Be a Better Writer

Finding Time to Write - It's a Real Commitment

2009-07-31T18:14:00.001-04:00

Hello friends,

It has been quite some time since I have posted here, and there is a good reason - I just haven't had the time!

That's also a bad reason :-(

Writers know that between hectic schedules, writer's block, happy times, and melancholy moods there just aren't enough hours in the day to sit down and write something worthwhile. Yet, thousands of professional writers make time every day. While you may not be a full-time professional writer who has nothing to do all day except record your musings, you are old enough and wise enough to schedule time for those things that you really want to do.

(Pausing for all rolling of eyes, smacking of teeth, and the occasional light bulb going off in someone's head.)

If you commit to writing more often and you hold yourself to your own commitment, you can fit more in each day than you knew you could. Schedule a time to write instead of just trying to do it when the mood hits you (trust me, that mood won't hit for weeks sometimes). Re-evaluate what you do each day and how much time you spend doing it; you may be able to cut some fat there. Dream, and then awake from dreaming to the desires you have that are related to your writing goals.

But you know all this stuff, right?

I know you do; I know it, too. However, we all need to have our memories refreshed to the tenets of good writing and time management. Even with all of the latest communication technologies making it easier and easier to both record and publish your thoughts, the hardest thing for a writer to do is make time to write. I therefore now believe that the true key to becoming a better writer is simply committing to becoming a better writer.

Sure, I'm preaching to choir, but as a soprano I can tell you - the choir needs a good sermon, too.

Thanks for stopping by, and I will be blogging again soon,

I.C. Jackson

5 Tips for Saying More With Less - Don't Be a Wordy Birdie

2009-04-12T19:56:00.007-04:00

I used to be what you call 'wordy' - everything I said had to be expressed in the most prolific manner possible. I didn't do it on purpose, though; it was just a part of who I was. I admired wordy people (Cornel West probably being the worst of the bunch), I was a lover of literature, and I was an aspiring writer to boot.

(If you're not rolling your eyes, you're probably an English teacher or a wordy birdie yourself...)

So, I knew a lot of words, and I used them...ALL of them...all the time.

When you're writing in hopes of being canonized, that might be the way to go. However, I learned the hard way that if you're writing for business or for a broad audience, being wordy only serves to annoy people and muck up your message.

Here are five tips to help you say more with less and actually connect with an audience consisting of more than just book worms and college professors:

1) Sum up your entire message in one sentence, NO MATTER WHAT. In writing composition, a thesis statement is the writer's proposition, or the point that he or she is looking to make. A thesis statement (not to be confused with the thesis paragraph) is one sentence, period. If you can't make your point in one sentence, your point is not yet clear enough for you to try and communicate.

2) Write an outline. When I was in school, I absolutely despised outlines. They were a lot of work, and they seemed to stifle my creativity. The reality, however, is that outlines are literary lifesavers; after you compose a thorough outline, your composition will really write itself. An outline will also help you to stay on target and not stray too far to the right or to the left when elaborating on segments of your message that you may feel more strongly about.

3) Write as if your audience only has an 8th grade education. The truth is that they probably do; the average American reads at an 8th or 9th grade level. So, if you are Sir or Lady Snootypants, you will lose most people, which is counterproductive. If you write for profit, you absolutely MUST find the lowest common denominator and build upon it. Remember, the point is to communicate effectively, not just to express yourself.

4) Proofread with a red pen and cross out ANY and ALL unnecessary words. No matter how pithy and conservative you think you are in your writing, you can probably go back and remove some redundancies and fluff. Particularly when you're passionate about your topic, it's easy to say the same thing over and over without knowing it. In writing, enthusiasm usually equals redundancy, so swallow your pride, pull out the red pen, and cross out what you don't absolutely need to communicate your main idea.

5) Become active on Twitter. If you're not yet on Twitter, you've got to try it. It's a virtual writing exercise that forces you to communicate your message in 140 characters or less. Not 140 words, 140 characters. I find myself typing out what I want to say and then cutting the fat afterward to make it fit. Communicating on Twitter really helps condition writers to cut waste and fluff in their writing. When and if you are on Twitter, add me as a friend!

Keep it simple, get to the point, and get out of there!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

7 Tips for Expressing Yourself in 140 Characters or Less

2009-02-12T22:03:00.009-05:00

You know that you are speeding along the information superhighway when one of the hottest social networking websites around, Twitter, restricts your correspondence to messages of 140 characters or LESS. How on earth do you market yourself, socialize, and craft meaningful relationships when you can only post a couple sentences at a time? While I'm an advocate for saying more with less, Twitter really forces you to do so. Twitter is a great marketing and list building tool, but many users do not leverage it for all it's worth because the concept simply leaves them scratching their heads.

