Tips For Better Writing

It is certainly true that we don't get a second chance to make a first impression. As the impression we make on the Internet is almost always with the written word, is it unfortunate that there is so much poor writing bouncing around in cyberspace. The following tips are intended to help you make a better first impression.

Speaking of first impressions, I don't want to present myself as "the Final Authority". Dave Barry readers know that would be "Mr. Language Person". I'm just a guy who's been writing marketing and training materials for a couple of decades and I've picked up a few things. If they are of value to you, I'm glad I could help.

Know your audience. Who are you trying to reach and what is the best approach to accomplish your goal? Should you be informal, strictly business or something else?

Plan what you want to say before you type the first word. Make a few notes. You will stay on message better and present a more readable piece.

No matter how extensive your vocabulary, resist the impulse to dazzle your readers. You may impress some but you'll lose many more. Common, everyday words work just fine - that's how they became common.

Avoid jargon whenever possible. Yes, almost every undertaking has its own language, just write at the level most appropriate for the vast majority of your readers. If in doubt, see 3. above.

Syntax (sentence structure) matters. When I hear something like, "Me 'n' John went to..." it's like fingernails down the chalkboard! People who speak that way probably write the same way, I figure. If your word processor has a grammar checker, use it - the spell checker won't help in this kind of situation.

The other person always comes first, so it is "John and I went to...". The trick for determining whether to use I or me is to drop the other person and say it. I doubt you'd say "Me went to...". Right?

Short sentences are more powerful than long ones. They are easier to read and hold the reader better. It might just be two words: Janet smiled. Depending on what preceded it, those two little words could be very powerful indeed. Think how important this sentence can be: I do.

If you're writing ads and you'd like them to stand out, avoid using the same approach "everyone else" is using. Look at how many ads use some variation of "Make $16 Million Before Lunch!!!!!!!!!" and then do something else for yours. Nobody really buys that stuff anyway, do they? Use your imagination.

Some words simply cannot be modified, so don't. Among these,for example, are unique and pregnant. Nothing can be "very unique" because unique means something of which there is only one. And a woman is either pregnant or she isn't. She cannot be "somewhat pregnant".

Punctuation is critically important. If you don't think so, study the following sentence. It can be punctuated to create opposite meanings: Woman without her man is nothing.

I think the most grossly overused punctuation mark is the exclamation point! There is a school of semi-thought that seems to have concluded that a thing is more important, or exciting, or urgent if multiple exclamation points are used, as in: Buy NOW!!!!!! Actually, it just means the writer doesn't know much about punctuation.

Use comparative suffixes (-er, -ier, -est) rather than "more". The weather is getting cooler, not "more cool". She is happier, not "more happy".

Enjoy your writing, it can be a real adventure!

About The Author

Kent Butler has been in marketing and sales since just after the discovery of dirt. He has written a great variety of things, from sales letters to screenplays. If this piece was helpful to you, he's happy. You are cordially invited to explore his Internet Resouce Center at http://www.ButlerMarketingGroup.com If you became a customer, of course, he'd be even happier (not more happy).

MORE RESOURCES:

Course shows companies what NOT to put in writing - Reuters

Coens nominated for writing prize - BBC News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8PZADrpEJzYr-6ByMf2Uf0rfx2gD95J6AMO0cid=1287788727ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNE_donGKM7gpL0GNpaYkqmorFd9Dgimg src=http://nt2.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=xkmoBYE_yJcJimgurl=www.google.com/hostednews/ap/media/ALeqM5ik-3Jzog8UNM6apF5Wt3txHWN9Fg width=59 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2The Associated Press/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7817304.stmcid=1287788727ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNGuj9VKjykhYraQCnZxLcTcfGi90wCoens nominated for bwriting/b prize/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBBC News,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Film-makers Joel and Ethan Coen have been nominated for a prize at the Writers Guild of America awards for their movie Burn After Reading. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8PZADrpEJzYr-6ByMf2Uf0rfx2gD95J6AMO0cid=1287788727ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNE_donGKM7gpL0GNpaYkqmorFd9DgNolan nabs directing nomination for `Dark Knight#39;/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/9411cid=1287788727ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNEkYJgiiHAnbWGzeB0reOoLfJGdKgWGA Nominates Bashir, Chicago 10, Dark Knight/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAnimation Magazine/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-3fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/burn-milk-up-wga-screenplay/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B4B251FC1-2BEF-474F-8C29-F0D30CA43027%257D%26dist%3Dmsr_1cid=1287788727ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNHCogvs1XarvaU1Z-QENznqu0HIKQ#39;Burn,#39; #39;Milk#39; up for WGA screenplay award/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch (press release)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-4fd=Rurl=http://www.ifmagazine.com/new.asp%3Farticle%3D7385cid=1287788727ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNE0Opq1T5V9X8CqRE_R8QevqVkmcAnobriFMagazine/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-5fd=Rurl=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090108.BUZZ08-1/TPStory/Entertainmentcid=1287788727ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNEp1urTQsZSXiMW7EwBerZiF70EswnobrGlobe and Mail/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287788727hl=ennobrall 486 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Gonzales writing book on years in Bush administration - Austin American-Statesman

