Tight writing
Start making sense
Convince reviewers to abandon jargon
Richard Teerlink, chairman of Harley-Davidson, stands in front of a screen showing a bicep emblazoned with his company’s logo.
“We don’t call them tattoos any more,” he told his audience.… Read the full article
Clarity killers to avoid
Stop these institutional mistakes for readability
Want to make sure you’re not eradicating clarity in your organization?
Slaughter these problems instead, suggest Martin J. Eppler, Ph.D.,… Read the full article
Hit Return more often
People skip long paragraphs
Readers take measure of — and make decisions about — your copy based on how it looks. One of the most important visual cues is paragraph length.… Read the full article
Create more short pages
Fewer long pages are less effective
Think index cards, not toilet paper: websites with many short pages — as opposed to those with fewer longer pages — work better.… Read the full article
All-time low
Americans average 19 minutes a day reading
The average American reads for pleasure less than 20 minutes a day, according to a new study from the U.S.… Read the full article
How small is small?
Mini narratives can be as brief as a paragraph
In The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee shares this tiny tale:
“In 2005, a man diagnosed with multiple myeloma asked me if he would be alive to watch his daughter graduate from high school in a few months.… Read the full article
Take a tip from Norm MacDonald
#RIPRobinWilliams tweets show how to serialize your story
What can you learn from Norm MacDonald’s Twitter tribute (would that be twibute?) to Robin Williams? What can’t you learn?!… Read the full article
Write for the world
How to reach readers in the face of global illiteracy
How can you write for adults who can barely read? That’s what two Chicago academics — William S.… Read the full article
‘Killing me softly’
Use adverbs 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