Top Ten Tips For Writing Like A Pro
©2002 Cathy Kessler
Many people love to write, but simply don't feel they are as effective
as they could be. Others hate to write, but find themselves in a
position of having to for business reasons. Regardless of whether
you write advertising or website copy, books, manuals, or simple
business letters, there are certain aspects that remain the same.
These top ten tips will help you gain direction for your writing,
will give you confidence, and will have you writing like a pro in
no time!
1. Define your audience. Writing - in
any form or fashion - is communication. Before you can communicate
with someone effectively, you need to know a good bit about them.
Take time to outline who will be reading the written piece. Men
or women? Business people or stay-at-home-parents? Do they have
special needs? What puts them in a position to want to read what
you have to say? The more in tune you can get with the readers,
the more effective your writing will be.
2. Brainstorm. Whether mentally or on
paper, take time to let your creative juices flow. Think of why
you are writing and whom you are writing to. Then jot down some
notes about what you want to say. For longer written pieces such
as books, create a preliminary outline that you can expand on later.
3. Get inspired! When you find yourself
"stuck" (and I say "when" because all writers
come up dry from time to time), look for inspiration. You might
find it in the form of a walk through a nature trail, a magazine
article you recently read, an excellent ad flyer that came in the
mail, or a letter you've received. Inspiration can come from any
number of sources!
4. Create a draft. Now it's time to write.
To start, simply begin writing. Don't worry about the flow or the
grammar. Simply keep your mind focused on the readers and why they
would be interested in what you have to say.
5. Do the research. If you're lacking
information, or need to gather some facts in order to make a point,
do a little research. This can be just the perfect element to get
your writing to the point it needs to be and to help you fill in
any missing gaps.
6. Create a revision. Begin to refine
your work, making sentences more concise, making points more obvious,
etc.
7. Get an outside point-of-view. Once
you have a working revision of your piece, show it to a neutral
third party. This serves several purposes such as making sure your
explanations are clear, defining missing elements, and ensuring
your message is being received.
8. Revise, revise, revise. Yes, this
is a primary part of writing. Incorporate the changes into your
draft and make any needed revisions.
9. Get some help. At the point you feel
your piece is complete, send it to a professional proofreader. Why?
Primarily because most writers get weary of a work before it is
done. This is a dangerous place to be! Errors are overlooked, typos
are skipped, and elementary mistakes go uncorrected. The final bit
of polish a qualified proofreader can provide is vitally important
to the quality and professionalism of your work.
10. Send it on its way! You're all done.
Now send your written piece to the intended reader(s) with full
confidence that it will reap your desired results.
Cathy Kessler is
a Certified Professional Virtual Assistant specializing
in proofreading, copyediting, and research. Do you have
books, ebooks, websites, articles, newsletters, or other
documents that need to be proofread or researched? Visit
http://www.kesslerva.com
today for additional information, or contact Cathy directly
at mailto:cathy@kesslerva.com |
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