Children#39;s creative writing class is Saturday at Writers#39; Gallery - Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.newsmirror.net/articles/2009/01/08/news/07news.txtcid=1287879816ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNEa69Czk2z4CVZtShIeKyfoZqZ6SQChildren#39;s creative bwriting/b class is Saturday at Writers#39; Gallery/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fYucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Writers#39; Gallery in Yucaipa will present a Children#39;s Creative bWriting/b Class on Saturday, Jan. 10, from 10 am to noon. This class will be taught by b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/leisure/Writers-with-murder-in-mind.4851777.jpcid=1287879816ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNG0bE0frRN5kRjBhVaXNjQdVA54eAWriters with murder in mind/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBerwick Today/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287879816hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Russia says will restore gas when monitors in place - guardian.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.welt.de/english-news/article2992194/Russia-Ukraine-make-no-progress-at-gas-talks.htmlcid=1287643687ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNEqrNaLeDOvXBpxOe-KY8y404ejkQimg src=http://nt2.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=km0tIJolAPQJimgurl=www.welt.de/multimedia/archive/00730/eng_gas_GBT_BM_Baye_730156g.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2WELT ONLINE/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8216731cid=1287643687ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNEpWL2F0XceGtOEK8mMxF17JijKkwRussia says will restore gas when monitors in place/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fguardian.co.uk,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b Faulconbridge in Kiev, Marcin Grajewski in Brussels; Martin Santa in Bratislava; Jan Lopatka in Prague; bWriting/b by Jon Boyle; editing by Ralph Boulton)/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DWDaHAtQVYSIcid=1287643687ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNG5SV6v2GAM5SXuzAKQAKBLsJqpHQVideo: The gas crisis in Europe online/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrfrance24english/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/WDaHAtQVYSI/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/WDaHAtQVYSItype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-2fd=Rurl=http://www.kyivpost.com/world/32802cid=1287643687ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNGHnvSc0XraQY3oeEia080pihzbEQGazprom: Yushchenko should work instead of bwriting/b letters/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrKyiv Post (subscription)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-3fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSBRU00715620090108cid=1287643687ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNEmHW2RQ_q4NfGf2oaiqu4M8nvSQgGazprom refuses to agree to EU gas monitoring plan/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-4fd=Rurl=http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKPRA00230820090108cid=1287643687ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNHNup3yQmyo26jMbf0YVMcrX0SD1wnobrReuters/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-5fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL84569920090108cid=1287643687ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNGeFcGp3MIqevSwWWgHbvSk_kjY3gnobrReuters/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287643687hl=ennobrall 7,283 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The Flat Stanley Project gets kids reading, writing, and learning ... - Examiner.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m1d7-The-Flat-Stanley-Project-gets-kids-reading-writing-and-learning-geographycid=1287811701ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNFBHGEVAX1tOhguVspFmXj5EzDa1Qimg src=http://nt2.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=Nj8BWNePNEUJimgurl=image.examiner.com/images/blog/author/img530michelle_kerns_photo.jpg width=80 height=67 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Examiner.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m1d7-The-Flat-Stanley-Project-gets-kids-reading-writing-and-learning-geographycid=1287811701ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNFBHGEVAX1tOhguVspFmXj5EzDa1QThe Flat Stanley Project gets kids reading, bwriting/b, and learning b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fExaminer.comnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b could scarcely have imagined that decades later his quirky creation would be used in bwriting/b and geography projects for schoolchildren around the globe. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Ex-broker guilty of writing bad check - Billings Gazette

