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- May 1, 2011
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“Writing is thinking on paper,” said William Zinsser in his book On Writing Well. “Anyone who thinks clearly can write clearly, about anything at all.”
This includes entrepreneurs who, whether they like it or not, need to use their writing skills daily.
Clear writing sells better.
Clear writing helps avoid costly communication mistakes.
Clear writing improves your credibility.
But how do you write well? Over my 10+ years of writing non-fiction professionally, everything from blog posts to sales copy to how-to books, I’ve learned some fundamental principles. Here are seven of them:
1. Use Hooks
How fast would you yawn if I started this article with “Writing simply is an important skill”? Would you even read the rest?
Readers won’t give you more than a couple of seconds. Give value right away to encourage them to keep reading. Start with a surprising fact, interesting quote, or a thought-provoking question.
Even the best piece of writing won’t be clear to a distracted reader, so make sure to capture their attention with good hooks. Here are a few types of hooks you can use throughout your piece:
- A witty remark or an interesting quote: people love effective one-liners.
- Surprising data: people love curious facts they can share with others.
- Humor: business writing can be funny, too (perhaps not so much when you’re in the death care industry)
- Conflict or controversy: making a controversial point or taking a shot at someone is a proven eye-grabber.
You don’t have to make enemies to use this type of hook. You may just as well hint at potential conflict that is later resolved.
- Story: people love stories. Even in a non-fiction piece, you can still include an entertaining story.
2. Make a Point
Clear business writing makes a point in every paragraph, and ideally every sentence. When re-reading what you wrote, ask yourself: “so what?” If you can’t answer this question easily, your reader won’t see the point, either.
When in doubt, take it out. As William Zinsser wrote, “Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldn’t be there.”
3. Avoid Crutch Words, Adverbs and Filler
In writing, we don’t need to use filler to give us more time to think about our response. For example, consider the word “actually.”
Or actually, let’s use a different example.
The sentence above is common in everyday speech. In clear writing, “Let’s use a different example” is the way to go. “Actually” is completely unnecessary.
Speaking of which, "completely" is another example of a word we don’t need. The above sentence would be stronger if it said “’Actually’ is unnecessary.”
Very often “very” pretty much doesn’t add anything to a sentence, either (in this sentence, “very” and “pretty much” are unnecessary).
Be watchful of adverbs. “Seriously,” “basically,” “really,” “currently,” “absolutely,” are all unnecessary. So are redundancies like: “helpfully aid,” “sprint quickly,” “he entered into the room,” “on a daily basis,” or “a free gift.”
Filler is any word or phrase that adds nothing to your piece. For example, there’s no need to say “It should be pointed out that.” Just write what you want to point out. Same goes for “I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention” and similar expressions.
A great editor will be able to spot these issues and help you remove them. You can also use tools like Hemingway App, Grammarly, or ProWritingAid.
4. Be Confident and Precise
I think that perhaps we might sort of talk about writing confidently. In writing, words like “perhaps,” “maybe,” “might,” “sort of,” “a bit,” “kind of,” “in my opinion,” “I would like to,” “I think,” or “I just wanted to share” are not only unnecessary, they’re also tedious.
Make your writing more forceful. Omit words that make you sound as if you’re groveling. If you want to be perceived as an expert, you can’t hide behind weak words. Believe in the importance of what you want to say.
When making claims, avoid vague weasel words like “some people believe,” “experts say,” “the vast majority.” Be precise and back them up with credible sources or data. Who is some people? Which experts share this opinion? What does the vast majority mean?
Share specific examples. Don’t say: “Surfing will change your life.” Say: “Twelve weeks after I started surfing, I lost ten pounds, overcame my depression, made three new friends, and decided to move closer to the coast.”
5. Don’t Try to Be Smart
“Never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation,” said William Zinsser in his book On Writing Well. “If you’re not a person who says ‘indeed’ or ‘moreover,’ or who calls someone an individual (‘he’s a fine individual’), please don’t write it.”
Don’t look at writing as something that should convince everyone how smart you are. Difficult words and complex sentences show that you suck at explaining, not that you’re smart.
Don’t write “utilize” in place of “use” to sound intelligent. Don’t write complex sentences because “your writing is not for idiots.” Aim to write at a level understood by an average person. Hemingway App is a great tool to help you assess how easy your writing is. I like to keep my writing below 8th grade (this article is 5th grade).
