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- Hate to Write? 3 Ways to Start Enjoying It
- What to Write When an Employee Dies
- 5 Ways to Get Your Email Read, Remembered and Responded To
- Six Tips for Writing in Easy Reading Season
- 12 Ways to Plug the Email Productivity Drain
- Two Questions to Ask Before You Start Writing
- 6 Ways to Aim Your Arrow for the Heart
- 6 Ways to Become an Idea Machine
- 3 Reasons Why You Need to Improve Your Writing Skills
- Get Personal With Your Holiday Greetings: 3 Tips
From the vault: 5 ways to hook readers
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make sure your title and first paragaph include:
1. a quick summary of what you’re going to explain
2. the most important details
3. the benefits to the reader
4. a balance of keywords and interest generators
5. how you’re going to explain
To learn more, read this.
How many drafts? At least three
One of the questions Centennial students asked last week was: how many drafts should you write before your copy is ready?
The answer depends on how much time you have and how clear you are.
The minimum number of drafts anyone should write is two: the first to get your ideas down, the second to fix the first. In most cases, you need a third draft to see you how you can improve.
If my writing involves approvals from subject matter experts who may be thinking more about facts than style, I’ll need another draft, to pull together everyone’s comments so the content still flows.
I’ve gotten by with one draft when I’ve been under the most extreme time pressure, on deadline for an article at a daily newspaper or when drafting an answer for a politician minutes before question period. In both cases, I had a clear idea of what I was supposed to say and somebody checking, though more time would have improved the final product.
If I’m writing something more interpretative without a pressing deadline, I can write 10 or more drafts. This is not excessive when you consider that Ernest Hemingway is said to have revised For Whom the Bell Tolls more than 27 times.
I write once, but rewrite many times. Each time I’ll try to look at a different aspect, for example organization or typos. Every time I do something else and return I find more mistakes I had missed or more ways to improve.
Sometimes everything clicks and I can stop at three drafts. But this is the exception. If I’m not under deadline, I often keep revising, even if it means working late, until that little voice inside says, “Okay, that’s it.”
With some of the outrageously low fees some online services are paying, it’s clear that many writers can only do one or two drafts if they expect to make more than they would flipping burgers. That’s a shame. I hope they are least getting clear instruction and a skilled editor fixing the inevitable mistakes and fine tuning.
Good writing is rewriting. Just ask Hemingway or any of the other writers you admire.
Thanks for the photo, Cornell University.
Check out my new Facebook page
Hope you like the Facebook page I’e created for my book, Write Like You Talk Only Better. More ways to connect. Check it out.
From the vault: How to come up with ideas
I’ve decided to repost some hits from the past occasionally, because someone commented or wrote about the issue and I felt inspired to reply, but I had already, so why not open the vaults, though not like Disney, who used this approach to get away with exhoribant prices for movies my kids just had to watch, then whine about movie piracy. This is free.
Do not read this if, like me, you suffer from Shiny Object Syndrome, which presents as too many ideas and trouble picking and sticking with the best.
This is for all the people who have trouble coming up with ideas. Here are six easy steps to become an idea machine.
Enjoy and prosper.
Thanks for the photo, Jason Bechtel.
What grads need to unlearn, learn and relearn about business writing
All too often my colleagues insist that the new generation of corporate communicators is too hooked on Facebook to write well. From the smart, eager students I met at my guest lecture at Centennial College yesterday, I think the future is in good hands — or whatever they’ll write with in the future.
These students already have degrees, but are taking an extra year of training to prepare for the work world. Like me when I was studying for a master’s in journalism after I realized the limits of a philosophy degree and cocktail waitressing.
I advised them to unlearn academic style writing, especially those long word counts, and to avoid the common flubs that make them look like they have spinach in their teeth.
We also talked about storytelling, applying techniques from Kony2012, television crime shows and friends who cut to the nail-biting goal or their kid’s meltdown when you ask them what’s new.
Thanks for the photo, Charline Tetiyevsky.
Style madness drives web writers crazy
I’m Canadian, so I’m used to the incongruities of a spelling style that’s a mish-mish of British (colour) and American (program).
Like most Canadian writers who’ve had employers and clients in different countries, I am fluent in several versions of English. All I want is clear direction.
I’m used to the endless fights about serial commas, as in apples, oranges (serial comma?) and pears. Even clients who insist they follow the Canadian Press Style Guide take the excessive punctuation detour.
I’m used to correcting inconsistencies in the capitalization of titles for articles and corporate jobs. Although Canadian Press usually opts for lower case, I will bend to uniform capitalization if it keeps the client happy.
I’m less accustomed to questions about the closing quotation mark following the punctuation. “Yes,” that one. I thought everyone, outside a few diehard Brits, had agreed to tuck in the punctuation. Apparently not.
Today I was working with a smart American editor on a guest post, who moved the punctuation outside of the closing quote mark. I had to admit I had seen this before. But I had assumed these were the same sloppy bloggers who confuse “its” and “it’s.”
