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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
A Great Article on How You Can Develop Confidence as a Business Writer
The following article was written by my friend and fellow blogger, Joanna Young, of Confident Writing. This article is offered for free distribution by EzineArticles.Com; so I thought I'd share it with my readers to help you become a more confident business writer, as well as to highlight the wonderful content you'll find on Joanna's blog. (Many of Joanna's tips and techniques also apply to other types of writing, as well; so bear that in mind as you read, and look for places in your own writing where you can practice these helpful principles.)
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Business Writing with Confidence - An ABC Guide
By Joanna Young
Confident writing is an essential part of effective business communication. Most people would agree with this statement but how many of us have the skills or the confidence to put it into practice? Anxiety about grammar rules can leave people tongue tied. All too often business writing is seen as a barrier, a stumbling block rather than something that can add value to your contribution at work.
But hereâs the thing: you donât need to learn the rules of a grammar book to write with confidence at work. You just need to work on three basic elements of good business writing: authenticity, brevity and clarity. Itâs what I call the ABC guide to confident writing at work.
Writing with authenticity
Writing with authenticity means being real, sounding human, sounding like yourself. Itâs great for creating rapport with other people, whether thatâs your colleagues, customers or potential clients. Most people want to do business with another human being and itâs even better if thatâs someone they feel they can get to âknowâ and trust.
To make your writing more authentic:
* Make use of plain, everyday words: go for short, simple words; avoid jargon and clichés; use everyday words rather than corporate or business speak
* Use a conversational style: this doesnât mean slang â it does mean feeling free to use short sentences and contractions like âIâmâ or âweâllâ or âletâsâ (all great for the flow)
* Find your own words: spend a little bit of time jotting down your own words for the things that are most important to you (ideas, your business purpose, your values) and start to work them into your writing. This is a great way to sound like you really mean business!
Writing with brevity
Most people are drowning in information overload. So much for the paperless office â most of us are suffering from too much paper, a deluge of e-mails and more reports than weâll ever have time to read. Youâll really start to win friends and influence people if you keep your writing short and to the point. Your readers will thank you for the time and effort saved, and youâll also make your message more punchy, powerful and memorable.
To write with brevity:
* Keep each sentence short: aim for an average of 18 â 25 words a sentence. This is good writing practice and will get you into the habit of writing less
* Cut out excess words: go back and edit your work once youâve written a draft. Cut out as many excess words as you can. Then do it again (and again till itâs done.) Enjoy seeing your message emerge more clearly!
* Write within limits : set yourself a word limit and practice working to it. Itâll improve your skills of writing with brevity and help you stick to the point
Writing with clarity
Youâve got something important to say so you want your writing to stand out. Clear writing makes it easier for people to read, follow and understand what youâre saying. Now this is the place where grammar does come into play because there are some rules â whether you like it or not â that are there to help us understand your meaning. You need to master these basic rules if you want your message to be clear and easily understood.
To write more clearly:
* Know your point : be clear what youâre trying to say, and why, before you start to write. Boil your message down to no more than 10 words. Thatâs your message: focus on that and it will shine through your writing
* Manage your writing: work out which grammar points are stopping you from writing with clarity (like use of apostrophes). Ask a colleague or friend to help identify them. Then take responsibility for learning and applying the rules. There are plenty of books, websites and writing coaches who can help with this
* Keep it simple: use short sentences, cut out excess words, use plain, everyday language
I donât know if you noticed some common themes running through these writing tips. Keep it short, keep it simple, use plain language, know your point and stick to it. These are the fundamental rules of good business writing and if you apply them you will find it easy to write with authenticity, brevity and clarity. Effective business writing neednât be hard â it can be as easy as ABC.
Joanna Young is a writing coach who helps people to write with confidence - to realise the power of their own words. You can find out how to work with Joanna or read more of her writing tips at Confident Writing.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com expert=Joanna Young
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Hope you've enjoyed these great tips on confident writing by a very confident writer! Don't forget to visit Joanna's blog for more great content on writing confidently!
Happy writing!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Was it helpful? Have anything to add? If so, please feel free to comment!
And, while you're at it, why not visit Joanna' s blog and do the same?
Words: The Tools of Our Trade
We writers have an almost endless array of words from which to choose in crafting our written works. And, for the most part, we have an amazing degree of latitude in our choice of which of the terms from our (hopefully) wide vocabulary we will use in any given piece.
The problem lies in the inability of many to distinguish between those words in our immense communal bag of literary tricks which bear removing and using often and those which should be seldom used and would, in fact, very likely best be left sitting in the bottom of the bag, conveniently forgotten and undisturbed.
Write With Precision!
There are so many wonderful words which brilliantly advance our themes, expressing our thoughts with precision, painting pleasing (or at least appropriate) literary pictures in our readers' minds, beautifully clarifying our topics, and effectively allowing those who approach our works to grasp the thread of our argument, the gist of our explanation, or the heart of our story--and which do so without unduly and unnecessarily distracting the reader from our topic and forcing him or her to focus, instead, on our annoying word choice.
