Tipsheets get read, shared, used and acted upon
What makes people share information?
News they can use to live their lives better, according to Chadwick Martin Bailey research.… Read the full article
Writing and editing
How to overcome writer’s block
Work with, not against, your brain
I don’t believe in writer’s block. Never had time for it. Blank page? I’ll take two, please. I’ve never met the muse.… Read the full article
Step 2 of the writing process: Freewriting
Get words on paper faster
There comes a point in any writing project when you need to follow Ernest Hemingway’s rule for writers: Apply the seat of your pants to the seat of a chair.… Read the full article
Creative templates outperform thinking outside the box
Templates more effective than brainstorming, free association
Can creativity be templated?
Yes it can, according to a team of Israeli researchers.
In 1999, the researchers studied 200 ads that had been award winners or finalists in top advertising competitions.… Read the full article
Create fill-in-the-blanks story writing templates
Save time, effort when you stop reinventing the wheel
What a great assignment I just completed for a technology comms team: I templated their blog posts, intranet announcements, lead generation emails, news releases, speeches, success stories and white papers.… Read the full article
Why is the writing process important?
It helps you Write Better, Easier & Faster
When I’m feeling whiny about how hard writing is, I turn to my file of quotes from the pros.… Read the full article
How to avoid noun phrases
They suck the energy out of your copy
There’s nothing like noun phrases to make a tight sentence long, to transform clear, conversational language into stuffy bureaucratese:
“It is the intention of this team to facilitate the improvement of our company’s processes.”
… Read the full articleWrite like Churchill — in one-syllable words
‘Short words are best, and old words when short are the best of all’
What do you notice about this passage, excerpted from an article in The Economist?… Read the full article
Don’t commit verbicide: Choose verbs, not nouns
Action words streamline syllables
This just in, writes one of my favorite correspondents, sharing a sentence his subject matter expert has written:
Somebody just kill me now, my friend writes.… Read the full article
How to hit the best word length for blog posts, other content
Choose Anglo-Saxon words, write to ‘you’ & more
More than 80 years of readability research demonstrate that short words are easiest to read and understand.… Read the full article