The Day You Became A Better Writer

I went from being a bad writer to a good writer after taking a one-day course in “business writing.” I couldn’t believe how simple it was. I’ll tell you the main tricks here so you don’t have to waste a day in class.

Business writing is about clarity and persuasion. The main technique is keeping things simple. Simple writing is persuasive. A good argument in five sentences will sway more people than a brilliant argument in a hundred sentences. Don’t fight it.

Simple means getting rid of extra words. Don’t write, “He was very happy” when you can write “He was happy.” You think the word “very” adds something. It doesn’t. Prune your sentences.

Humor writing is a lot like business writing. It needs to be simple. The main difference is in the choice of words. For humor, don’t say “drink” when you can say “swill.”

Your first sentence needs to grab the reader. Go back and read my first sentence to this post. I rewrote it a dozen times. It makes you curious. That’s the key.

Write short sentences. Avoid putting multiple thoughts in one sentence. Readers aren’t as smart as you’d think.

Learn how brains organize ideas. Readers comprehend “the boy hit the ball” quicker than “the ball was hit by the boy.” Both sentences mean the same, but it’s easier to imagine the object (the boy) before the action (the hitting). All brains work that way. (Notice I didn’t say, “That is the way all brains work”?)

That’s it. You just learned 80% of the rules of good writing. You’re welcome.

Comments

[Budieglli]

Good [short] post.

[ny]

I agree.
I went to this English Composition Class last summer and at the end of that course - realization dawned on what a lousy writer I was. It's the superfluous and unnecessary that bring any writing down.

[MCO]

See if this meets the criteria.

http://mostcasualobserver.blogspot.com

[Giancarlo Angulo]

But with the 80/20 or pareto's law the 20% you haven't told us on how to become a good writer takes 80 % of the work.

[karenlim]

Perfect post.

I too practice writing short sentences at my blog on law of attraction

I use videos to paint a story and add some words to illustrate the points I am making.

If you could, I will appreciate if anyone comment if this style of writing allows readers to retain information taught:-
http://secretofunlimitedprosperity.com/62/sharing-an-inspiration-from-britain%e2%80%99s-got-talent-part-2/

Cheers!

[spike17]

Shakespeare may have said, "Brevity is the soul of wit," but his reference to lawyers in Henry VI does more to encourage shortening of the spoken, and written word, "The first thing we do let's kill all the lawyers."

[Real Live Girl]

Now will someone please tell that to the elementary school teachers who still give students writing assignments requiring a minimum number of words or pages so we can stop the madness?

[Ash]

You just taught my entire writing class for law school. It took the prof 2 semesters.

[Ivan Tikhonov]

Use minimum, add tools as you grow. Start with everything onboard and you will fail.

[MM]

Keep it lean, keep it mean, but keep the detail ! Trouble with deaf issues, you have to be ultra specific and this can hinder getting over your point. What I see is a load of 'links' given as 'further reference' and nobody can follow them, because they AREN'T short and to the point.

[Mark]

"Brevity is the soul of wit."

- William Shakespeare

Which was better than his origina quote: "Boxes are the soul of wit". Hey, the guy was ahead of his time!

[Yippo]

A fair point, Mr. R... but you, to my mind, are an exception.

Or maybe I just love Scott's books so much I want to see them praised wherever I go. Either's fine by me.

[Orwell]

Read this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/portal/2007/06/14/nosplit/ftannoy114.xml

[Ben]

Interestingly enough, only dead or dying languages support sentences that start with verbs. Coincidence?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_Subject_Object

[Ben]

Japanese does have a different structure, but it still puts the object before the verb. Although sometimes the object is implied and left unsaid because it's obvious.

Does anyone know of a language that puts verbs first?

[Bill]

I thought I had absorbed all your writing advice before.

But I hadn't. Thank you for repeating it.

[Kanon]

Thanks but I wanna know the remainig 20%

[Ben Joseph]

"Eliminate unnecessary words."

I assume I'm about a million comments too late to bring up Strunk and White.

[Jon Ericson]

"Brevity is the soul of wit."

- William Shakespeare

[Sam]

Thanks.

I also read that if you can't say something in three minutes, there's no point saying it at all.

[Mister R]

Yippo: Interesting. We observed the same thing, yet our reactions were so different. I said "thanks" because it takes giving personality to share simple, yet not intuitive knowledge. Source doesn't matter. Scott gave away something that he paid for, and spent a whole day to obtain. I found this information useful, and it will stick. "Thanks" is easy, and the least I could do. You are welcome :)

[Mister R]

Thanks

[Sir Mike Tallon]

To be a great writer, you have to have a style unlike any other.

[Bradm]

Do you have the old sock puppet pages archived somewhere? I can't find the picture I submitted back in 1996. I apologize for coming out of nowhere and sticking sock puppet memories in your head, but you started it.

Also, thank you for all the philosotainment. You are my role model ever since the original gang of idiots from Mad Magazine died.

[neolifeforever]

the cheque is in the mail.
i expect a reciept before tax-day.
im writing this off as a work expense.