Don't Sacrifice Your Credibility
One term which I, personally, find extremely distracting and the use of which, in any kind of serious writing, in my view, immensely detracts from a writer's credibility--one of my literary pet peeves, in fact--is the word "sucks" when it is used in its slang form, to mean "is terrible or inferior." I would even venture to say that this use of the word in any type of serious writing and/or in any professional context is itself terrible and inferior--at least to me. (And, no, I won't use the term itself to describe its use.)
Writing Requires Craftsmanship!
I must be honest in saying that, as a writer who takes my craft very seriously--and as a reader who takes my avocation every bit as seriously--whenever I encounter this use of the word in a written work which is non-casual and is intended to be taken seriously from either a literary or a professional standpoint, my critical assessment of the writer (or at least of the writer's craftsmanship/good judgment) instantly drops a few notches.
Don't Drive Your Readers Away!
In fact, to be totally honest, it would take nothing short of a literary miracle to keep me reading beyond that point in a formal, official, literary, or professional piece. (Aside from excessive or extremely vulgar profanity, the use of this irritating term in a professionally written piece is one of the quickest ways for an author to lose this reader in mid-sentence, sending me on my merry way to look for greener literary pastures.)
Write With Purpose, Write On Purpose
I realize that today's younger adults have grown up hearing--and using--this term and it has become almost second nature to many of them. I realize, too, that, as the saying goes, "Old habits die hard." But, if you take away anything at all from this post, let it be this: To write effectively, you must not only write with purpose, you must also write on purpose. If you would truly communicate with your reader and capture his or her attention and interest--and hold it--you must choose your words carefully, targeting them to your audience, your topic, and your venue, and cutting out any terminology which has the potential to alienate your audience and thereby defeat your literary objective.
Is Alienation Your Intention?
(Of course, for some of you, your objective might actually be to alienate your audience--or a portion of it--in which case I would only say that this word should suit your purpose nicely. But this type of writing would not generally tend to fall under the purview of serious literary or professional writing, which is the kind we are discussing.)
So, please think twice about the terms you use in your writing--for your reader's sake--as well as your own! Don't give your reader a reason to stop reading and seek more suitable or appropriate content elsewhere.
Slang: When In Doubt, Leave it Out!
Slang can often be used very effectively; but only if it is used with discretion, if it is not overused, and if the slang terms chosen do not irritate, or lower your credibility with your reader, causing him or her to lose respect for you either as a communicator or as an authority on your subject--or worse yet, both.
Where slang is concerned, the recommended rule of thumb is, When in doubt, leave it out! It simply isn't worth the risk. Alienating your audience over such an unnecessary and easily correctible problem, would be very unwise. After all, it can be hard enough to hold our readers' attention even without throwing such literary stumbling blocks into their path. So, why would we ever want to do that?
May you always write effectively!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
If you're looking for a site that will help you master the writing craft and/or prepare you for your own personal journey on the path to publication, Writing-World.Com has a great deal to offer!
This site is chock full of great information for the aspiring--or practicing--writer! Some examples:
~An interesting variety of books on the writing craft itself and on marketing your writing, including volumes containing specific markets for your work. (Their book inventory also contains a few books on subjects other than writing.)
~An impressive list of more than 600 writing-related articles that can be read right on the site. These articles are all well catalogued and categorized for easy reference.
~A contest database featuring a wealth of info on entering--and not being scammed by--writing contests.
~A list of certain selected markets for your work.
~A long list of links to other online resources for writers.
~A call for articles on writing that they will purchase from you to add to their database, complete with Writer's Guidelines.
~A "Guide for Launching Your Writing Career," containing a wealth of great advice that can get you started on the road to a successful freelance writing business. (This section also includes a lot of great advice on the real nitty gritty, down-to-earth, seat-of-your-pants aspects of writing.)
~A great section on how to avoid writing scams, presented along with info on copyright issues, rights, and contracts.
~A free monthly newsletter, containing many great feature articles, as well as recurring topical columns that you might find helpful.
As far as payment for articles is concerned, here's what they themselves have to say: "We pay 5Âą/word for original articles, to a maximum of $100 (regardless of word count; thus, a 2500-word article is still paid only $100). We pay a flat $25 for reprints, and we definitely welcome work that has appeared in other publications (especially print). Payment is on acceptance. For humor, we pay a flat $15 per item. We will also exchange advertising space for editorial."
That doesn't sound half bad for an online market! So, if you enjoy writing about your craft, check out their Writer's Guidelines and try submitting your work. But be sure to check their article database to be sure your topic hasn't already been covered. You can do this via their Topical Indexes or their Master Article Index.
Take a peek at what Writing-World.Com has to offer. I think you'll be impressed!
And good luck!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
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