orwell’s Writing Rules

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by Barbara McNichol

According to Writer’s Almanac, in 1946, George Orwell (famed author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four) wrote an essay called “Politics and the English Language.” In it, he included five rules for effective written communication.

I share these five rules here with my own commentary in red. For the life of me, though, I can’t figure out what the fifth one means. What’s your best guess? 

Please share your interpretation of what (v) means in the comment box below. Yes, it can be outrageous!

Orwell’s Five Rules for Effective Written Communication

(i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print. I’d say – Use  original, creative figures of speech, not common (worn out) cliches that everyone knows.

(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do. Ditto!!

(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. I’d say – Find ways to Whack Wordiness in your writing. (See my blog posts on how to do that.) /wp-admin/post.php?post=250&action=edit

(iv) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Agreed (most of the time)! One of my criteria in creating Word Trippers is selecting everyday words, not obscure ones.

(v) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. Help! Need a translator for this one!

What would you add to Orwell’s list?

Nonfiction Authors: Think Like an Editor

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Barbara McNichol

Writers take their observations of the world, draw a few conclusions, and translate them into messages on paper (or computer screens). When you write something to market your products or services, you don a writer’s hat to express your message in words. But don’t stop there. You then need to put on your editor’s glasses and focus on fine-tuning those words to make sure they communicate with your intended audience. That requires you to read your piece as if you have never seen it before and think like an editor.

A skilled editor examines every phrase and asks:

  • Is it NECESSARY?
  • Is it CLEAR?
  • Is it CONCISE?

When you review your own writing, you likely won’t answer “yes” to all these questions. So take off your writer’s hat and look through your editor’s glasses, then make changes based on these five common writing problems.

1. Use the active voice. (WHO does WHAT to WHOM.)

Passive: It was decided that everyone would take the class.
Active: The principal decided everyone would take the class.

2. Make subjects and verbs agree. (No mixing singular and plural.)
Incorrect:  A group of writers were in town. (“Group” is singular while “were” is plural.)
Correct: A group of writers was in town. (“Group” is the subject here, not “writers.”)

3. Use parallel construction. (Give your writing rhythm.)
Weak: We’ve learned to read, write, and we’re making sure information is shared.
Stronger: We’ve learned to read, write, and share information.

4. Make the subject obvious. (Don’t let your participles dangle!)
Yucky: Driving down the highway, the new stadium came into view. (Who was driving down the highway? The stadium?)

Better: We could see the progress on the new stadium as we drove by it on the highway.

5. Use specific, vivid verbs and nouns. (Don’t overuse adverbs and adjectives.)

Dull: I saw some really pretty yellow daffodils.

Interesting: I reveled in a riot of daffodils.

When you wear your editor’s glasses, make sure every word counts. What are your favorite writing/editing tips that will enhance someone’s writing? Please share them here.

 

Game for the World is Making a Difference

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by Barbara McNichol

Rarely do I step off my soapbox about writing well to divert your focus to a worthy cause. Today, I couldn’t resist.

My wonderful colleague Anne Harman has clearly demonstrated how what she’s written and created–Game for the World–can make a difference in educating people about AIDS and HIV.

With the help of sponsors, she recently produced a video that explains the Game’s accomplishments–all while showing how this simple educational tool deserves attention around the world.

Please watch this video and share your ideas on spreading the word about Game for the World. Specifically, she’s looking for corporate sponsorship and celebrity endorsements. I’ll pass them along to Anne!

Feel free to spread this link far and wide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCj74TiAfeo

AIDS prevention and education

Banner from Game for the World website www.gamefortheworld.com

In-Your-Face Grammar Glitches You Can’t Ignore

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By Barbara McNichol

My attention was recently drawn to an article in Ragan Report (great resource for communicators) that puts the “Top 25 Grammar and Language Mistakes” in your face. Some, in fact, are Word Trippers that I include in my ebook.

This handful of grammar glitches stood out for me. I’m eager to point them out because they’re extremely important to good writing. I encourage you to take them to heart.

  • Using “could of,” “would of,” “should of.” These are all 100 percent wrong, born of our sloppy speaking styles—could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. What you want to write is could have, would have, should have. We all coulda, woulda, shoulda become better at grammar.
  • Using “me and somebody.” I tell my children that it’s common courtesy to put the other person first. Thus you should always say, “Fred and I went to the gym together,” or “Suzie and I saw that movie.”
  • Using “that” instead of “who” (and vice versa). If you’re writing about people, always use who. If a company president says, “employees that are affected by layoffs will be greatly missed,” no one is likely to believe him because he’s treating them as objects by using the word that.
  • Using “they” when referring to a business. “Starbucks said they would give everyone a free latte today.” Although this might sound right, the correct sentence is: “Starbucks said it would give everyone a free latte today.” And if that grates on your ears, then rewrite the sentence to avoid the problem: “Starbucks is offering everyone a free latte today.”

Want to peruse the whole article so you can learn from all 25 mistakes? Here’s the link.

Please share other grammar glitches that might trip you in the comments section below.

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