So, Web 2.0 enthusiasts find themselves asking the information age old question: "How do you effectively express yourself in only 140 characters?"

You can indeed build a solid web presence with Twitter in your online social networking arsenal, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to reach people with so few words. Here are seven ways to pack some power into your Twitter tweets and reach more people online!

1) Think before you post - then speak your mind. The first rule of Twitter is to tweet strategically. Since you only have 140 characters to sell yourself or an idea, so you don't want to waste even one character with fluff, dribble, or anything ineffective. Although you may choose to 'let your hair down' sometimes and tweet about something mundane or insignificant, you should still put a certain spin on it. Whatever your objectives are on Twitter, tweet from that angle or with that goal in mind - even if you are just talking about your breakfast.

For example, if you are a health expert, instead of tweeting,

Eating a bowl of very healthy cereal. Yum :-)

You could tweet this:

Making the most important meal of the day count - gotta preserve the temple :-)

Find your angle, and work it! It will help you to say a lot more with fewer words.

2) Share valuable web resources and info. Contribute to the Twitterverse, and that good "Twitter Karma" will come back to you! If you're a giver, you will be rewarded with more followers and you'll gain more social capital along the way. Don't burden your tweeps with every single little article you come across, but if you think that it can add value to the lives of others, share it. It says that you are a valuable resource, too.

3) Inject some humor. If you have a sense of humor at all, there is someone on Twitter who will appreciate it. Even if it's quirky, it's a very easy way to reveal who you really are without making yourself vulnerable or saying too much. My sense of humor is a little different, but I have a number of Twitter friends who laugh and some whose off color humor makes me laugh. It makes tweeting more enjoyable, and those particular individuals more memorable.

4) Answer others' questions. When you can't think of anything to tweet, start reading others' tweets. Be helpful and maybe start a conversation with someone who you don't know so well...yet :-)

5) Break all the rules and just let your thoughts spill out. Every now and then you have to go a little crazy. When life spills out, let your tweets spill out. Need...coffee...now!!! Ever felt that way? When you feel that way, tweet that way. It lets everyone know that you are real, genuine, and not just someone trying to blast their own marketing messages.

6) Sprinkle some Ascii art on your tweets. When you only have a few short words, make them stand out with a little Ascii art! These kind of tweets also provide bright spots in what can look like a very boring profile page or tweet feed.

You can either say,

Goodnight, Twitterville :-)

Nite all! {-_-} ZZZzz zz z...

Both of them work, but one grabs my attention and makes me remember the tweeter behind it. Get one-line Ascii art for Twitter here.

7) Stand out with special HTML characters. Another cool trick you can use to spice up an otherwise boring tweet is to add html "dingbats" to your messages. Add stars, flowers, and even airplanes to your expressions!

☛☛☛ Copy and paste these html special characters here ☚☚☚

Twitter is a surprisingly effective way of communicating with both friends and complete strangers to foster relationships for fun and profit. That's why so many people are there; it's fun, challenging, and most of all, effective. Say more with less, and have a good time doing it!

By the way, if you don't already, follow me on Twitter to see how I put these tips into practice :-)

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

Exercise: The Mind of a Caterpillar

2009-01-24T22:30:00.001-05:00

Hey gang; it's time to do something fun :-)

For just a moment, think about the symbolism of caterpillars in various artfoms. Ponder the journey of a caterpillar and all it represents.

Now, put yourself inside the mind of the caterpillar, and tell us what and how you feel. Describe your world and your existence intensively. Put us, your readers, right there in your world with you.

And use this as an opportunity to actually say something meaningful.

You've got three sentences and three sentences ONLY in which to accomplish this, so make them count. Exercise that literary muscle; make good use of metaphor, simile, personification, metonymy, onomatopoeia, imagery, and any other literary devices you can fit in. Post it as a comment, and feel free to comment on the work of others. However, keep in mind that we are all different writers at different levels in our craft. Be constructive if you dare criticize :-)

Alright guys - give it your best shot,

I.C. Jackson

How To Master Conversational Writing Style In 5 Easy Steps

2009-01-15T12:26:00.006-05:00

With the onset of Web 2.0 and the blogging revolution, conversational writing has become the predominant writing style on the internet. Communication is becoming more casual even on corporate websites and in business articles. Everyone wants to appear to be real.

Including you.

So how do you master this style? We know that writing in a conversational style can make the difference between connecting with your audience and looking like yet another internet peddler. However, we also know that improper implementation of this style can make you look like an uneducated idiot.

