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words, writing advice, writing better, writing more clearly, writing professionalism, writing redundancies, writing well, writing with clarity

5 Ways to Make Your Writing More Interesting

1. Variety – We all tend to repeat certain words. Repetition isn’t always bad, but if you use the same terms often and they seem redundant, try different ones. They can make your writing more interesting.

Example: “John’s Nursery and Greenhouse offers everything for your gardening needs in its new heated greenhouse.”
Revised: “John’s Nursery and Greenhouse offers everything for your gardening needs in its new heated store.”

2. Challenge yourself – Mix things up. Move from general to more descriptive terms, such as “German Shepherd” vs. “dog.” Adding minor details can make your writing less generic and more specific.

3. Cut the glut – If you’ve written several passages with the same meaning or that point to obvious information, remove them.

Example: “My conclusions are at the end.”

4. Rehab your vocab – Open a dictionary and point at a page and read about the word you land on. Do crosswords and other brain teasers. A game of Scrabble on your smartphone or with a partner can be fun. Read classic books such as “It Pays to Increase Your Word Power” and “30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary” to expand your verbal horizons.

5. Use more pronouns – When you refer to a person, place, or a thing more than once, use a pronoun (“him,” “her,” “it,” “them,” etc.).

Example: “George kicked the can down the road. George then hopped on his bike to go to the store.”
Revised: “George kicked the can down the road. He then hopped on his bike to go to the store.”

How do you make your writing more interesting? Feel free to comment below.

Do your newsletters, blog posts, and other content have all the ingredients they need to engage readers? If you need to add some “spice” to keep people coming back for seconds, contact me.

Quotes

“The key is using repetition deliberately, consciously, and strategically. If you don’t think it can be effective, imagine if Shakespeare had had Macbeth say: ‘Tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after that, creeps in this petty pace from one twenty-four-hour period to another.'” ~ Ben Yagoda, “How Not to Write Bad: the Most Common Writing Problems and the Best Ways to Avoid Them.”

“Duplicate, sequential words result from fairly common sentence constructions, and repetition is often recognized as a typo.” ~ Writer’s Relief

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your communications? Contact me.

writing advice, writing well

5 Ways to Refresh Your Writing

1. Take a break – A vacation from your typical writing routine, a day off, or just letting a troublesome piece “sleep” overnight can refresh your writing. Time away can ease your thought process to help you find new ways to string words together.

2. Use a different approach – Challenge yourself. Set small writing goals. It could be as simple as starting a new article differently each time. You could choose to open one with an interesting quote, then begin the next one with a question. Play around with the concept and see how minor changes can revamp your work.

3. Look around – See what others have written. For instance, have they come up with innovative social media posts? Looking at different writing styles can teach you a lot about other approaches. Perhaps the competing brand, like Progressive Insurance, uses a distinct style, such as humor, to make waves. A few changes that suit your business or organization and its image can help you redefine your marketing.

4. Try figures of speech – Similes and metaphors use comparisons for more descriptive writing; they help explain concepts. A simile contrasts one thing with something different, while a metaphor states that thing is something else. Each one can make your writing more lively and interesting.

Example of a simile: “The salesman was as slick as a salamander.”
Example of a metaphor: “Icicles are stalactites, hanging with pointed tips from the gutters of my she shed.”

5. Share a story – Anecdotes from your life related to the topic — often humorous ones or those that teach a lesson — make a memorable impression. Those experiences are unique to you, but some of us can relate to them. Joey Havens of CPA and business advisory firm Horne LLP uses storytelling effectively in his beBetter blog posts.

What has helped you refresh your writing? Feel free to comment below.

Need help polishing your prose? Contact me.

Quotes

“To refresh your writing, make time for creativity.” ~ Russell Working, Ragan Communications

“Social media’s like a bakery. You can lose credibility, goodwill, and fans by serving up stale and boring content.” ~ Mike Houdeshell

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your communications? Contact me.

business communication, business writing, writing well

5 Steps to Using Verbs and Tenses Correctly in Business Communications

1. When you work with verbs and tenses, pay attention to the plural and singular forms of the subjects and objects of your sentences.

Example: Most people have an opinion about religion and politics.
Revised: Many people hold opinions about religion and politics.

“People” refers to more than one person, and in this case, “opinions” is more correctly matched to the plural form of the subject.

2. Don’t mistake the present for the future tense.

Example: We will be collecting litter at Evergreen Park on Saturday.
Revised: We will collect litter at Evergreen Park on Saturday.

The present tense — “we will be collecting” — is incorrect. Remove “be” and change the action verb “collect” to the future tense, which is correct because the event will occur later.

3. Don’t move from the past to the present tense.

Example: I drove to my appointment, watching for falling flurries along the way.
Revised: I drove to my appointment and watched for falling flurries along the way.

The corrected, properly matched verbs and tenses don’t make us wonder if we’re in the past or in the present.

4. Don’t use the present tense when you should use the past tense.

Example: While clawing my way to the top of Mount Everest, I was dodging frostbite as I was suffering from aching muscles.
Revised: As I clawed my way to the top of Mount Everest, I dodged frostbite while my muscles ached.

Again, we avoid the awkwardness of mismatched tenses.

5. Don’t use the wrong verb tense.

Example: Joe’s scrapbook of old photos were memorable.
Revised: Joe’s scrapbook of old photos was memorable.

The first sentence with these verbs and tenses would make more sense if the subject (“scrapbook”) was plural.

Quotes

“A tense trap is not a trap that makes you tense; it’s when you get stuck in past tense when the phenomena you are describing is perpetual or at least valid to the present moment.” ~ Daily Writing Tips

“The past is always tense, the future perfect.” ~ Zadie Smith

business communication, business writing, writing advice, writing well, writing with clarity

5 Ways to “Write Tight” for Your Business

1. Omit needless words. This is the best advice to “write tight.” As William Strunk and E.B. White wrote in their classic grammar book, The Elements of Style, every word should “tell” or serve a purpose. When you’re done writing, see if removing certain words changes the overall meaning of your sentences. Make your sentences leaner and “meaner,” to strengthen them and pack more of a punch.

2. Plan. To keep your thoughts focused, create a list or an outline detailing your subject matter. Some people dislike planning, but this simple step helps me stay organized and on topic.

3. Set a word limit. Limit the scope of your piece to a certain number of words to help you cut the deadwood.

4. Prefer one word over two. For example, the two sentences below have a similar meaning, but one is more to the point:

A. Turn on the light.
B. Flip the switch.

5. Use bullet points. Bullet points help summarize key ideas. They work well for grouping words and phrases together, so you don’t always need to write complete sentences. For example:

Backing Crash Prevention

Eliminate distractions
Keep your eyes moving
Use your mirrors

Quotes

“Four basic premises of writing: clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity.” ~ William Zinsser

“Brevity is the soul of wit.” ~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet