A Simple Guide to Effective Communication
We’ve all seen spam emails and hyped-up sales pages that look so sleazy. We see large fonts, boldface, red text, and sometimes even blinking text. Everyone claims to be able to change your life with this one secret you absolutely need. Effortless abundance is there for the taking, but you must ACT NOW because they only have one product left.
But while they’re screaming at you and telling you why they want you to buy it, they’re sending an even stronger message with the words they’re not saying. The fine print may say “results not typical” or “these are paid actors,” but they sure don’t want you to see that, lest it destroy the perfect illusion they’re trying to create.
They’re not trying to help people understand the pros and cons of the product so they can figure out if the product is right for them. Instead, they’re trying to just cram it down everyone’s throats and pressure people into buying.
We’ve all seen this, and we all despise it. Even in one-way media like television, communication is still meant to be a two-way street. The problem is essentially that they’re talking AT people instead of talking WITH them. But is it possible we’re doing similar things without realizing it?
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12 and ½ Writing Rules
This is one of my favorite posters. It hangs where I can see it from my desk:
12 and ½ Writing Rules from AllPosters.com.
Everything on there is good advice for any writer, especially those working on pieces of fiction. It also looks great on the wall of your office or den – it’s currently replacing my rather battered poster of Johnny Depp…
So what exactly do these rules mean, and how can you use them to make you a better writer? This is my take on it – I expect everyone who owns this poster has a slightly different opinion!
1. If you write every day, you get better at writing every day.
This is common – and good – advice that lots of published authors offer. Stephen King, for instance, suggests that aspiring writers should write a minimum of 1,000 words a day. Many people, myself included, find that it’s easier to make something a daily habit rather than a “not quite daily” habit: I’ve written about this one in How to Write Every Day (And Why You Should)
2. If it’s boring to you, it’s boring to your reader
When I was doing NaNoWriMo last year, I found myself churning out sentences, paragraphs and scenes just to hit my wordcount for the day – what I was writing didn’t always interest me much. If you find yourself struggling to write because you’re bored, stop! No-one’s going to want to read it.
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The Ultimate Productivity Habit
I believe if something is important enough to remember, it’s important enough to write down. This doesn’t just apply to random to-do tasks or events to put on your calendar. I write down goals, ideas, what I spend money on and useful thinking points from books. The reason to write isn’t to keep records, but to be more aware.
In the popular productivity bible, Getting Things Done, Dave Allen suggests writing everything down on a notepad so you won’t forget. The purpose, according to Allen, is to take the burden off your memory. While I think this is important, it only touches on one of the reasons to write things down.
Writing Keeps You Aware
Writing focuses your thinking. When you write something down, you aren’t just creating a paper record, you’re changing the way you think about it. Writing down a goal changes a whim into a conviction. Writing down your expenses changes excessive spending from a bad habit to a conscious choice. Writing down your idea turns a vague suggestion into a clear concept.
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10 Effective Productivity Tips for Writers
Photos by Esther G and Mezone.
“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” – Gene Fowler
Perhaps this is a sentiment that all writers can share to some extent. However, writing doesn’t have to be a tortuous experience akin to banging your head against a wall. Frustration rarely helps our writing; good writing is perfectly compatible with efficient and reasonably quick writing. If you would like to become a fast and efficient writer, the following are 10 suggestions that have the potential to dramatically increase your productivity.
Clear Mind
Writing is a creative exercise which benefits from having a clear mind. If your mind is cluttered with distracting thoughts you will struggle to write effectively and fluently. When writing you need to concentrate on nothing else other than the subject of your writing. This requires a combination of one-pointedness and concentration; only if we can absorb ourselves into writing will we be most productive. How can we write anything meaningful if 50% of our thoughts are worrying about miscellaneous events in our lives? To cultivate a clear mind, it is helpful to set aside certain times just for writing – then, during this time, be disciplined about keeping your mind free of distracting thoughts.
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Check Out WriteToDone, Leo Babauta’s New Blog
Leo Babauta of the excellent ZenHabits weblog and a personal friend of mine has recently launched a new blog named WriteToDone. Here is the purpose of the site in his words:
I’ve created Write To Done as a way to share some of what I’ve learned as a writer, with new (and experienced) writers looking to improve their craft and their art.
For those of you who’ve enjoyed popular PickTheBrain writing posts like George Orwell’s Rules for Effective Writing and How to Write Something Worth Reading, this site will be right up your alley.
Improve Your Writing with a Conversation Tone
Our brains have an amazing ability to learn and retain material. The trouble is we don’t have 100% control over this ability — we can tell our brain something is important, but our brain may not listen.
Have you ever told yourself that a particular book is important but you find yourself rereading the pages just to understand the material? It’s difficult to pay attention to material written in a formal tone (like most textbooks) even though you may want to understand it. The problem is you’re fighting against your brain – the most sophisticated computer ever created. Read the Rest of This Article »
How to Write Fascinating Content That Readers Will Remember
Editor’s note: This post was submitted by Muhammad Saleem.
Before you can start writing easily retainable content, you need to understand the kinds of people that will be reading your content.
Active, Reflective, Visual, and Verbal Readers
There are four main kinds of readers that we will be optimizing for.
Active readers are those that will understand and retain your content most when they are actively engaged. These readers prefer the opportunity to see things in context, in action, and the ability to discuss the content with others. They make up most of your commenters.
Reflective readers, on the other hand, prefer to take their time with what they are reading and like to ponder it on their own before (if at all) participating in a discussion. Read the Rest of This Article »
10 Writing Tips from the Masters
As the world becomes increasingly digital, writing becomes more important. This is especially true for non-writers. If you work in an office, the majority of your communications are made with text by email or IM.Whether you like it or not, your ability to exchange ideas, collaborate with others, and ultimately succeed, hinges on the ability to write effectively.Earlier this week, K. Stone laid out a process to help you write faster, better, and easier. To follow up, here are 10 timeless tips to help you improve style and substance, straight from the pens of humanity’s finest authors. Read the Rest of This Article »
How to Write Faster, Better, and Easier
If you are a writer, you’ve probably wished that you could write faster, better, and easier. I have too. I’ve been writing for many years now and I’ve found some tricks that help. They just may help you too! Everyone has their own system, but sometimes learning about another person’s system can flip a switch that enables you to improve your writing.
This system is about being organized and prepared. This will allow your ideas to flow at their fastest rate. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they will flow at lightning speed, but I think you”ll find this allows them to flow at their maximum speed. Read the Rest of This Article »
HowTo: Attract an Audience by Writing with Style
The sheer number of blogs in existence makes a writer’s most difficult task distinguishing themselves from the pack. From an informational standpoint, this is practically impossible. Somebody, somewhere, is sharing the same knowledge you are, and odds are they’ve been doing it longer and have more authority. How then, can a beginning writer break through the wall of anonymity and attract a large audience?
The answer is style. Writing is an art form, and although it can’t be taught, it can be learned. Understanding the principals of this article will help you channel your inner author and attract a devoted following. Read the Rest of This Article »
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