You've seen poorly written blogs, forum correspondence, and web copy that made you cringe a little bit. Throw in some inappropriate vernacular, and you've got the online equivalent to your drunk Uncle Larry who shows up at every family event to show the teenagers that he can be hip, too...and he's NOT. He looks like a lame old guy pretending not to be, and in kind, your writing can make you look like a lame old internet marketer trying to pretend to be the reader's cool friend who just happens to have some recommendations on what they ought to do with their money.

That's actually not as cool as it sounds...

So, here are five simple tips to mastering conversational copywriting and sounding like an information guru instead of a snake oil salesman:

1) Tell true stories. Conversational writing is founded upon the concept of storytelling. When you discuss the hottest new widget with your friends or give a close acquaintance a bit of advice, there is usually some personal account involved. People love to talk about themselves, so even when they are helping others, they end up talking about their own experiences. If the person possesses any valuable insight or information, their story can be clearly and appropriately connected to the original problem or question, thereby making it effective. Tell stories that are from the heart and interesting to listen to, but make sure that they are crafted in such a way that the reader gains a clearer understanding of the subject at hand because of your story.

2) Use literary device. Apply sound to sense and give your writing a more artistic flair by utilizing some simple literary devices like personification, metaphor, simile, consonance, assonance, alliteration, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, etc. If you don't know what any of these terms mean, you'd better look them up - they are part of every good writer's arsenal. Literary device exists to make writing more colorful, whether it be formal or informal. Therefore it is paramount for writing in a conversational style it mimics speech, which is colorful by nature. Good conversationalists use colorful language, and therefore, conversational writing must do the same.

3) Break all the sentence structure rules. We all (should) know that you aren't supposed to write sentence fragments, and that you should never start and end sentences with prepositions, etcetera. Bologna. You HAVE to break these kinds of rules in order to write effectively in a conversational style. Why? Because real-conversations break these same rules! Breaking the sentence structure rules on a blog is not the same as breaking them in your phD dissertation. We are smart enough to know that you know the difference, and we are real enough to appreciate you not being a stuffed shirt when all we really want is a little friendly advice.

4) Write with genuine personality. Don't try to be something or someone you're not; accentuate who and what it is that you really are. For example, you may want to be a punchy political pundit, but if your personality is sweet and funny, you trying to mimic Rush Limbaugh will come across as disingenuous and laughable. Don't try to please everybody by adding a little of everything or by trying to sound like whoever is popular this week. People who do that in real life are awkward and repulsive...just like people who do it in their writing. Just be yourself - and ONLY yourself. It's genuine, and trust me, there are lots of people who think that your real personality and your actual voice are pretty cool.

5) PROOFREAD! Conversational style is not to be mistaken with ranting off the cuff. Don't just write something and then click "publish" to ensure that you keep it edgy and "real". When readers say that they want to read a 'real' writer, that realness is actually warmth and sincerity, not unpolished raving or musing. You will catch more than mistakes this way - you'll get to digest your work the way the reader does, and then be able to judge how conversational it really is...BEFORE the critics do.

If you take these tips to heart and put them into practice, you'll find yourself increasing your readership and appealing to an audience who is responsive to you. That's what makes writing effective - the reader's response.

So, start getting a greater response by writing like a real person with a real personality.

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

Subtle Spice and Everything Nice - 3 Ways To Improve Your Writing NOW

2009-01-07T15:14:00.004-05:00

There are three little secrets that can greatly improve the flow of any piece and spice up any writer's style INSTANTLY.

It's that effective!

Yet, you'd never know that a writer was using these techniques because the effect is so subtle you enjoy it without noticing. I guarantee you that if you start using these three closely related literary devices, you'll find it will perk up your work and liven your style without taking away from your originality.

Okay, enough already; what's the secret?

Consonance, assonance, and alliteration.

That's right, the stuff your high school English teacher taught that you never heard about ever again. THAT consonance, assonance, and alliteration.

Let's do a quick review:

Consonance - correspondence or recurrence of sounds especially in words ; specifically : recurrence or repetition of consonants especially at the end of stressed syllables without the similar correspondence of vowels (as in the final sounds of “stroke” and “luck”).

Assonance - repetition of vowels without repetition of consonants (as in stony and holy) used as an alternative to rhyme in verse.

Alliteration - the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables (as wild and woolly, threatening throngs) —called also head rhyme initial rhyme.

Remember them now? Applying sound to sense in writing helps to give a composition life, even if it isn't a piece of creative writing. Sometimes we have to write about boring stuff, so what do you do to make it more bearable? Tell jokes? Use inappropriate vernacular or an unfamiliar tone?

