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.
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