Not Jodi. Her suggestions made sense. She was sharp. She made no mistakes.
She put in serial commas too. I had experienced this with an Australian editor, but figured this reflected their stronger preference for British style. This always surprises me with a country also known for beer and barbecue.
I figured if anyone was going to have a style guide, it would be Google. But no, Google simply pointed me to duelling guides. There is no consensus for spelling, capitalization and punctuation style on the web.
Google, may I suggest that you get on the job?
I know these issues are trifling to many. But for writers and editors, they are serious business. A style guide is our northern star. Our sanity hinges on its direction.
To help Google get started, please share any other style issues you’d like to see Google clear up. But please let me keep dangling my prepositions.
Surprise!
I was happily walking from my car toward a meeting when it happened: the flinch.
All it took was a tap on my arm. A friendly tap. By someone I knew well.
But suddenly, just for a split second, I recoiled. Fear flashed across my face.
“Barb, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” my friend apologized.
“Don’t be silly,” I replied politely, embarrassed. “I was just off in my own world.”
What had pulled my mind so far away I do not remember. Possibly something profound I was writing about. More likely what I needed to pick up at the grocery store later or a song stuck in my head. It doesn’t take much when I’m walking by myself.
Usually I adjust easily from solitary to social reality. But sometimes it’s like walking from total darkness into the bright light. That makes me flinch too, especially if it’s a surprise.
This week I read The Flinch, a quick, intriguing Kindle free book by Julien Smith. He points out that boxers automatically flinch when their opponent goes to punch them.The opponent takes advantage of the flinch. They get hurt.
So Julien’s point is to get over the flinch, to overcome the fears that are holding you back. This makes sense. We all need to get over the fears behind our flight-or-fight instincts. But I think Julien should have written more about flinching and the unexpected and flinches that don’t involve fear. So I will.
I’ll bet the boxer flinches more when the hit is a surprise. I didn’t recoil because I thought the friend was going to hurt me. I flinched because I was startled.
Sure, my flinch may have been programmed by caveman instincts. But does he really expect me to overcome millions of years of evolution with practice and a positive attitude? He reminds me of my Dale Carnegie father insisting my dementing mother would be happier if only she worked on a positive attitude, when the sadness comes from a malfunctioning brain she cannot control.
To overcome the flinch Julien suggests some exercises, including turning on the cold water in the shower. But if I turned on the cold water, I would know it was coming, thereby reducing the flinch.
Similarly, I flinch when I dive into a lake. But because I’ve done it so many times, the flinch is less than it would be if I were diving into a pool expecting warm water. Also I know that my body will adjust quicker if I swim quickly instead of being paralysed by the flinch.
Many people flinch at the sight of blood or poop. Yet, years of menstruating and changing diapers reduced those flinches for me.
But I’ll bet if I suddenly came across a serious traffic accident or other carnage, my flinch would be more than the tingle of revulsion and muscles tightening. I would probably throw up.
Although I’m not a picky eater, lima beans make me flinch. If I meet one disguised in a casserole, I gag. But it’s easier to go through life avoiding lima beans than it is to overcome the flinch by forcing myself to eat them. My lima bean flinch is about texture, not fear.
Some people are so sensitive that they flinch at almost any surprise. Think of the occasional person who detests surprise parties. Think of the few babies who don’t laugh at peek-a-boo. In contrast, think of the thrill seekers who thrive on the unexpected, the surfer who is more elated than afraid when he spots the towering wave.
Like most discussions of human behavior, we are back at nature versus nurture. Which of your flinches is difficult or impossible to change? Where can strength be built to counter the flinch?
I agree with Julien that we have to overcome our fears if we are to grow as human beings. From ditching drugs to writing my book, I have overcome many fears. And I’m working on more.
But I’m focusing on the fears I want to, and can, identify and overcome, not the unexpected and the unknown that anchor my flinch.
I am afraid of driving on expressways in rush hour, but I force myself so I’ll be calmer and more adept. Practice has reduced my fear but it has not affected the flinch when the car I didn’t see suddenly pushes into my lane or a giant truck materializes from the mist.
I try to prepare my children for the world with values, education and confidence. But I worry about the unexpected. Even though I fear for his future, I don’t flinch when the robo-call principal calls to tell me my son has skipped a class, because that’s routine. I would flinch, heart pounding madly, if I got a call about him from the hospital or police.
I’m not going to stop flinching when the unexpected happens, whether it’s a tap on my shoulder, a cold lake, a lima bean, the hot rod from nowhere or the phone ringing in the middle of the night.
But I will chat pleasantly, swim fast, gulp quickly, step on the gas and take a deep breath while I wait for the caller to tell me what’s happened.
How to hide the gray hair on social media
I laughed when my friend Rosemary recently called me an expert in social media. I am not. I’m simply more comfortable with social media than many people our age.
