by Bonnie Chomica

The Best Path to Easier Writing

If you’re in business, you need to be a writer. Some people are okay with that, but many find it very painful.

And unless you’re outsourcing everything you write (which is difficult to do), you might as well find ways to get good at it or at least make it easier.

Let’s get you on the best path to easier writing.

Whether you’re writing blog posts, emails, website content, or anything that’s going to have a beginning, a middle, and an ending, this process will help you get through your writing more efficiently. And if you develop this habit, it will make you a better writer.

PREPARE

Creating an outline is a great place to start. It helps you formulate your main message, and how your writing project will be structured.

Other things to consider before you start writing are to

• Write to one person, to your ideal client, and use YOU language 
• Think about how your reader is busy, and likely distracted. Keep things simple.
• Gather supporting material – quotations, links to resources/references, etc.

Now you’re ready to write.

WRITE UNINTERRUPTED

The best writing habit to develop is to learn to write with abandon. That means don’t worry what it sounds like, or if you’re using the right words, or what people will think.

Just write.

Get all those insightful thoughts out of your head and don’t stop writing until you’re finished, whether you’re using a keyboard or putting pen to paper.

Resist the urge to edit while you write. Don’t worry about spelling mistakes or grammar as you’ll have a chance to address them later.

If you try to edit along the way, you will lose your train of thought and you’ll lose the brilliance of your great idea.

Avoid interruptions. Write with enthusiasm like you’re telling a story to a friend.

EDIT FOR IMPACT

Just like developing a Hollywood movie, editing can be the most creative part of your writing process.

If you can, after you’ve initially written, leave it for a day and then come back to it. Your mind, eyes, and perspective will be fresher.

When you edit your writing, you’re not just looking for spelling mistakes, you’re actually trying to make your piece better. Mostly you’ll be looking for things you can cut out, things that don’t add value to the content. The intent is to make it easier to read and therefore easier to absorb.

• Make sentences and paragraphs shorter
• Look for better word choices
• Get rid of jargon and clichés
• Look for ways to break up text with sub headings
• How can you incorporate bullets or numbered lists?
• Can you include a quote or statistics?

When you’ve edited your piece, read it out loud to see if it sounds enticingly conversational or painfully rigid.

You may want to edit it more than once. I know when I write my blog posts, I edit first in my word processor, and I edit it again when I start populating it onto my website.

Create new habits and you will find your own methods that suit your needs to make your writing easier.

PROOFREAD

I am a stickler for promoting the necessity for proofreading. And I mean proofreading everything, from online content, print materials, and mobile content (think texting, social, or emails with autocorrect).

I’ve seen some embarrassing and costly mistakes throughout my career, because somebody didn’t proofread something.

This is a chance to really polish things up before you send your project out to the world.

• This is your last chance to check spelling mistakes.
• Did you use, or not use apostrophes correctly?
• What about punctuation? Is it accurate?

And once again, read it out loud as this will easily highlight any remaining mistakes.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I understand that writing isn’t easy for everybody. It’s not always easy for me either, but by using this process, I get better quality content created in a shorter time.

You absolutely have to put the time into writing. It’s essential for your business.

So what are you going to do for your next project to make your writing easier?

1.       Prepare with outline

2.       Write with abandon

3.       Edit at least 2 times

4.       Proofread everything

For more writing and marketing tips, grab this free E-Book with more writing tips and many examples.

 

Image credit: Photo by Linas Bam on Unsplash