How To Become A Better Writer

Mind Mapping for writing:

and other writing hints and tips.

Prepare To Become A Great Writer

Adopt these writing tips, tricks, and hacks and you will become a better writer...

...practice them, and you may even become a great writer!

Regardless of whether you're interested in how to write faster, or how to outline a book, or even how to write an essay outline, the following will help you achieve your goals.

Start by Knowing Your Objective

First, identify the single point you’re trying to get across. This should be the very first thing you write, and it should be in a single sentence.

Writing will come easily when you know your objective before you start writing your essay or report.

Here are some examples:

School History Report: The French in Indo-China 1945-1956.
Ebook: How to limit the estrogenic effects of parabens.
Report: Deficiencies in the corporate travel booking system.
Memorandum: Change to customer support hours due to Daylight Savings differences between regions.

This one-line synopsis will keep you focused and on target – reread this one-line reminder as you plan your essay outline.

The Five W's

Who, what, when, where, and why is the basis of all written information. These 5 ‘W’s answer all the questions your reader ‘might’ ask...except for ‘how?’.

Answering these 5 ‘W’s helps you organize your writing and makes it as easy to read and informative as a newspaper article.

While not everything regarding your subject will answer all 5 ‘W’s, you should always ask yourself if it does. Any omission of information must be because you planned it that way, not because of an oversight or mistake. Which is why the ‘how’ is often left out, especially in the world of marketing.

Marketers are adept at delivering the 5 ‘W’s to get you to the point where you ‘beg’ to find out the ‘how’...which is when they throw in the link to their book, product, or program.

The 5 ‘W’s are also the basis of the easiest writing method around – a method I like to call…

Straight Lines

Now comes the most important part of writing any essay, report, White Paper, book, or guide – planning how to get from Point A to Point B in a single straight line!

What does that mean?

If your readers have to navigate the road of your writing to reach your intended destination, make sure you’ve mapped out the journey for them.

How?

Simple! We all know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So, having determined where our starting Point A is, we now need to work out what our target Point B is, and all the various points we need to visit in between.

Don’t make the mistake of jumping straight into writing your essay, report, book, or guide.

Without properly mapping out your writing route, you will make a lot of detours, loops, and course corrections. This will only lead to frustration. Think of it as an obstacle course where just knowing Points A and B is not enough. Conversely, having a map of the obstacle course means you can avoid the obstacles, pick up the treasure along the way, and find the quickest route through.

Besides, it is the most efficient way to write – and isn’t that why you’re reading this?

The best methods to use here are either the Fishbone or Mind Mapping technique (made popular by Tony Buzan).

Mind Map V Fishbone

Here’s a hint: Take a look at your 5 ‘W’s – these make great tentacles.

From these tentacles we have more tentacles or fingers – each represents its own chapter sub-point or paragraph. Sometimes even these fingers have fingers of their own.

The Fishbone is really just a Mind Map with OCD. The point of Mind Maps and Fishbones is to ‘brain dump’ as many of the obvious elements on the subject as possible. Putting all that information into logical order is the Straight Line we’re trying to get to and represents the next part of the formula.

Once we’ve collected all our information in our Mind Map or Fishbone, we then collate it into a natural sequential order, such as a Table of Contents.

That’s right! A Mind Map or Fishbone will provide a very accurate, sequentially correct outline (or Table of Contents) for your report.

Bonus Hint: The 5 ‘W’s helped define the Mind Map tentacles, and from those tentacles the 5 ‘W’s also defined the fingers – now apply the 5 ‘W’s to the Contents. For example, we can ask who, what, when, where, and why of each of the Content items to provide the bulk of the report.

There are hundreds of Mind Mapping software programs available for download, however, a Mind Map doesn’t have to be ‘pretty’; it is meant to be a way to get all the information out of your head as thoroughly and efficiently as possible. Therefore, the easy way to Mind Map is to use a large piece of paper (A3 or larger) and a selection of coloured markers. And yes, it does help to use colours – it results in greater retention of information.

The Rule of Writing

The First Rule of Write Club

The first rule of Write Club is – Write!

Writer’s block happens, but in our case it shouldn’t. We have all the raw material we need to start writing; namely, our Mind Map/Fishbone generated Straight Line Table of Contents.

