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Take 18 Days to Become a Better Writer

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by Barbara McNichol

Incremental learning makes a difference when you set any goal for yourself, including becoming a better writer.

Why would you desire to have better writing? To get hired or promoted, to attract more clients, to build your reputation and boost your book sales–to name only a few benefits.

Your action item: To reap these benefits, set aside time for 18 days to improve your writing, whether it’s for book chapters, reports, or sensitive emails.

In each of those days, you would study one of these easy, effective tips to hone your writing craft. Using them habitually, you’ll find you get better results and your confidence will grow. Any time you might spend in a writing WordShop (including those I offer) is reinforced by the ideas in this e-guide.

Your assurance: These practical, immediately usable tips have been compiled over years of editing nonfiction books and conducting business writing classes. You can feel assured writers have tested them thoroughly!

Your goal: Make a point of integrating a fresh tip into your writing every day. You’ll see how perfecting the communication loop through improved writing benefits your readers, your coworkers, you clients, and ultimately your career.

Your Key to Better Writing

better writer

This e-guide can be purchased for only $14.95. Click here to order. Use code 18DAYS to receive a $4.95 discount! Any questions? Contact me at editor@barbaramcnichol.com

Have you already worked with this e-guide? If so, please leave your comments here. How did it help you? Inquiring minds want to know!

Be a Better Writer–STOP Using “Start” So Much

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by Barbara McNichol

Stop using the word Start

Pop Quiz

To be a better writer, when should you stop using the word start?

Answer

Now. Good writing includes the ability to craft strong, clear statements. Extraneous words and phrases water down communications. An outstanding example of this is the overuse of the words “start” and “begin.”

Look at these examples of creating stronger statements by going straight to the key action verb rather than “beginning” to go for it.

Example 1: Slowly begin to approach your teammate with your idea.

Better: Slowly approach your teammate with your idea.

Example 2: Start making an agenda for the meeting.

Better: Make an agenda for the meeting.

True confession time: Do you ever overuse “start” and “begin”? Please don’t start!

I hope this tiny Pop Quiz gave you a BIG idea for tightening your writing. If that was helpful, there is more.

What if you had a program that could guarantee you would become a better writer, making you a more valuable, promotion-worthy professional?

Even if you’re doing well in your job, you can have more within your reach.

The Word Trippers Tips ADVANTAGE Program does all that—and for less than the cost of a night on the town.

Becoming a better writer doesn’t just happen. I challenge you to …

CHECK OUT WORD TRIPPERS TIPS.

From tennis nut to word nerd and successful book editor, Barbara McNichol has built a career around her love of the English language. She can show you how great writing skills can help you get hired … win promotions … and build better working relationships. Reach her at editor@barbaramcnichol.com

How (and Why) to Work with an Editor

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Barbara McNichol from June 2018 issue of Speaker Magazine

work with an editorAs a professional, you send your ideas into the world in writing—via books, blogs, articles, and more. In today’s crowded marketplace, the more you write, the more every word counts.

Who can help you break through the clutter? Editors: your conduit to communicating to those you want to influence. For if an experienced editor doesn’t “get” your message, neither will they. And because the written word sticks around longer than the spoken word, it matters!

Why You Need an Editor

It’s tempting to regard hiring editors as an unnecessary expense. Instead, see it as an investment in effectiveness. Here’s why:

  1. You grow as a writer. Pay attention to editors’ changes and learn the tricks of the editing trade. That includes getting assurance that your piece meets your objective.
  2. You improve your book’s marketing power. A good editor can wordsmith titles, headings and subheads as well as incorporate keywords to hook readers during online searches.
  3. You gain insight and save embarrassment. Your writing benefits from an editor’s initial “deep massage” that asks insightful questions and makes suggestions to hone your message. It’s followed by a tight copyedit to find those pesky grammar gremlins and wording errors before readers do. After you make changes, your editor reviews everything, does a final proofread, and keeps your project moving.

Then at the end of the process, you can declare with confidence, “My writing sounds just like me—only better!” (As an editor, that’s what I desire for my clients.)

Choosing an Editor

For books, the magic of selecting the right editor lies in the Sample Edit—a complimentary edit of your work from your manuscript. Sure, you get value from seeing Before and After of someone else’s project, but don’t skip this step. Request samples from all contenders. That’s how you come close to comparing apples to apples.

I call the Sample Edit “magic” because you get to see:

  • the level of editing required
  • how clearly your message can be expressed
  • if the edits changed your voice—a huge concern for authors.

And it does something else: The Sample Edit helps determine your project’s place on the editing spectrum. Does it require proofreading, copyediting, or a complete rewrite? Along with word count, that determines an editor’s customized fee, communicated in writing up front.

