Roger C. Parker, author and coach and consultant on writing, desktop publishing and newsletter design, offers these tips for better writing. These seven tips, outlined below, can be adapted to any writer in any industry, including athletic communications.
From Parker's Oct. 13, 2009 blog at
www.publishedandprofitable.com
One of the best ways to improve your writing skills is to study the everyday writing habits of others. By knowing what to look for, and having a system for analyzing the writing of others, you’ll gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t work.
In the process, you’ll become much better at knowing which areas you need to pay attention to in in reviewing and improving your own writing.
As little as 10 or 15 minutes a day of careful reading and analysis can improve your ability to communicate more easily and effectively–in-print, in person, and online.
The starting point is to pick the right examples to study.
Study your competition, not the “classic” authorsDon’t limit yourself to “classic” authors–the authors whom you probably studied throughout high school and college. These authors have spent decades honing their craft.
Instead, focus your efforts on the recognized experts in your field, those in your field who are competing with you for your market’s attention.
And, don’t limit yourself to books! By the time a book appears, it has been edited and re-edited by numerous experts. Instead, focus on how the experts in your field write in their everyday writing–their blog posts, newsletters, online articles, and in their e-mails.
What to look for…When analyzing the writing of others, pay particular attention to the following seven characteristics:1. Engagement. Promise is the soul of great writing. Analyze how effectively and memorably the author has engaged your interest with a headline, title, or subtitle. Readership drops whenbrevity and promise are missing from headlines and titles.
2. Length. In today’s busy world, it’s more important to be able to concisely communicate your message. Brevity is a virtue. Begin by noting word length, then the length of sentences and paragraphs. Notice how much easier it is for you to read short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs rather than unnecessary, or unnecessarily wrong, words, sentences, and paragraphs.
3. Variety. In addition, notice how refreshing it is when sentence and paragraph length vary, such as when a short sentence or paragraphs follows a series of long sentences and paragraphs. Variety adds visual interest, rhythm, and white space, to messages.
4. Organization. Pay particular attention to how well the author or writer has chunked, or broken-up, long passages into short, manageable, bite-sized chunks. The classic tools of chunking are subheads and lists.
5. Examples. Next, analyze how effectively different writers–including yourself–use examples and stories to reinforce the main points of an article, blog post, e-mail, newsletter, or white paper. Anecdotes, case studies, and first-person experiences are just a few of the ways that skilled writers maintain the interest of their readers.
6. Tone. Next, analyze the personality, tone, or voice, of the message. Does the author write with enthusiasm or does the message exhibit an impersonal, third-person, holier-than-thou perspective. Ask yourself, “How do I want to be known to my clients, prospects, and readers?” and write accordingly.
7. Conclusion. How does the message end? Does the message end drift-off, or end abruptly? Or, is their a clear summary of the main points of the piece followed by a clear call-to-action? All messages end purposefully, even if only to describe where readers can go to learn more.
Suggestion and questions to ask yourselfI encourage you to create a simple, 1-page, checklist or worksheet to use when analyzing the everyday writing of your competitors and the experts in your field. In addition, use it to review your own projects before you press “send” or “submit.”
Within a short time, you’ll be pleased how the habit of studying the writing of others in your field will contribute to the quality of everything you write yourself. You’ll be able to write more clearly, concisely, and faster than ever before!
What are you doing to improve the quality and speed of your writing? Do you also study the everyday writing of others in your field? Do you have a checklist, process, or worksheet to review the quality of everything you write?