Don’t assume that everyone knows jargon. Your vocabulary should be so simple that even a person who has no idea about what you’re writing can understand what you’re trying to convey.
6. Rewrite
Resist the temptation to publish your first draft, no matter how great you think it is. A sense of accomplishment (or the desire to be done) may blind you to the fact that your writing needs some tweaking before it’s ready.
The first draft is rarely a perfect demonstration of clear writing. It’s only when you re-read your piece a few times that you’ll be able to spot potential improvements, unnecessary words, or imprecise language.
Whenever you write something, if possible, take a break and return to it later. For ultra-short content (quick but important emails or social media posts), take a few minutes. For short pieces (a few hundred words), a few hours are enough. For longer ones (including books), days or weeks need to pass before you can look at them with a fresh pair of eyes.
7. Keep It Short
Unlike with wordy writing, nobody will ever criticize you for being concise. This applies to words, sentences, and paragraphs.
Don’t use long words if shorter words are equally good. No need to write “assistance” if “help” is just as good. “Try” is better than “attempt.” “Many” is better than “numerous.” “Because” is better than “due to the fact that.”
Use Hemingway App to spot complex sentences. It’s best to turn a long sentence into two or three shorter ones. If you can’t, use punctuation to make it flow better.
Read your writing aloud and notice when you can’t read a sentence in one breath. You can also count the words in a sentence. Snappy writing gets the job done in less than 15-20 words per sentence. 20-30 word sentences may need reworking. Sentences with more than 30 words are usually too long.
For clarity and ease of reading, an average paragraph shouldn’t be longer than a few sentences. I like to stick to five sentences per paragraph. Long blocks of text are exhausting.
If writing a longer piece, above 300 words or so, use headers, a numbered list, or bullet points to break it down. Remember that modern readers are impatient, prone to distraction, and lazy. If your writing is easy on the eye, there’s a higher chance they’ll read it.
Conclusion
Never forget that clear writing is goal-oriented. When you achieve your goal, conclude your piece. As William Zinsser wrote: “when you’re ready to stop, stop. If you have presented all the facts and made the point you want to make, look for the nearest exit.”
Before I bow out: if you have any questions on simple writing or writing non-fiction in general, feel free to post them. I’ll do my best to answer. For fun, I may also help simplify your writing if you’d like to provide some examples.
This includes entrepreneurs who, whether they like it or not, need to use their writing skills daily.
Clear writing sells better.
Clear writing helps avoid costly communication mistakes.
Clear writing improves your credibility.
But how do you write well? Over my 10+ years of writing non-fiction professionally, everything from blog posts to sales copy to how-to books, I’ve learned some fundamental principles. Here are seven of them:
1. Use Hooks
How fast would you yawn if I started this article with “Writing simply is an important skill”? Would you even read the rest?
Readers won’t give you more than a couple of seconds. Give value right away to encourage them to keep reading. Start with a surprising fact, interesting quote, or a thought-provoking question.
Even the best piece of writing won’t be clear to a distracted reader, so make sure to capture their attention with good hooks. Here are a few types of hooks you can use throughout your piece:
- A witty remark or an interesting quote: people love effective one-liners.
- Surprising data: people love curious facts they can share with others.
- Humor: business writing can be funny, too (perhaps not so much when you’re in the death care industry)
- Conflict or controversy: making a controversial point or taking a shot at someone is a proven eye-grabber.
You don’t have to make enemies to use this type of hook. You may just as well hint at potential conflict that is later resolved.
- Story: people love stories. Even in a non-fiction piece, you can still include an entertaining story.
2. Make a Point
Clear business writing makes a point in every paragraph, and ideally every sentence. When re-reading what you wrote, ask yourself: “so what?” If you can’t answer this question easily, your reader won’t see the point, either.
When in doubt, take it out. As William Zinsser wrote, “Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldn’t be there.”
3. Avoid Crutch Words, Adverbs and Filler
In writing, we don’t need to use filler to give us more time to think about our response. For example, consider the word “actually.”
Or actually, let’s use a different example.
The sentence above is common in everyday speech. In clear writing, “Let’s use a different example” is the way to go. “Actually” is completely unnecessary.
Speaking of which, "completely" is another example of a word we don’t need. The above sentence would be stronger if it said “’Actually’ is unnecessary.”
Very often “very” pretty much doesn’t add anything to a sentence, either (in this sentence, “very” and “pretty much” are unnecessary).
