How many of these have found their way into your releases?
Are you still using the fact pack — cramming who, what, when, where, why and how into the first paragraph of your news release?… Read the full article
Writing and editing
Are you still using a 150-year-old content writing structure?
The inverted pyramid was born during the Civil War
At about the time these Union soldiers were marching off to war, journalists invented the traditional inverted pyramid news structure. … Read the full article
Think Outside the Pyramid for good writing structure
Master a writing structure that outperforms the traditional news format
Here’s the good news: You already know a structure that works for virtually everything you write.… Read the full article
When to use an adjective or adverb
Use them to change, not intensify, meaning
Beware adverbs, counsels The Poynter Institute’s Roy Peter Clark.
Too often, they dilute the meaning of the verb or repeat it: “The building was completely destroyed.”… Read the full article
Why avoid adjectives or adverbs?
They make journalists cry ‘hype’ & more
Why cut adjectives and adverbs from your copy?
Because modifiers:
1. Strike journalists as hype
Writing media relations pieces?… Read the full article
Why cut the hyperbole online?
Fluff reduces reading, sharing — even sales
When “king of usability” Jakob Neilsen cut the fluff from a web page about Nebraska, the neutral web page was 27% more useful.… Read the full article
When to use adverbs and adjectives
‘Applewood-smoked bacon’ just tastes better
Turns out a Southwestern Tex-Mex salad by any other name would not taste as good.
Vivid menu descriptions — “applewood-smoked bacon,” “Maytag blue cheese” and “buttery plump pasta,” for instance — can increase restaurant sales up to 27 percent, according to research by Brian Wansink.… Read the full article
6 more conversational writing tips
Use your business casual voice
When my family moved from Tulsa to Houston, my siblings and I picked up the accent pretty quickly. When an aunt visited us from the Midwest, my 5-year-old brother proudly announced:
“I used to talk human, now I talk Texas.”
… Read the full articleHow to create a conversational tone in writing
To write like you talk, read your copy aloud
When Don Murray arrived in the newsroom for his first day on the job as writing coach for the Boston Globe, he turned to his new boss and said: “I can tell you who your three best writers are.”… Read the full article
How to develop tone of voice in writing
What writing style, word choices should you use?
The hardest job I’ve ever done was writing and editing a microsite for H&R Block. It was designed to let survivors know how to handle taxes for their loved ones who had died in the Sept.… Read the full article