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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 Proofreader and Certified Professional Virtual Assistant. 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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