writing

Overcoming Writer’s Block

By in Communication Tags: ,

WritersBlock

Do you do a lot of writing at work? Do you write a lot of emails, articles, press releases, or job aids? If so, you might occasionally suffer from a dreaded ailment – writer’s block.

Writer’s block happens when you know you need to write something (and you might even have a deadline staring you the face), but you just can’t think of how to say it. Instead of producing words, you stare at a blank, white computer screen and wait for inspiration that never arrives.

So what should you do if you experience this terrible condition? Here are a few suggestions:

  • Make a list – You probably have some ideas about what you want to write. So before you forget those ideas, write them down. Make a list of the points that you’d like to make. If there are charts and graphics that need to be included, put them on your list too. Creating a list can help to give you some direction and inspiration.
  • Do some brainstorming – Stop worrying about the quality of what you’re putting on the page. Instead, try to spend a certain amount of time (for instance, 5 to 10 minutes) just writing about your topic – whatever comes to mind. Write your sentences without worrying about whether they’re grammatically correct or there’s a logical flow. You can move them around and make fixes later.
  • Start from the middle – Sometimes it can be difficult to think of how to begin. So instead of struggling to come up with the perfect opening paragraph, just start in the middle. Tackle a paragraph that you feel confident about writing. Once you get going, it should help you to write the rest.
  • Use placeholders – If you ever get stuck trying to come up with the perfect sentence or even the perfect word, just use a placeholder. Write anything that comes to mind, highlight it, and move on. Later, you can go back to the highlighted areas and smooth out the rough spots.

Do you have any other tips for getting over writer’s block? If so, please share your ideas in the Comments section below!

 

Center for Writing Studies, University of Illinois. (2013). Writing tips: Strategies for overcoming writer’s block. Retrieved from http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/writersblock/

 

Writing to Impress. Don’t Do It!

By in Language Tags: , , ,

ConfusedReader

Obviously, the education we get in school and college is important, but some things simply get in the way. One obstacle to good writing is that once we leave school, we need to begin to write for completely different purposes, and old habits tend to die hard.

In our professional lives, we write to inform, to persuade, to document, to explain, and perhaps even to sell. In school, we tend to write to impress our professors to get the good grades we need to progress to the next chapter in our lives. The problem with a lot of professional writing is that many writers still write using the habits that seemed to earn the praise of educators.

So what’s the difference? I think there are three important ones: knowledge, sophistication, and assumption of shared knowledge.

  1. Knowledge. When we write an academic paper for a grade, we often try to demonstrate that we are thoroughly familiar with a topic. So we tend to write down everything we know about it. In our professional lives, our readers neither need nor want to know everything about a topic. Try to focus only on what your reader needs to know.
  2. Sophistication. Sophistication might or not impress a typical professor, but students often like to show off their sophistication believing that this will impress a professor and earn a better grade. This tempts writers to use long words, complex sentences, and “clever” arguments. In our professional lives, those are unlikely to be valued in the way they were when we were at school. In the workplace, keep your writing simple.
  3. Assumption of Shared Knowledge. When we are in school, we can (and should) make the assumption that our professor is thoroughly familiar with the topics we write about. You don’t need to explain technical terms, acronyms, and background information for your professor. But, if you are writing for your boss, the last thing you want is to confuse him/her by assuming thorough familiarity with the subject.

So, as you plan to write, focus on the purpose of what you’re writing. If it isn’t clear to you, it’s unlikely to be clear to the reader. Quite often, it’s a good idea to tell your reader your purpose in your first sentence. (“I am writing to you to ask you to approve my proposed trip to Honolulu.”)

But don’t be tempted to show off! You aren’t writing for a grade any more.

Starting Sentences With And or But

By in Language Tags: , , , ,

Child_Writing

They often say that you learn most of what you need to know at a very early age. Successful people are very small when they learn to share their toys, play fair, clean up their own messes, flush the toilet, and say they’re sorry.

But one thing that teachers often tell us very early in life is just plain wrong. Children are sometimes told never to start sentences with “and” or “but.” The truth is that it’s perfectly fine to do so, and it can often be quite effective in your writing. It’s a pretty good idea, with any turn of phrase or sentence structure, to ask yourself why you’re doing it that way.

That’s the whole story. And I am sticking to it.

Click here for an interesting discussion of this grammatical superstition. This site, an Oxford University Press blog, also discusses other grammar myths and aspects of language usage.

 

Writing: Putting Yourself in the Reader’s Seat

By in Language Tags: , , ,

Reader

It’s often said that the first step to writing well is to imagine yourself as the reader. Whether you’re writing an article for a magazine, a memo for your colleagues, or a short advertisement on Craigslist, before you start, stop and think about your typical reader. Picture your reader actually reading the piece you are planning to write. Ask yourself questions like these:

  1. What does your reader want from your article? What kind of information is essential and what might be unnecessary?
  2. Does the reader need anything explained? Think particularly about things that might seem obvious to you. (Acronyms and technical items can often confuse a reader who may not be specialized in your area of expertise.)
  3. How much time does your reader have to read your article? Typically, your reader is in a hurry!
  4. What kind of tone will appeal to this reader? Does your reader appreciate formal language or informal language? Is your reader likely to be familiar with American culture and values? How old are your readers? What kind of education do you expect them to have?
  5. What does your typical reader care about? What kind of things will turn your reader off? Does your typical reader think logically and rationally? Perhaps you should consider appealing to your reader’s ethics and values? How does this differ from the way you approach information? Most importantly, remember you’re writing for your reader and not for yourself!

