Improve your writing instantly with my three top tips:

1. Read it out loud to see how it will “sound” to the reader. Fix anything that trips you up. (I call these hiccups.)

2. Examine each individual word. Can you delete it? If not, can you substitute a short, simple word? (One of my favorites is swapping “use” for “utilize.”)

3. Vary sentence length. Some should be short. Some long. Still other sentences should be longer, since they create a rhythm that’s more interesting to the reader.

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Post tags: document, email, Improve, memo, sentence, sentence length, sentences, Write, writing

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Here’s a tip for getting inside the mind of your audience:

Go to where your customers are and silently observe. Watch what they do and how they do it. Read the emails they send customer service. Eavesdrop on their conversations with each other.

Refrain from making assumptions. Resist the urge to lead. Don’t ask questions (just this once). Simply watch and listen.

I promise you’ll come away with a new perspective about what their proverbial “pain points” are, but you’ll also have fresh insight into what motivates and excites them.

© JanO for , 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: advice, audience, dialogue, great copy, hate to write, how to write, ideas, non writers, self-publishing, shortcuts, typing

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Sitting. Staring. Cursor flashing.

Almost nothing is more intimidating than a blank page and an equally blank mind.

Which is why I employ one of my favorite shortcuts … the nano-brainstorm. This shortcut is especially good for short, pithy bits of copy, headlines and taglines.

Here’s how it works:

1. Open a blank document and save it. (I’m a frequent saver.)

2. Open a browser window to Google.

3. Set a timer for 5 minutes. No more. No less.

4. Google the keyword(s) of your topic “+ quotes poems songs” and press enter.

5. Quickly click in and go through some of the results. When you see something that inspires you, toggle to your document and copy the text over or type the words in. Continue until you hear:

* DING * Time’s up.

1. Reset the timer for 5 minutes. No more. No less.

2. Now start typing variations of your own. Keep going until you hear:

* DING * Time’s up.

Start a fresh document and continue with your writing project. Make sure to keep your filled up nano-brainstorm document just in case there are some reusable ideas.

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Post tags: copy shortcut, document, get great copy, google, headline, headlines, ideas, shortcuts, taglines, typing, words, writing, writing project

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That’s a refrain I hear all the time. Fact is, anyone can become a better writer. Now that doesn’t mean you’ll become a great novelist, award-winning author or sought-after copywriter. It does mean, however, that you can improve your skill level.

Like anything, becoming a better writer takes practice. So the first way to become a better writer is to write. Then write some more. Write, write, write, write, write.

World-famous author Ray Bradbury confesses that his first attempts at storytelling were atrocious. He says it took him from the age of 12 to 22 – ten full years — to begin developing his talent.

I’ve seen this in my own writing. My first published article in a regional magazine was mostly the work of my editor. But over time, I’ve developed my skill so that my editors don’t have to touch my copy much, if at all.

#1: The more you write the better you’ll write.

The second way to become a better writer is to read other writers. If you’re a copywriter, study the work of other copywriters you admire. If you’re itching to write a mystery, study the work of great mystery writers. Same with magazine articles, novels, children’s books, short stories, non-fiction, etc.

One of my favorite books is New York Times columnist Dan Barry’s, Pull Me Up: A Memoir. In it, Barry tells the story of his life and childhood while quietly telling the story of my own with beautifully crafted sentences and haunting word visuals. We are strangers. Our lives are not the same. And yet his words tell my story. That’s the power of brilliant and masterful writing and soaking it into the marrow of your bones I promise will make you a better writer. (But not without practice!)
 
#2: Read and study great work.

The third way to improve your writing skill is to practice writing like those you admire — both literally and figuratively. Start by writing someone else’s work in long hand. (No computers, please!) Do it again and again until you get a flow and a rhythm and a pace. Feel the writing. Then move into crafting your version of the same work. How would you rewrite the paragraph? What words might you choose for a headline?

Remember, these are exercises to help build your skill; not teach you how to plagiarize. Take note of another writer’s word choice, length of sentence and whether the adjectives are present or absent. Don’t worry about taking on someone else’s “voice.” Your voice will come over time and in time.

#3: Emulate great work.

Certainly, there are more ways to improve your writing skills, but start with these and be committed about doing them. You will see a difference in the pace, speed and clarity of your writing.

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Post tags: book, clarity, comm, copy, copywriter, magazine articles, non-fiction, novelist, sentence, story, storytelling, words, writer, writers, writing, writing skill

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