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/01/08/news/state/55-badcheck.txtcid=1287866693ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNEeaiO-tLlnxL-LRldS6ckGYu2EzwEx-broker guilty of bwriting/b bad check/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBillings Gazette,nbsp; USAnbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA Jeanne Rizzotto, a former Red Lodge real estate broker, pled guilty Wednesday in District Court in Red Lodge to bwriting/b a bad b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-1fd=Rurl=http://www.kxmb.com/News/317363.aspcid=1287866693ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNGK0sgsp5MvfJ7oHSFxthHoE94eSQRed Lodge woman pleads guilty in bad check case | KXNet.com North b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReiten Television KXMB Bismarck/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287866693hl=ennobrall 5 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The business press: The horror of writing your own obit - BloggingStocks

Manhattan Public Library holding art and writing contest for MLK ... - KTKA.com

How about if Steve Jobs smoked a pipe? - guardian.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9i-0fd=Rurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7812705.stmcid=1287230517ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNEXT7sgmmC1kRGeBMoxnfPCa7nA5Aimg src=http://nt0.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=CDEqzk5CuXkJimgurl=newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45348000/jpg/_45348330_jobs-death-body.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2BBC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/08/apple-macworld-dullsville-pipecid=1287230517ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNERy99eN0L6-frsYXTO163AGsSzRQHow about if Steve Jobs smoked a pipe?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fguardian.co.uk,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1For the first time in more than a decade, it looks like I#39;m bwriting/b a letter. Unfortunately, my apparent absence in the latest version of Microsoft Office b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DOT3eybWjJaAcid=1287230517ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNHNaLx_3kX9UlPwUNUa6QCbM-aXwAVideo: Steve Jobs Weight Loss Due to Hormone Imbalance/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/OT3eybWjJaA/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/OT3eybWjJaAtype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-2fd=Rurl=http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/iphone/showArticle.jhtml%3FarticleID%3D212701038%26cid%3Diwhome_art_iPhon_mostpopcid=1287230517ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNFeocE9aFWmzuSE5X7LWqdNOSU1nwMacworld: Apple Rewards The Faithful/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInformationWeek/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-3fd=Rurl=http://www.macworld.com/article/137945/2009/01/iwork09.html%3Ft%3D201cid=1287230517ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNGWBXKTH6uaYZBOmAzf5Vi4Q6kA0AExpo: Apple adds productivity features to iWork/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMacworld/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-4fd=Rurl=http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/01/06/apple-updates-iwork-web-based-document-sharing-and-more-productive-pricecid=1287230517ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNHrWd_lA4Pwmrku5olMHfYT4Ljk8gnobrThe Industry Standard/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-5fd=Rurl=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jan/07/the-odd-world-of-the-cult-of-apple-ask-dave/cid=1287230517ei=km9mSf3IA4HI9ATY3t3sBAusg=AFQjCNHE-BAMT3fO5MZjcesF6QNwqWsCVgnobrDaily Camera/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287230517hl=ennobrall 2,720 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Writing - Google News

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If Ben Franklin were alive today, he would be..

You Dont Need Inspiration!
Or do you?Writers write. You shouldn't wait around for inspiration to come.

Mind Mapping Your Journal Entries
Clustering, also called Mind Mapping, is a great way to savespace and time when you journal. For those of you thataren't familiar with Mind Mapping, you can search in Googleon the words or reading one of Tony Buzan's (the creator)books.

What You May Not Learn In College... (Part Two)
If you become a writer for any publication, private business, public entity, non-profit organization and/or large corporation that employs more than one editor, you may find that your job description, expected contributions, desired writing style and similar "guidelines" for your position - are subject to change daily/weekly/unpredictably - according to each editor's mood and/or personal preferences. It takes time, but eventually you will learn how to satisfy everyone to the best of your ability.

10 Things that Keep You from Writing Your Book? and What You Can do About It
9 out of 10 professionals and small business owners have at least one book or information product inside their head, but lack the time and organizational skills to get it out into digital or print form.You may cringe when you read this list of ten things keeping you from writing your book, because it rings too close to home for you.

Effective Editing: It Spells the Difference!
If you think proofreading equals editing, then you're wrong! Editing is a lot more than just scrutinizing your manuscript for misspelled words or missing punctuation marks.As a whole:Edit only *after* you've written the *whole* piece.