Of course not! So, what do you do?

You turn to subtle literary devices like consonance, assonance, and alliteration to help brighten up your rainy writ. Just go back and read through this post again, looking out for the consonance, assonance, and alliteration.

Didn't notice that before, did you?

It's cool, and it works. Now leave a comment and get some practice in!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

Writers' Resolutions - What Will You Do More Of This Year?

2009-01-01T13:07:00.003-05:00

So, it's January 1st again, and most of us are making promises to ourselves and others that we probably won't keep. It's customary. So, of course, there are the New Year's Resolutions concerning our writing habits. Will we write more? Will we hone our skills? Will we challenge ourselves, become more controversial? What specific improvements will we make?

It all depends on the foundation we build upon.

So, I'm going to try something a little different this year: instead of resolving to achieve specific milestones in my writing, I pledge to build a more solid writing foundation. I am committing to reading more, writing for myself more often and not just for clients, and to use more literary device in both my practical and creative writing. My theory is that if I do those simple things, more complex developments will come as a result.

What do you think?

My #1 Tip For Beating Writer's Block

2008-12-24T07:32:00.003-05:00

It's a shame when you write for a living and can't seem to find time to keep up your own blogs. YOU WRITE FOR A LIVING! Why can't you manage to keep your blogs updated?

The short answer is that it's much easier to write for clients who give you specific parameters and deadlines to meet. There's no guesswork in that, and unless you like being broke, there's no external motivation or inspiration needed :-)

That's why your own work can fall off. We're all so exhausted from working on things that make money NOW that we often find ourselves putting off that next blog post...until kingdom come.

But I have finally realized what my best writer's block remedy is. It's simple, easy, and always beneficial. It is so simple, in fact, that many of us gloss right over it when it's the most obvious of all writer's block exercises.

READY?

When you have writer's block...READ.

Reading someone else's writing is the quickest way to stimulate your own. Whether it be through a subsequent epiphany or your own ego that won't allow you to let others express themselves without getting a sudden urge to express yourself, reading the writing of others gets you inspired, and fast. Understand, however, that you have to read writing that has the potential to stimulate you. The back of the cereal box won't do in this case. You have to read something with the potential to feed something.

Got it?

So, knock the dust off of those blog subscriptions going to waste and actually visit a fellow blogger or two and really read what they have to say. Allow various authors to engage you. Leave comments. You will soon find yourself looking to chip away at your latest project, or maybe even inspired to knock out a really great piece in one sitting. Either way, reading helps motivate true writers to write.

Your thoughts?

5 Ways To Make Yourself Look Like a Complete Idiot Online

2008-12-18T01:33:00.008-05:00

If you leave this blog only learning one thing, let it be that people really do judge you by the way you speak and write.

Really; they do.

But if you're honest with yourself, you'll realize that it's actually fair. What else do your contacts have to judge you by? Your website might be impressive, but if you can't form a proper sentence when you post to social networking sites, or you send emails riddled with typos and grammatical errors, what are they supposed to think? You appear to be either careless or an incompetent idiot.

Okay, maybe the latter was a bit harsh, but so are most people. It's a harsh, unforgiving world out there, so you want to be sure that your correspondence reflects your intelligence and your attention to detail. This is especially important if you are a writer!

If you want people to pay you to write for them, it would behoove you to pay more careful attention to your spelling and grammar when you communicate, both formally and informally. We're all human, and we all make mistakes from time to time, but the reality is that those who make more mistakes make them more often because of poor habits. Not paying attention to detail, writing off the cuff and then just clicking "send", fooling themselves into believing that "It's just XYZ Forum; it doesn't make a difference."

Yes, it does.

Clients tell me all the time how glad they are to find a writer who actually presents themselves and their portfolio with class and polish. Most of the people contending for writing gigs these days are either substandard writers, or they simply present themselves like substandard writers.

So, if you want people to think you ARE a complete idiot and not a competent writer or business person, be sure to do the following:

* DON'T proofread every correspondence, every time; let the chips fall where they may.

* DON'T choose every word carefully; go ahead and talk out of the side of your neck. You can just double back later and tell people, "What I meant to say was..."

* DO engage in flame wars, especially when they don't actually enhance your image (like for a political commentator). You can afford to be a jerk; people like that.

* DO use slang and vernacular without being 100% sure that it is acceptable among the constituency of a particular forum. You're too cool to be appropriate.

* Spell check, spell check, spell check - FORGET IT! Spell check is for losers anyway.