What is writer's block? Oxford Languages states that it's...the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing.

One reason we procrastinate when it comes to writing is we don’t ‘believe’ we can write or write well.

There is a simple way to overcome this…start believing you can write!

No seriously, our thoughts form our beliefs, and our beliefs form our actions, so if you think you can’t, then you can’t. By the same token, if you think you can, then you can.

We’re not looking for a literary masterpiece – just clear information or an engaging story, so stop thinking you need to be a Shakespeare. Anyone can convey information or tell a story – even you, so start writing. Don't believe me? Try reading Fifty Shades of Grey - proof that quality writing and popularity don’t have to share the same postcode. By the way, if your writing does end up being a literary masterpiece (or a best seller), then “Bravo” to you.

According to the Dalai Lama: “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.” I like to include ‘write’ in that list.

There are a couple of ‘tricks’ you can use to help get rid of writer’s block. The first is to breathe, and breathe deep. The brain needs oxygen to function properly, so give it some.

The second trick is ‘visulalising’ by doing the following – close your eyes, imagine yourself in a darkened cinema when suddenly the curtains pull back to reveal a clear white screen. This technique works on three levels – it blocks out distractions, it clears the mind, and then, because the mind can’t handle blank spaces, pictures will begin to appear on screen. This works particularly well for visual people, who see things in pictures and relate stories/information from images.

As Earnest Hemingway said, “The most solid advice for a writer is this, I think: Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.”

By the way, the second rule of Write Club is… Don’t talk about Write Club!

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Writers

The Magnificent Seven

Write Simply
Passive and Active Voice
Watch Your Phrasing
Avoid Clichés like the plague
Watch Your Words
Emotions Before Logic or Benefits Beat Features
Tone In Writing

Habit 1: Write Simply

Avoid the misguided temptation of amplifying your prose with cumbersome flourishes and superfluous verbosity, which ultimately results in the conveyance of information in a less than straightforward manner, for the sole purpose of impressing the readership with your superior intellect – or, in other words – Write Simply.

Nobody likes reading large tracts of legalese or bureaucratic mumblings. It takes longer to write, read and comprehend.

In fact, the best and most easily read sentence is approximately 15 words in length. Just like the last one. But don’t be too concerned if your sentence contains twice as many words as recommended. (That was a 15 word sentence too!) Just be sure to include lots of short sentences. They speed up the flow. And remember your sentences only need to ‘average’ 15 words over the length of your document, which doesn’t mean you have to go and count each word or every sentence, and 16, 17, or 18 word averages aren’t going to be a big problem either.

That last sentence was 45 words – did you notice it slowed your reading. Was it harder to comprehend?

Writing ‘simply’ means that your writing:

States the purpose, simply
Includes subheadings – just like this guide!
Lists points – again, just like this list
Is made up of short sentences and paragraphs - ditto
Doesn’t try to impress as hard as it tries to inform (don’t worry – your superior knowledge of the subject will more than impress your reader)
Avoids jargon, acronyms, and words of four syllables or more.

Keep the following in mind when writing: Simple is beautiful. Put away the fancy words and long sentences. Say it simply. It will save your time and the reader's time - and time is money.

Habit 2: Passive and Active Voice

What is active voice? What is passive voice?

Essentially, if the sentence is broken up with a comma, then it is passive. (That was a passive sentence).

An active sentence does not contain a comma. (That was active).

OK, before you get all pedantic and start referencing Strunk and White, the above is just the simplified explanation.

There is no need to obsess about active and passive voice. Passive voice isn’t a bad thing and has its uses - Just ensure you use active voice if you are conveying an instruction or making a point.

Hint: There is a trick to making your writing active. When your writing is littered with commas, simply reverse the order of the sentence. For example, the preceding sentence can be written as: Reverse the order of your sentence if it contains a comma.

Habit 3: Watch Your Phrasing

Would you really use the words ‘ascertain’ instead of ‘find out’, ‘utilise’ instead of ‘use’, or ‘strategise’ instead of ‘plan’ if you were speaking?

No? Then don’t use them in your writing.

Also, avoid what’s known as ‘doublespeak’. For example; Let me ‘furnish an explanation for’ that last point – is doublespeak for - Let me ‘explain’ that last point.

