Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Techniques Every Writer Should Use or Have (Use the active voice (In…
Techniques Every Writer Should Use or Have
Have something to say
This makes writing easier and faster.
When you have nothing to say, you are forced to write sentences that sound meaningful but deliver nothing.
Eliminate fluff words
Qualifying words, such as very, little, and rather, add nothing to your meaning and suck the life out of your sentences.
Mark Twain suggested that you should “Substitute damn every time you’re inclined to write very
Use the active voice
In English, readers prefer the SVO sentence sequence: Subject, Verb, Object. This is the active voice.
Passive sentences bore people.
Do not: People are bored by passive sentences.
Write short sentences
You should keep sentences short for the same reason you keep paragraphs short: they’re easier to read and understand.
Keep paragraphs short
That’s done to make reading easier, because our brains take in information better when it’s broken into small chunks.
Choose simple words
Write use instead of utilize, near instead of close proximity, help instead of facilitate, for instead of in the amount of, start instead of commence.
Use longer words only if your meaning is so specific no other words will do.
Don’t ramble
JUST DON'T.
Don’t be redundant or repeat yourself
When you repeat yourself or keep writing the same thing, your readers go to sleep.
Say something once rather than several times
Don’t over write
This is a symptom of having too little to say or too much ego.
Put your reader first. Put yourself in the background. Focus on the message.
Edit ruthlessly
Shorten, delete, and rewrite anything that does not add to the meaning. It’s okay to write in a casual style, but don’t inject extra words without good reason.
To make this easier, break your writing into three steps: 1) Write the entire text. 2) Set your text aside for a few hours or days. 3) Return to your text fresh and edit.
Be specific
Which one is more interesting?
I grow lots of flowers in my back yard.
I grow 34 varieties of flowers in my back yard, including pink coneflowers, purple asters, yellow day lilies, Shasta daisies, and climbing clematis.