Find your focus
Tighten your angle
“Know from the beginning
whether you’re writing a sonnet or an epic.”
— Roy Peter Clark, vice president and senior scholar, The Poynter Institute
The editor of a travel magazine once asked me to write a story about Kansas City.
FIND YOUR FOCUS: Kansas City isn't a story, it's a card catalogue. Narrow your angle before you write.
“Kansas City,” I said. “Would that be Kansas City barbecue? An insider’s guide to where the bodies are buried? The perfect weekend for lovers? Kansas City on the quick, on the cheap or for the family?”
“Yup,” she said. “Kansas City.”
Well, I know Kansas City. I’ve lived there since before Richard Nixon resigned, and I covered it from my desk as a magazine editor for nearly five years. But I’ve never toiled so hard on a simple piece. And I’ve never been so disappointed in the results.
My problem, of course, was that my copy lacked focus. And a lack of focus makes it difficult for you — and for your reader — to get through your story. But if you find your focus, or tighten the angle on your piece, your story will become easier to read and write.
Here’s how to find your focus:
1. Focus on a single idea.
A topic, obviously, isn’t an idea. “Kansas City” is a topic, not a theme. “PRSA Digital Media Conference” doesn’t make a good brochure headline, because it lacks an angle. Your product name is not an idea.
Build your story on a firmer foundation. What about Kansas City, your conference or your product?
2. Summarize your idea in one sentence.
To get to that one, basic idea, summarize your piece in one short sentence: “An insider’s guide to Kansas City: 10 great places you won’t find in a guidebook,” maybe.
3. Make your point.
Once you’ve written your one-sentence story summary, use it. A well-written summary statement can become a headline, deck or theme sentence. That summary communicates your idea clearly to your reader while it keeps you on track.
4. Test for focus.
Finally, make sure every paragraph — indeed, every sentence, every phrase, every word — in your piece works together to support your theme. To test this, reread your copy with your focus in mind.
With each paragraph, don’t just ask, “Does this paragraph work?” Also ask, “Does this paragraph work to further my focus?”
You define your focus more by what you leave out than by what you put into your story. So if a phrase or sentence doesn’t pass the test, take it out.
That’s focus.
Cut Through the Clutter
Want to make every piece you write easier to read and understand?
- Get it off your desk: Invite Ann’s team in to handle a special writing or editing project.
- Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a Cut Through the Clutter workshop.
- Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann to cut the clutter in your own copy in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next Cut Through the Clutter webinar.
- Learn more: Read Ann’s Cut Through the Clutter manual. And get free writing tips every month when you subscribe to our e-zine.
- Join the club: Get the whole story in the latest issue of Rev Up Readership. And find dozens of Cut Through the Clutter tipsheets on RevUpReadership.com.
About Ann Wylie
Ann Wylie is president of Wylie Communications Inc., a training, writing and consulting firm. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. Wylie is the author of RevUpReadership.com, a toolbox for writers, and Wylie’s Writing Tips, a free e-zine. She has earned more than 60 awards, including two IABC Gold Quills, for her work.
Copyright © 2010 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved.