Be watchful of adverbs. “Seriously,” “basically,” “really,” “currently,” “absolutely,” are all unnecessary. So are redundancies like: “helpfully aid,” “sprint quickly,” “he entered into the room,” “on a daily basis,” or “a free gift.”
Filler is any word or phrase that adds nothing to your piece. For example, there’s no need to say “It should be pointed out that.” Just write what you want to point out. Same goes for “I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention” and similar expressions.
A great editor will be able to spot these issues and help you remove them. You can also use tools like Hemingway App, Grammarly, or ProWritingAid.
4. Be Confident and Precise
I think that perhaps we might sort of talk about writing confidently. In writing, words like “perhaps,” “maybe,” “might,” “sort of,” “a bit,” “kind of,” “in my opinion,” “I would like to,” “I think,” or “I just wanted to share” are not only unnecessary, they’re also tedious.
Make your writing more forceful. Omit words that make you sound as if you’re groveling. If you want to be perceived as an expert, you can’t hide behind weak words. Believe in the importance of what you want to say.
When making claims, avoid vague weasel words like “some people believe,” “experts say,” “the vast majority.” Be precise and back them up with credible sources or data. Who is some people? Which experts share this opinion? What does the vast majority mean?
Share specific examples. Don’t say: “Surfing will change your life.” Say: “Twelve weeks after I started surfing, I lost ten pounds, overcame my depression, made three new friends, and decided to move closer to the coast.”
5. Don’t Try to Be Smart
“Never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation,” said William Zinsser in his book On Writing Well. “If you’re not a person who says ‘indeed’ or ‘moreover,’ or who calls someone an individual (‘he’s a fine individual’), please don’t write it.”
Don’t look at writing as something that should convince everyone how smart you are. Difficult words and complex sentences show that you suck at explaining, not that you’re smart.
Don’t write “utilize” in place of “use” to sound intelligent. Don’t write complex sentences because “your writing is not for idiots.” Aim to write at a level understood by an average person. Hemingway App is a great tool to help you assess how easy your writing is. I like to keep my writing below 8th grade (this article is 5th grade).
Don’t assume that everyone knows jargon. Your vocabulary should be so simple that even a person who has no idea about what you’re writing can understand what you’re trying to convey.
6. Rewrite
Resist the temptation to publish your first draft, no matter how great you think it is. A sense of accomplishment (or the desire to be done) may blind you to the fact that your writing needs some tweaking before it’s ready.
The first draft is rarely a perfect demonstration of clear writing. It’s only when you re-read your piece a few times that you’ll be able to spot potential improvements, unnecessary words, or imprecise language.
Whenever you write something, if possible, take a break and return to it later. For ultra-short content (quick but important emails or social media posts), take a few minutes. For short pieces (a few hundred words), a few hours are enough. For longer ones (including books), days or weeks need to pass before you can look at them with a fresh pair of eyes.
7. Keep It Short
Unlike with wordy writing, nobody will ever criticize you for being concise. This applies to words, sentences, and paragraphs.
Don’t use long words if shorter words are equally good. No need to write “assistance” if “help” is just as good. “Try” is better than “attempt.” “Many” is better than “numerous.” “Because” is better than “due to the fact that.”
Use Hemingway App to spot complex sentences. It’s best to turn a long sentence into two or three shorter ones. If you can’t, use punctuation to make it flow better.
Read your writing aloud and notice when you can’t read a sentence in one breath. You can also count the words in a sentence. Snappy writing gets the job done in less than 15-20 words per sentence. 20-30 word sentences may need reworking. Sentences with more than 30 words are usually too long.
For clarity and ease of reading, an average paragraph shouldn’t be longer than a few sentences. I like to stick to five sentences per paragraph. Long blocks of text are exhausting.
If writing a longer piece, above 300 words or so, use headers, a numbered list, or bullet points to break it down. Remember that modern readers are impatient, prone to distraction, and lazy. If your writing is easy on the eye, there’s a higher chance they’ll read it.
Conclusion
Never forget that clear writing is goal-oriented. When you achieve your goal, conclude your piece. As William Zinsser wrote: “when you’re ready to stop, stop. If you have presented all the facts and made the point you want to make, look for the nearest exit.”
Before I bow out: if you have any questions on simple writing or writing non-fiction in general, feel free to post them. I’ll do my best to answer. For fun, I may also help simplify your writing if you’d like to provide some examples.
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