Download 10 Top Techniques for Improving Your Writing

10 Top Techniques for Improving Your Writing
by Barbara McNichol
#1. Set Your Objectives
Use this outline when planning for your latest writing project. It will help you
get clear on what you’re writing, why, and for whom.
Target Audience—Who will read this? What do you know about them?
Purpose—What succinct message do you want to send?
Benefits—What’s in it for the reader? Why should they care?
Call to action—What do you want the reader to do, think, or remember as a
result of reading your piece?
Logistics—What logistics need to be spelled out?
#2. Ignite Your Verbs
Ignite your sentences with active verbs like achieve, adopt, align, boost,
bridge, capture, clarify, connect, create, define, design, ensure, find, focus,
gain, grasp, ignite, improve, inspire, learn, master, overcome, persuade,
prevent, realize, reduce, scan, sharpen, simplify, stretch, unleash, use
Also use active (not passive) construction. Passive construction when
someone does something to someone else rather than the other way around.
Compare these sentences. Which is more effective?
Passive—“The juicy watermelon was eaten by the boy.”
Active—“The boy chomped into the watermelon’s red belly.”
Look for variations of the verb “to be” and change them to active verbs
and/or rewrite the sentence to make it more active.
#3. Get Agreements
When you put a singular subject with the plural form of the verb, you weaken
your writing, confuse your reader, and make grammarians groan. Example:
“A group of writers were in town.”
The subject of the sentence “group” is singular while the verb “were” belongs
with a plural subject. Instead, write this: “A group of writers was in town”
or “Several writers were in town.”
Better yet, liven up the sentence with an active verb: “A group of writers
landed in town.”
© Barbara McNichol Editorial – [email protected] – 520-615-7910
#4. Nix Mixed Modifiers (aka Dangling Participles)
Check out this sentence: “When thinking about a good place to eat,
many choices are available.” Are the “many choices” doing the thinking? I
don't think so! This mixed modifier or dangling participle gets in the way of
crisp, intentional writing. Correct version: “When thinking about a good
place to eat, the meeting planner had many choices.” Now who’s doing
the thinking? The meeting planner.
Dangling: “When driving down the road, Chase Field came into sight.”
Was Chase Field doing the driving?
Correct: “When driving down the road, I saw Chase Field come into
sight.”
#5. Pursue a Parallel Path
Don’t let a mixed bag of parts of speech wiggle into your writing. Here’s what
I mean: “His attitude makes a difference in changing, succeeding, and
when he wants to move on.” Throwing in a non-parallel phrase at the end
forces the reader’s mind to shift gears too abruptly because it breaks an
expected pattern. Instead, strengthen the sentence by saying this: “His
attitude makes a difference in changing, succeeding, and moving
on.”
Non-parallel: We sold our house in six weeks, airline flights to Hawaii just
went on sale, and our friends rallied with all kinds of assistance.
Better: We sold our house in six weeks, purchased airline tickets to Hawaii
that had just gone on sale, and accepted all kinds of help from our friends.
#6. Show, Don’t Tell
To be more persuasive, describe what happens without using adjectives.
e.g., don’t say “sad” when you can say something like, “Tears rolled down
her cheek.”
Here’s an example referring to the 2011 Men’s U.S. Open tennis final.
Tell: The rivals played a grueling match.
Show: “Their match this afternoon and into the night, their clash for
dominance and glory, pushed both to the brink. Multiple rallies of 26, 27, and
31 shots wore on their bodies but never their spirits. They ran, spun,
reversed direction. They skidded side to side, sneakers screeching, hungry to
return the ball, daring the other to cry out ‘what can I do?’" – Jane Voigt
© Barbara McNichol Editorial – [email protected] – 520-615-7910
#7. Add Alliteration (and Other Figures of Speech)
These figures of speech can add fun and persuasion to your writing.
•
Alliteration: Words that repeat the first letter. e.g., “It will dazzle and
delight you.”
•
Simile: Includes the word “like” as a comparative. e.g., “It creeps up on
you like a thick fog.” “Think like an editor.”
•
Metaphor: Saying something IS something else. e.g., “Keep the train of
thought on track.”
•
Chiamus: A sentence that mirrors itself. e.g., “Ask not what your country
can do for you but what you can do for your country.” Eat What You Love,
Love What You Eat (book title)
•
Colloquialism: informal expressions (slang) that play a role in how we
communicate but shouldn’t be used in formal speech or writing (unless it’s
dialogue). Examples: “There ain’t nothin’ to it.” “He done good.”
•
Oxymoron: Takes two incongruous or contradictory terms and puts them
together to express two contrasting qualities in one concept. Examples of
oxymora: old news, dull roar, open secret, random order
•
Personification: A figure of speech that gives “human” characteristics
(emotion, honesty, volition, etc.) to an animal, object, or idea. Examples:
“The haughty peacock strutted around his mate.” “Fate frowned on her
success.” “My car was happy to be washed.”