Now, if you want to save your reputation and actually make money online, do the exact opposite :-)

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

How To Make Your Sales Copy Actually Sell

2008-12-17T02:47:00.006-05:00

One of the main problems I see with sales and marketing copy online is that it rarely makes me want to buy anything. More often than not, it sounds sales-y, and by the "call to action", I'm looking to the browser search bar to find something I actually care about. I, like millions of other net savvy surfers, have become grossly desensitized to online advertising, so it takes a lot more than your average, run-of-the-mill sales letter to get me to act.

Chances are that you're that way, too.

So how do you counteract this advert apathy? How do you write sales and marketing copy that converts visitors into subscribers and buyers?

You tell people what they want to hear, not what you want them to know.

Copywriters spend way too much time trying to convey the client's message instead of trying to satisfy the reader. If you simply satisfy the reader with the client's offer, everyone wins. The client is happy, they sell lots of widgets, and they hire you again and again. Then, because you're such hot stuff, you get to raise your rates and live like a movie star because you are a marketing mogul with a magic pen!

Well, maybe that was a stretch -

But the reality is that no one cares about what you have to offer unless it satisfies their needs and wants. So, I want you to remember this simple rule for writing highly effective sales and marketing copy that will increase conversion and make your clients think you are a genius:

Results-oriented copy works; write it and so will you.

As you sell yourself to potential clients and as you sell their wares with your words, the name of the game is RESULTS. Promise results that you can actually deliver, explain how those results are achieved, and remind the reader of what will happen if they don't get those results or what they can achieve if they do. Take the focus off of what you have to sell and place it on what the reader has to gain. Then, politely mention how what you are offering will get them those results for the least amount of time, effort, money, or what have you, and voila!

A sale is born :-)

I use this technique when I write for my clients, and I assure you that it will work for you, too. If you would like more writing tips and tools to develop your craft, subscribe to and/or follow this blog, so that you don't miss a beat!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson

Why You Should Know How To Write a Five-Paragraph Essay, Even If You're NOT a Student

2008-12-17T01:08:00.005-05:00

The classic five-paragraph essay is the framework upon which great essay and research writing is built. For most of you, however, that doesn't mean much. The average reader of this blog is a writer far removed from junior high school, looking to increase their freelance income, not a gold star and a passing grade. The truth of the matter, though, is that the basics should only expounded upon, not abandoned. Just because you're writing for a grown-up audience, that doesn't mean you should bypass the schoolhouse training that got you to where you are today.

So, let's take another look at the five-paragraph essay and why it can help you improve your writing overall:

The classic five-paragraph essay starts with a well developed thesis statement, which is effectively the outline for the rest of the essay. This keeps both the reader and the writer on track, ensuring that the communication is effective and efficient. No one wants to hear you ramble on, building paragraphs on fluff just to increase your word count. People know bull when they read it, and if you don't make it a point to stay on track, that's exactly what you're giving them.

So, what do you do? Write all of your marketing copy in the form of a five-paragraph essay?

Of course not, silly! The reason we tend to abandon that model in the first place is because it can be rigid and boring. The idea, though, is to still organize your thoughts in such a manner where your introductory paragraph acts as a type of thesis and then develop your copy within the confines of your 'thesis' so that you deliver just what you promise in the least amount of words possible.

For a quick refresher on the proper way to write a five-paragraph essay, visit How To Write a Five-Paragraph Essay. I hear the author is a literary genius!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackosn

Yes, You Really Can Become a Better Writer

2008-12-16T04:06:00.001-05:00

While it is true that some writers possess natural talent, anyone with a mastery of their language can be shaped and molded into a great writer.

That's (almost) all there is to it.

You see, friends, the problem with most striving scribes is not that they don't have the potential to be great writers. There are lots of bad writers with great talent. (I know; I used to be one of them.) The real issue is that they have not yet attained a mastery of their language. Effective communicators are not necessarily so because of what they say, but how they say it, and the "how" is determined by their knowledge of the language.

Simply put, it takes more than talent to succeed, baby; you need skills.

Superior knowledge and experience is what makes you an expert and empowers you to manipulate both your medium and your audience. If you can't form a proper sentence or paragraph, or if you are limited to writing in only one style or another, your ability to reach people will be limited. Good writing makes a reader think, feel, or do something...or all three. You want to be able to invoke a broad range of thoughts, emotions, and actions; otherwise, you won't get very far as a writer, whether amateur or professional.

But the good news is...

If you need help, you're in the right place! This blog will provide you with lots of valuable information that you can use to hone your skills and even make yourself more marketable as a freelance writer. So, get a cup of coffee or tea, get comfortable, and jump right in!

To your continued success,

I.C. Jackson