In your selection process, be sure to examine prospective editors’ credentials. Study their websites and peruse their portfolios. Testimonials are great, but also ask for references so you can pose questions to their clients related to your needs.

In short, don’t miss the opportunity to deliver your best writing. After all, it’s you, your voice, your contribution to the world. Make sure your message comes across clear and strong. It’s that important!

Tricks of the Editing Trade

  • Enliven your text by using active (not passive) construction:
  • Active: “The boy chomped into the juicy watermelon.” The verb “chomped” is active.
  • Passive: “The juicy watermelon was eaten by the boy.” The word “by” is a clue that it’s passive.
  • Keep it simple:
  • One idea per sentence
  • One distinct point per paragraph
  • No more than 21 words in a sentence.
  • Whack wordiness:
  • “I really think it’s time to go.” (“It’s time to go.”)
  • “Due to the fact that” (“Because…”)
  • “There are m[M]any experts that believe in magic.”

Word Alert: The word “that” doesn’t substitute for “who” when referring to a person. You’d refer to someone who speaks, not someone that speaks.

  • Use the correct word to say what you mean. Even from excellent writers, editors often encounter misused words: browse vs. peruse, compliment vs. complement, advice vs. advise.

As an expert editor, Barbara McNichol proudly helps speakers/authors change the world with their well-crafted words. Over 24 years, Barbara has placed more than 350 books (and counting) on her editor’s “trophy shelf.” She is also the creator of Word Trippers Tips, a resource for better writing available at www.WordTrippers.com.

“Since” and “Because”–What’s the Difference Between These Confusing Words?

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confusing wordsby Barbara McNichol

In my recent post on the blog of Nonfiction Authors Association (NFAA), an author asked about  confusing words this way:

Barbara, I’d love to see you do an article on the difference between “as” and “since” and “because.”

Here’s a summary of what my research told me.

Both “because” and “since” imply cause. They can be interchangeable when “since” means “for the reason that.” e.g., “Since my dog needs exercise, I take him for a walk.” e.g., “I walk every day because my dog needs exercise.”

One source suggests using “because” when the reason is the most important part of the sentence and “since” or “as” when the reason is already well known and is less important. e.g., “The match was cancelled because it was raining.”

I endorse this as an important distinction and use it myself.

Note that “since” also refers to a time frame. But look at this example. “Since we ate lunch, we had lots of energy.” Do you see how this statement is ambiguous? Does it mean “from the time we had lunch” or “for the reason that we had lunch”?

To avoid confusion, I recommend using “because” when your meaning relates to “cause” and “since” when it’s a factor of time. Keep the meanings distinct; it’s a good way to add clarity to your writing and power to your pen.

For clarification of commonly confused words, request a free reference guide at Word Trippers.com

What word pairings trip you up? Share them here.

Fun with Puns — Just in Time for April Fool’s Day

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by Todd Hunt, Business Humorist

punsIn case the Easter punny misses you on Sunday, here are five April Fools puns to fathom:

1) Acupuncture is a jab well done.

2) If a clock is hungry does it go back four seconds?

3) Without geometry, life is pointless.

4) Corduroy pillows are making headlines.

5) I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words. (Barbara’s favorite)

OK – your turn. Write your worst puns in the comments below!

Business humorist Todd Hunt speaks to organizations that want to add fun to their events and send members back to work smiling—with tips to improve communication and success. Visit him at ToddHuntSpeaker.com

Editor’s Note: Todd tackles Word Tripper types of confusing words as I do. His latest video clears up the difference between “podium vs. lectern” (because you’re dying to know). And you can watch his past episodes here. Enjoy!

Writing Tips: 5 Techniques to Boost Your Readers’ Comprehension

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by Barbara McNichol

Whether it’s an email, a report, or a chapter in a book, are you sometimes challenged to make your writing easier to follow? What are ways to create a smooth flow that guides your readers?

Give these writing tips a try:

1. Use subheads: When you use subheads throughout your piece, readers can skim your content and quickly discern what’s to follow. Even more, subheads indicate a change of subject and allow readers to find it quickly. Your guide: new subject, new subhead.

2. Convey one idea per paragraph: If you pack a paragraph with more than one idea, it creates difficulty following the meaning. In an email about a talk, for example, you’d use three separate paragraphs: one explaining the subject of the talk, one explaining who the presenter is, and the third showing the date, time, and place of the event. You can also add subheads to distinguish each paragraph.