Rosemary and many of my friends spend thousands hiding the gray and smoothing the wrinkles. So here are my tips for them, on how to hide their social media gray:
1. Don’t insist that Twitter is about people telling you what they had for lunch. It’s not.
It’s mostly people sharing links to articles about stuff I’m interested in too. If you don’t want to tweet, that’s fine, but stop repeating an excuse that dates you.
2. While you don’t want to tell your followers or others what you had for lunch, you can tell them what you’re planning to make for dinner, assuming some are also into cooking. Respect the fine line between no-cial and social.
3. If it’s private, don’t share it in social media, email or anywhere else on the net or near any cameras.
But do phone me or, better still, drop over if your news is too steamy to share with the rest of the world. I haven’t been wire-tapped in years. The security cameras are just for show. Really.
4. Reply on the same social media platform. I’ve had new-to-Facebook friends send me emails to comment on my updates. This adds wrinkles to their profile photos.
5. Keep sending those crazy pet videos via email. I don’t want my cool social media friends to know just how many I get. I share only the funniest on Facebook.
6. Stop talking about meeting in “cyber space,” as if it’s some exotic destination. The web is routine; Sulawesi is exotic. Do not think you compensate by calling everything “awesome.”
7. When you’re having a temper tantrum, be aware that your kids may be secretly videotaping you and posting it to YouTube and beyond.
One of my Facebook friends, the offspring of old friends who think shunning social media will prevent identify theft and financial ruin, did that just recently. His Dad threatened to smother him with his foreskin–and worse. To make sure nobody missed any nasty words, he plastered the text over the video.
I’m not going to tell his parents, though this could put me in an awkward position, but I am going to disarm my kids of phones and other recording devices before my next tirade. So should you.
The cameras to record you, and the social media to distribute it, are everywhere.
Sneaky kids, and store security cameras that catch me at a bad angle on a bad day, scare me way more than a lack of privacy protection. What I reveal on social media I control.
So keep the gray hair, red-hot gossip, blue news and black moods between us. But please join me on social media. I need more friends my own age.
Thanks for the photo, Rae Z.
Last day for free ebook download
Download your free e-book today, Write Like You Talk Only Better, Coupon code BC25Q. Tell your friends and that guy who sends you the endless emails. Or the gal who seems to be writing for robots, not you.
Assessment tool for smart ebook planners
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” I can still hear you, ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi, even though I’m hundreds of miles into my ebook journey.
As I’ve learned, an ebook demands a lolapalooza investment of time and expertise. If you too have dreamed about writing a nonfiction book, your first step is to determine whether you’re prepared for the long haul and sore feet.
If you are planning to self-publish, you will have to take on many of the editorial and publicity responsibilities once assumed by traditional publishers. So in addition to having the expertise to base your book on, you’ll need to assess other skills. Although many of these can be outsourced, budget constraints and quality control may encourage to handle some yourself. Besides, the more you know, the better you can evaluate and work with service providers.
Depending on your comfort with writing and the learning preference of your market, you may decide to abandon the book in favor of another medium or approach. You may decide it’s not worth the time. Or, map in hand and suitcase packed, you may be raring to go.
Here are the questions to ask yourself. I’m using them to create an assessment tool for smart people who are ready to move from dreaming to planning their book.
Note that I said “smart” people. People who are intelligent enough to have the expertise to write a book know that they can’t accomplish it in one of those “write-your-book-this-weekend” sessions that too many wannabes are falling for.
Questions
What are you an expert in?
Who would be interested in learning about this?
Which specific aspect or angle of your expertise would most appeal to them?
How would they prefer to absorb that knowledge?
- Paperback
- E-reader
- Video
- Online course
- Website
- Other
What would you suggest as a working title?
What is the competition? How can you do it better?
Why do you want to publish a book? You can pick more than one, but you should prioritize.
- Money
- Reputation
- Marketing tool
- Help specific individuals
- Save the world
- Share your specialized knowledge
- Other
Do you have existing content that could be edited or repurposed for the book? What form is it in?
- Blog posts
- Academic papers
- Curriculum
- Other
How do you best express your ideas?
- Writing
- Talking
- Visually
- Other
Describe your networks, including
- Organizations you’re active in
- Social media sites
- Well-connected people you know
- Other places you could find people who would know people who might be interested in your book.
Do you have experience with type and print production?
Are you familiar with Mobi, ePub or other e-book formatting tools?
Do you have skill in design, photography, video production, webinars, e-learning or other areas that can help you produce or promote your book?
If you have dreamed about publishing a book, what has prevented you from doing it? Include psychological, family, time and all other hurdles.
How are you prepared to overcome these obstacles?
What kinds of outside help do you expect to need most?
Do you have an adequate budget for these activities?
How much time could you devote to the book in a typical week?
Do you have additional chunks of time available, for example a teacher with the summer off?
If you’d like to discuss these questions, shoot me an email with your phone number and suggested times to call for a free consultation.
If you’re already on the journey, please add questions that you asked yourself or wished you had asked.
Thanks for the photo, Salendron.