Odds are, we all need to write once in a while.
A message, an email, a blog post…
Maybe you need to craft the perfect comment on your cousin Barry’s facebook post about his latest exercise regime.
Or, maybe you’re in small biz, in which case you definitely need to write (you’re creating content, right?)
When the time comes, it’s nice when the words that you use create the effect that you want.
It’s helpful if once people start reading your first sentence, they want to keep reading into the second.
Here are 13 tips (from others) that are helping me with my own writing.
- Tell stories, learn a story structure – Bernadette Jiwa. Stories are one of the most powerful ways we can communicate with each other. Try different story structures and find something that works for you so you can write in a way that resonates.
- “Start us in the action” – Bernadette Jiwa. When you start the story or copy, don’t say “I’m going to tell you a story,” simply start us right there in the middle of the action. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out what’s going on.
- Study words, and then choose your words carefully – Seth Godin. This isn’t a quote by Seth, it’s a concept. It turns out we can’t just randomly use whatever words that come out of our head and expect something to happen. Choosing words carefully allows us to evoke particular emotions.
- Pick a detail, and go deep and gritty – Laura Belgray. We don’t need the detailed nuances of everything, but when you tell us about the cup of coffee your colleague left on the counter, you could take us deeper. What happens if you tell us about the beige take-away cup still sitting there, half-full of Sarah’s almond latté, with red lipstick all over the flimsy plastic lid.
- Delete anything that isn’t aren’t part of the story – Stephen King. If it’s not interesting, helpful or educational from the perspective of the story, cut it out.
- Steal like an artist – Austin Kleon. When I was 13 I wrote a creative writing piece for school about a trip I did to a sea-snake-filled island. I completely copied the action style of Clive Cussler (I was reading Dirk Pitt novels at the time). Turns out this is an OK way to start. Pick a few heroes and copy until you create your own.
- Change up the tempo – unknown. I don’t know where I first saw this one, but the idea is don’t string a bunch of sentences together that are of similar lengths. Go long. Go short. Change things up as it keeps us interested.
- Don’t dress up your vocabulary – Stephen King. Don’t use a complicated word when you could use a simple one. We often do this to sound professional, but it just ends up being impossible to read.
- Drop clichés – Laura Belgray. While in speaking, the jury is still out, but in writing, it’s now clear as day, the idioms and clichés don’t add any value. If it’s been said a few times before, it’s “past it’s use-by date,” and time to delete.
- Use different paragraph lengths – unknown. Change up the lengths of the paragraphs, as you do with the sentences. Not all short one liner sales copy, but not pages of heavy text either.
- Delete adverbs – Stephen King. Another one from the master. “I’d love to go to dinner” is more powerful than “I’d totally love to go to dinner.” These can be tempting, but usually aren’t worth the space.
- Leave the end open – unknown. This may have come from Bernadette Jiwa in a story-skills workshop. The idea is, it’s OK to leave us hanging at the end of your story or copy. You don’t need to bring us back to the headline or the first paragraph. In this way, the reader gets to co-create the ending and insight with you.
- Ship your work – Seth Godin. This is a big one. Publish your blogs, send your emails, hit enter on your comments to Barry’s fitness post. Practice is critical, and publishing or distributing your work is a key part if you want to get better.