Go through this exercise more than once because you’re likely to have more than one reader! If you’re writing a piece that you want several of your colleagues to read, pick three of them. Once you’ve been through this exercise, then think about the purpose of your writing. (If it isn’t clear to you, it’s unlikely to be clear to the reader.) That’s the next step to writing well!

 

Redundant Words

By in Language Tags: , , , , , , ,

TooManyWords

You can tighten up your writing by getting rid of unneeded words.

Here are a few examples:

  • Advance planning. Just say planning. Isn’t all planning done in advance?
  • Past experience. Past adds nothing to your sentence.
  • Absolutely essential. It’s either essential or it isn’t. What’s the difference between essential and absolutely essential?
  • Predict in advance. We all know it’s easier to predict the past, but aren’t all predictions about the future? Cut in advance.
  • We worked together on a joint project. If you worked together, it was a joint project. Joint can certainly go. How about getting rid the whole phrase, on a joint project?
  • On a weekly basis. Just say weekly. Same applies to daily, monthly, and yearly.
  • Knowledge and information. Make up your mind. Just one of these words will do.
  • Totally unrealistic. Delete totally. It adds nothing.
  • Past alumni. Past alumni? As opposed to future ones?
  • Joint partnerships. As opposed to partnerships with yourself? Surely not!
  • Each and every. Use only one of those words.
  • Added bonus. There would be trouble if there were subtracted bonuses in your pay check!
  • General consensus. Remove the military rank. Consensus is fine.
  • Total number. Remove number.
  • Refer back. Use refer.
  • First and foremost. First alone is better.

When you write, less is almost always more. Be ruthless with those extra words!

There are many more words that add nothing except keystrokes for the writer and more time for the reader! Can you think of more examples? Write them in the comments — we’d love to hear from you.

 

Better Writing

By in Language, Learning Tags:

Happy_Writer

Does your job require you to write? Maybe you write instruction manuals, e-learning content, job aids, training materials, press releases, newsletter articles, or blog entries. If you do write, I’m sure that you strive to be as clear and concise as possible. My job requires me to do a lot of writing, and I know that’s always my goal. “Legalese” and the kind of jargon that’s only understood by select groups of people drive me crazy. I think it’s important for writing to be easy to understand and accessible to everyone.

That’s why I particularly enjoyed a recent Training + Development article by Cammy Bean called “Six Tips for Writing Better E-Learning Scripts.” Although she focuses specifically on e-learning, I think her ideas can be applied to many different types of written communication. Here are the tips that I found particularly helpful:

  • Make it conversational – Don’t write in a formal, impersonal way. Instead, write like you’re having a conversation with another person. Be human and approachable. When in doubt, read what you’ve written out loud. Does it sound natural? Can you imagine actually talking to another person this way? If so, that’s great! If not, you might want to rework it a bit.
  • Avoid word overload – Only include information that’s truly important. Delete sentences and paragraphs that are extraneous. Don’t overwhelm people with a lot of unnecessary detail. Try to be as concise as you can.
  • Don’t talk down to people – Remember that you’re writing for inquisitive, intelligent people. If you need people to do a certain thing, don’t just tell them to do it. Explain why it’s necessary or important.
  • Keep it flowing – Try to avoid combining disjointed ideas or paragraphs. Ideally, each sentence should flow logically from one to the next. When ideas flow naturally and build off of each other, writing is easier for people to read and understand.

 

Bean, C. (2014). Six tips for writing better e-learning scripts. Training + Development, 68(6), 34-39.

Writing for Fiction

By in Language Tags: ,

In this brief video, Nadia Kalman demonstrates how three anti-social skills can improve the way you write fiction:

  1. Eavesdropping
  2. Pretending Imaginary People Are Real
  3. Muttering to Yourself

Although you need to have good social skills to manage your relationships and get on in life, you don’t actually need them to write good dialog. And dialog is what brings fiction to life.

She also talks about getting rid of unnecessary adverbs, using contractions, and writing short sentences. In other words, dialog needs to be credible.

 

 

 

Plain Language for Medical Professionals

By in Language Tags: , , , ,

Medical_Jargon

In a previous article, I described the work of Sir Ernest Gowers, an advocate of plain language. His message is “be short, be simple, be human.”

Medical professionals need to master the art of communicating simply and clearly almost more than anyone else. Why, for example, would anyone believe that it’s better to say, “Do not exceed the stated dose,” than the simpler, “Don’t take more than the right amount”?

We know that many people are undereducated; others are speakers of other languages; three of the words in that sentence (exceed, stated, dose) are a little difficult for some; and others may have reading disabilities.

Even if we aren’t talking to patients, we need to communicate consistently in ways everyone can understand. People don’t have the time to plow through hard-to-read documents. The days when we believed that long words, vogue expressions, and jargon made us sound learned are simply over. Global audiences demand clarity of thought and simplicity of expression.

Recognizing this problem, the NIH has an excellent resource that will help people in medicine to simplify their language. At no charge, they offer an online course with examples and practical exercises to help medical professionals improve their writing. The system tracks your progress, and, when you’ve completed the course, you can print out a certificate of completion.

To access this resource, click here.