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5 Writing Questions to Ask Before Saying “I’m Done”

July 22, 2019 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Barbara McNichol

ask writing questionsSuppose you’re composing a sensitive email, article, or letter—one that’s extremely important in your world. But the message must be as clear and concise as possible.

Ask these five writing questions and follow the examples. From there, make changes that will immediately improve your prose and ensure you’ve written what you meant to write.

  1. Have you put in filler words that don’t add meaning to your sentence? E.g., Starting a sentence with “there are” or “here is” or a variation. “Here are excellent points to consider” becomes “Consider these points.” More direct!
  2. Can you spot and eliminate extraneous phrases? Omit “the fact of the matter is…” or “it’s important to remember that…” or “it’s all about…” Like filler words, they take up space without adding meaning.
  3. Where can you use noun modifiers to be more concise? E.g., “Tips on writing” becomes “Writing tips” and “Details regarding the conference” becomes “conference details.”
  4. How can you streamline sentences without changing the meaning? Look for “who” and “which” phrases. E.g., “Dee, who is our new manager, just had surgery” becomes “Our new manager, Dee, just had surgery.” “Our report, which we finished, is on your desk” becomes “We put our finished report on your desk.” Bonus: It uses an active verb.
  5. How can you use commas sparingly but also when needed to clarify the meaning of your sentences? E.g., “You can overlook punctuation rules and people will have trouble reading your writing and your ideas will get lost.” Without a comma after rules, this can be misread to say: “You can overlook punctuation rules and people…” That’s why you need the comma after rules. Even clearer would be: “If you overlook punctuation rules, people will have trouble reading your words, and your ideas will get lost.”

What writing questions would you add to these five that would help hone your writing to perfection before saying, “I’m done”? Note them in the comments section.

Filed Under: Writing Tips Tagged With: #betterwriting #businesswriting, better writer, company writing, extraneous writing, filler words, How to become a better writer, nonfiction book editor, streamline writing, use commas, Whack Wordiness, writing questions, writing workshop

Adventure Author Making a Splash

October 19, 2015 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

Note from Barbara: I just received this email from adventure author Heidi Siefkas whose wonderful books I edited. I’m excited to share her publicity and news about her upcoming live writing retreat in South Florida. Details about her books and retreat are linked on the CBS-Miami website. 

Take three minutes to listen to Heidi’s fun TV interview about how she reinvented her life, wrote about it, and turned it into a new career.

Dear Barbara,

Aloha from Fort Lauderdale!

It has been a busy fall with the second book launch. I’m making a splash with my post-traumatic growth story, Life 2.0, and adventure is my meditation. Check out this feature that recently aired on CBS Channel 4 Miami.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/10/18/focus-on-south-florida-south-florida-writing-retreat/

Thank you for being a part of this journey. On Saturday, I will be co-hosting a writing retreat and sharing my path, highlighting your editing business as well as my publisher’s, Wheatmark.

Here’s to looking up!

Heidi

Heidi's follow-up book

Adventure author's first book

Heidi Siefkas is author of When All Balls Drop and With New Eyes. 

Filed Under: BME in the News, Writing Workshops Tagged With: adventure author, book publicity, Hiedi Siefkas, memoirs, nonfiction book editor, post traumatic growth, travel books, Wheatmark, Wheatmark publishing, writing workshop

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