•
Aphorisms: Aphorisms are short, pointed sentences expressing a wise or
clever observation or a general truth. Examples: “A good time to keep
your mouth shut is when you’re in deep water.” “If you don’t have a
sense of humor, you probably don’t have any sense at all.”
•
Hyperbole: This figure of speech adds exaggeration to your writing.
Hyperbole statements are not literally true but are used for emphasis.
Examples: “Her feet were as big as skis.” “I’m so hungry I could eat a
horse.” “I’ve heard that joke a thousand times.”
Quiz: What is a Contronym?
A word with more than one meaning that seems contradictory.
Examples:
• Bolt: The carpenter bolts down the table; the sprinter bolts out of the
starting blocks.
• Buckle: To connect, or to collapse. I buckle the straps together. I buckle
under the strain.
• Custom: A common practice, or a special treatment.
• Dike: A wall to prevent flooding, or a ditch. Dust: To add fine particles, or
to remove them.
• Fast: Quick, or stuck or made stable.
• Fine: Excellent, or good enough.
© Barbara McNichol Editorial – [email protected] – 520-615-7910
#8. Whack Wordiness
Eliminate repeated words:
e.g., “Following a process for hiring, we followed the techniques in this
book.” Better: “Following a process for hiring, we adopted the techniques in
this book.”
Revise long-winded sentences—21-word maximum. These ideas will help:
• Chop a long sentence into two.
• Change nouns to verbs (e.g., “the examination of” to “examine”).
• Combine thoughts and ideas.
• Question including every single word, especially adverbs and adjectives
and take out the ones you don’t need.
• “Make every word work like a galley slave.” – William Zinsser
Bonus: Request Whack Wordiness Handout filled with exercises for
tightening your writing by emailing [email protected]
#9. Go Beyond the Facts and Describe the Desired Outcome
Compare these two pitches:
A. Learn all the latest success strategies for blogs.
B. Turning your blog into a "must-read" for your industry results in more
client leads.
Which is more powerful? Sentence A promises more knowledge stuffed into
your head; Sentence B talks about outcomes you can expect.
Describing a vivid, specific outcome helps your readers connect your offering
to their goals in an instant. Here’s another example:
A. Learn lots of tricks of the editing trade.
B. By embracing each one of these top techniques—focus on practicing one a
week to integrate it into your writing rhythm—and whatever you write will
persuade your readers to do, think, believe or remember what you intended.
#10. Match the Word to the Meaning
Do you write “further” when you mean “farther” or “accept” instead of
“except” or “less” when you mean “fewer”? Why should you care?
Because you don’t want to trip up your reader by using the wrong word. Also
important, you don’t want to embarrass yourself as the writer.
See the sample Word Trippers that follow. Better yet, go to Amazon.com and
purchase Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word
When It Really Matters (print or Kindle versions available).
© Barbara McNichol Editorial – [email protected] – 520-615-7910
Convince, persuade – You “convince” someone of an idea but “persuade”
someone to take action. Therefore, it's correct to say, “He convinced me it would
taste good” but incorrect to say, “He convinced me to taste it.” Instead, say, “He
persuaded me to taste it.”
Famous, notorious – “Famous” means known widely and favorably, while
“notorious” means known widely and unfavorably. “The young actress became
famous for her Oscar-nominated role, and then became notorious for her drug use
and underage drinking.”
Fewer, less – “Fewer” is used when units or individuals can be counted; less is
used with quantities of mass, bulk, or volume. “There are fewer letters to be
written today than yesterday.” “The mail takes up less space than I thought it
would.” Generally if the word has an “s” at the end, use “fewer” – fewer dollars but
less money; fewer muffins but less food.
Glimpse, glance – “Glance” (a verb) refers to taking a fast look at something
while a “glimpse” (a noun) is the act of seeing something quickly. “I glance over my
shoulder to catch a glimpse of traffic behind me.”
Evasive, invasive – “Evasive” means intentionally avoiding something or being
vague or ambiguous, while “invasive” refers to intruding or encroaching (upon
privacy or in armed aggression), or spreading into healthy tissue (e.g., invasive
surgery). “The doctor gave evasive answers because he was reluctant to tell his
patient about her invasive carcinoma.”
Formally, formerly – “Formally” means to follow accepted forms, conventions, or
regulations. “Formerly” means having occurred at an earlier time. “She formally
invited us to the party with embossed linen invitations. While unusual in modern
times, such invitations were formerly the norm.”
Bonus: Sign up for Word Tripper of the Week ezine at www.wordtrippers.com
***
Barbara McNichol is passionately committed to helping authors achieve
accuracy and artistry, clarity and creativity through the written word. She
delivers expert editing that puts your book on the pedestal it deserves.
Since founding Barbara McNichol Editorial in 1994, Barbara has worked with
200+ amazing authors and put close to 300 books on her trophy shelf. She
says, “Enjoy the credibility authorship brings you with a well-edited book you
can market with pride.”
© Barbara McNichol Editorial – [email protected] – 520-615-7910