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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