3. Use bullets points and numbered lists: When you list similar things (such as names, steps, benefits, requirements), you help readers recognize similar content quickly. With lists, you can leave out transitional words that paragraphs command. It helps the understanding when you use the same part of speech (e.g., a verb or a noun) at the beginning of each point. Note: In a list, when the order of the points matters, use numbers; otherwise, use bullets.

4. Vary sentence length: Although short, concise sentences are easy to read, a string short sentences can feel disjointed. Add interest by varying the length of your sentences. My rule of thumb is keeping sentences shorter than 21 words so readers can follow the meaning more easily.

5. Vary sentence structure: Building your sentences in the order of subject-verb-object is simple and clear. But if all your sentences are constructed that way, it might come across as monotonous. Along with varying sentence length, break out of the mold of standard sentence structure.

Practice these simple ways to make your writing easy to follow and enjoy better responses from your readers. Note YOUR favorite writing tips below or email me. 

Do You Know How to Designate Daylight Saving Time in Your Writing?

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By Julie Perrine (used with permission)

Daylight Saving Time began in the U.S. recently.  That means for the next eight months, our time zone abbreviations also need to change if we want our meeting invites to be accurate.

What am I talking about? Let me explain.

We are currently operating in Standard Time. In the United States, that means the time zone abbreviations for our meetings have been EST (Eastern Standard Time), CST (Central Standard Time), MST (Mountain Standard Time), and PST (Pacific Standard Time).

When Daylight Saving Time begins, the correct time zone abbreviations will be EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), CDT (Central Daylight Time), MDT (Mountain Daylight Time), and PDT (Pacific Daylight Time). The S changes to D to indicate the change from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.

Why does this matter? Because not all parts of the world – or even the U.S. – switch to Daylight Saving Time. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not switch. And there are many countries around the globe that do not use Daylight Saving Time either. Even those places that do observe Daylight Saving Time don’t all switch at the same time. This makes time zone abbreviations crucial, especially when you have participants from multiple time zones.

Here are two examples of how this applies:

Example 1: EST is never the same as EDT.

Last summer, while Daylight Saving Time was in effect in the U.S., I was supposed to present an online training event for an international client at 6 p.m. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). I live in the Eastern Time Zone in the United States. If you plug 6 p.m. GMT into any time zone converter app, it will tell you that is 2 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). However, the event organizers had advertised the event for 1 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time).

I was on time for the event at 2 p.m. EDT. However, most of the people from my region of the world who normally joined that online training event were not there because they assumed it was happening at 1 p.m. EDT – even though the abbreviation said EST. The event organizers could have avoided a lot of confusion and increased their event attendance significantly if they had published their event with the correct time zone abbreviation.

Here’s another application of this concept for meetings: One of my team members is in Mountain Standard Time. She stays in that time zone all year around because she’s in a part of Arizona that doesn’t switch at all. So if I send a meeting invite for the team call at 1 p.m. MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) and she is actually in Mountain Standard Time, then it occurs at 12 p.m. MST (Mountain Standard Time) because she doesn’t “spring forward” for Daylight Saving Time.

Example 2: Always publish meeting times with the time zone abbreviation for where the meeting is occurring.

Last fall, I was scheduled to present a webinar for an international association. We were still on Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. The country for the association hosting this webinar had already moved back to Standard Time.

I was nervous about being on the webinar at the right time, so I checked it frequently. With this event, I learned how important it is to publish the time of the event for the time zone in which the event is occurring, with the correct time zone abbreviation. That way when anyone plugs it into a time zone converter, they will know what time to join the event in their own time zone. This is especially important when dealing with companies on the other side of the International Date Line because the meeting may actually occur on the next day.

A few key takeaways here:

  • Learn the time zone abbreviations and how to use them for the time zones you work with the most. If you aren’t sure, look them up!
  • Always set the meeting time on your calendar invites for the time the meeting is scheduled to take place in the originating location, and let the calendar convert it to the respective time zone of each recipient. Then if the organizers update the time, your attendees get the updates, which is also important.
  • Include the time of the meeting, with the time zone abbreviation in the originating location, in the subject line of your meeting invite so all invitees and their assistants can see it and do the manual conversion, if needed. It helps tremendously. If you update the meeting time, though, you need to remember to update it on both the invite and in the subject line.

The bottom line is to never assume which abbreviation is accurate if you don’t know for sure. Check it. Download the time zone convertor apps or save the links to your computer so you can check and get it right – every single time!

Julie Perrine is an administrative expert, author, and all-around procedures pro. She is the founder and CEO of All Things Admin, a company dedicated to developing innovative products, training, and resources for administrative professionals worldwide. She is the author of Author of The Innovative Admin, The Organized Admin, and Become a Procedures Pro.

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