Habit 4: Avoid Clichés Like the Plague

I don’t want to gild the lily, but you’d be a few sandwiches short of a picnic if you didn’t avoid clichés like the plague!

In a nutshell, common clichés such as these are easy to spot and most people wouldn’t include them in a report even if their lives depended upon it.

OK, I’ll stop with the clichés now.

The types of cliché we need to keep check of are those ‘business-speak’ phrases that muddy the water – sorry, couldn’t help myself.

Avoid these common business clichés:

Architect a solution
At the end of the day
Bandwidth – unless it’s about the internet
Drop the ball
Heads up
Moving forward
No-brainer
Open the kimono
Paradigm shift
Proactive
Push the envelope
Raise the bar
Same page
Think outside the box
Touch base

Your writing is no place for B.S. (Business-speak).

Habit 5: Watch Your Words

There are some words that we need to avoid in our writing. These words either weaken the meaning, are unnecessary, or are just a lazy option for a more accurate word or phrase. For example, the word ‘either’ in the previous sentence is unnecessary.

Some common mistakes include:

‘Revert back’ – as in “Revert back to the previous version software after testing.” The word ‘back’ is redundant - You can’t revert forward! This is the same mistake as referring to an ATM machine, or PIN number.

Very – the word ‘very’ is used to increase the intensity of the following word. Instead, it lessens it. For example, is “I am very angry with you” angrier than just being angry with you? Wouldn’t “I’m furious with you” have more impact?

Proactive – don’t make the mistake of thinking proactive is more active than active. Being ‘active’ indicates action – being ‘proactive’ suggests you simply agree with some form of action taking place…without necessarily being the one performing the action. For example; to say, “I have been active in searching for work,” suggests you have made calls, sent out resumes, had interviews; whereas saying, “I have been proactive in searching for work,” can mean I have asked my friends to pass it around that I’m looking for work.

Architect – is not a verb. You can’t ‘architect a solution’. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve been requested to ‘architect a solution’ for a process improvement project.

Habit 6: Emotions Before Logic or Benefits Beat Features

Whatever you write is intended to elicit a response. You want your reader to take action – maybe a client to grant you an appointment, or management to grant extra budget to fund a project.

Regardless of your intention, to be successful in achieving it, you need to be persuasive.

Persuasive writing focuses on benefits instead of features. Your reader wants to know what’s in it for them (the benefit), not what bells and whistles (features) you have. The features are only used to explain how the benefits are achieved.

Remember, ‘sell the sizzle, not the steak.’ And no, I am not breaking Habit 4 here – this well-known marketing cliché is the point.

Most decisions are made on emotion and only later are they justified with logic. Therefore, if you want to achieve your intended result, then you first need to engage the reader’s emotions with benefits.

The last sentence contained one of the most persuasive marketing techniques in use today – the ‘If…then’ technique. For example; “If you want to reduce overall costs and increase revenue, then you need to approve Project X”.

Habit 7: Tone In Writing

There are many types of tone in writing, so read aloud what you have written. Would you speak to your reader the way you have written it? If your writing doesn’t flow or is impersonal, rewrite it.

Use contractions – won’t instead of ‘will not’, could’ve instead of ‘could have’ to take out the stiffness.

Delete words, sentences, and phrases that don’t add to the meaning or trip up the flow.

Speak to the reader, person to person.

Have someone else read it aloud to you – would you want to join the conversation? Did you drift off, or did they hold your attention?

Tone: Literary Definition - the writer's attitude toward or feelings about the subject matter and audience...at least according to Wikipedia. So keep your attitude friendly towards your audience, and confident about your subject.

A Final Word On Writing

The only writing that follows a formula is Technical Writing. It is formulaic because it has a single clear instruction that is not open to interpretation or variation.

For all other writing we have these 3 Steps, 1 Rule, and 7 Habits as a guideline. Use it to your advantage – don’t become a slave to it.

And one last thing; don’t be afraid about starting a sentence with ‘And’. It is OK despite what your teachers told you. After all, the best-selling book in the World is full of sentences starting with ‘And’. (No, not Fifty Shades – The Bible). And so it came to be.

Attribution

The content of this post is taken and adapted (to the online medium) from the eBook How To Write Made Easy - The 3 Steps, 1 Rule, and 7 Habits for Fast Effortless Writing, and is reproduced here with kind permission of the author.