The Twitter Explosion | American Journalism Review

The Twitter Explosion  | American Journalism Review

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Let Me Help You

Beyond my tips, please consider hiring me to help you communicate better through your writing, whether in your workplace or your everyday life. I want to help.

If you don't want to hire me, cool, but keep reading the blog and offer suggestions on what you'd like me to write about.

Yours in Waste Management,
Christia
christia@writeimage.org

That's It -- Period

I've recently been thinking there really are just two little things that would improve any kind of writing from e-mails to business letters to letters to insurance companies to whatever it is you need to write.

Don't bother with colons and semi colons, stick to periods. And, divide your writing into shorter paragraphs.

Keeping it simple means keeping things more understandable.

Take the first graph above. Here's how it could be better:

I've recently been thinking there really are just two little things that would improve any kind of writing.

They work well whether you're writing e-mails, business letters, letters to insurance companies or whatever it is you need to write.

See what I mean? There's beauty in simplicity.

Yours in waste management, WMW

Spell it wrong at your peril

Words have power; misspelled words have the powere to make you look stupid. Texting aside, you need to spell correctly. It’s a competitive world out there. Somebody else can … spell correctly, that is.

I recently received some writing in which quizzes was spelled quizes and knowledgeable was spelled knowledgable. Misspelling undercuts your message. It’s difficult to take the poor speller seriously.

It’s never been easier to spell correctly. Use spell check – although pay attention to too, to, two; their, there, they’re; and your, you’re.

Buy a dictionary. There is a ton of good information in the book and everything is spelled right.

Yours in waste management, WMW

Road Signs: Trouble ahead.

Tell your reader what to expect. It keeps them engaged and appreciative that you’re not wasting their time. Who wants to get to the end of a letter, policy, e-mail, memo, whatever only to realize there is nothing that truly interests or pertains to them?

Lay it out pretty high in whatever you’re writing.

I got a Christmas letter this season that teaches the lesson well.

The daughter-in-law of one of my best friends charmingly warns to expect Smiley faces and exclamation points as she tells the tale of her family’s year. (Knowing this up front greatly reduces how annoying they can be.)

She goes a step further and lets the letter reader know there will be headings in case one wants to skim to the parts he or she is most interested in.

We can all learn from her thoughtfulness and respect for her reader.

Yours in waste management, WMW

Who cares? What does it mean? So What?

These questions are the beginning of writing. In finding the answers to them, you've found something worth saying. Every story, e-mail, policy statement, brief, letter to a client, blog entry, memo to staff, report and note to a friend has an audience and to keep that audience, tell them something worthwhile. Don't waste their time.

Who cares? Consider whether what you're writing is going to the right person. Consider why that person should read what you have to say. Find the words to make your reader care. If you can't, maybe you don't have enough to say at this particular time to this particular reader.

What does it mean? This is a two-prong question. First, your message needs to have some substance. Secondly, it needs to be written carefully and clearly so it can be understood easily and fully.

So What? The answer, or lack of answer, to this question sets the course of when and what you write. Don't waste someone's time if what you have to say doesn't really matter.

Yours in waste management, WMW

Mother knows best

Having trouble figuring out who your audience is? Who is on the other end of your writing? Or, you know who you're writing to, but just can't get started?

Picture your mom. She’s smart, doesn’t let you get away with anything, demands accountability and has impressed upon you, roughly since birth, that you need to be responsible for your actions.

Picture your mom when you write.

She is your first and longest-running editor. As you write, keep to her expectations. She doesn’t want her time wasted, she seeks facts, and she’s more than capable of making up her own mind – as long as she’s supplied with clear, intelligent, meaningful information.

Platitudes (as in too many adjectives) don’t cut it with her. Get to the point, she’s a busy woman.

So is your reader.

Yours in Waste Management, WMW