Six writing tips from “Everybody Writes”

@AnnHandley created “Everybody Writes” to help everyone – both writers and non-writers – improve their skills.

The book, delivered as a writing guide, features 70+ tips ranging from grammar to copyright issues.

Here are six of the lessons I found most helpful.

1. Embrace The Ugly First Draft

Procrastination is an evil, disruptive menace that writers know all too well. But did you know you can fight it with … barf?

Instead of waiting until you have that perfect moment … just barf up “the ugly first draft” (TUFD) with all of your thoughts so you have a starting place.

TUFDs aren’t cohesive, and they don’t have to sound intelligent. The TUFD is a no-excuses reason to get started instead of procrastinate.

2. Share Specifics

Details make a story stand out. So, when you’re writing your next piece of content, get as specific as you can.

Ann quotes Natalie Goldberg as saying:

“Specify geranium instead of flower … substitute cocker spaniel for dog or write Vietnamese sandwich truck instead of food-truck service.” (pg. 66)

3. Add an Element of Surprise

This is one way you can really get creative. Instead of providing that obvious analogy, brainstorm something offbeat that catches your audience’s attention. Ann suggests:

“Instead of: The leaves of the giant pumpkin plant are huge.

Try: The pumpkin leaves are the size of trash-can lids, covering pumpkins the size of beer kegs.” (pg. 70)

4. Test your Content’s Readability

I’ll be honest. I had no idea Microsoft Office had a readability scoring tool.

I always used the Hemingway App (or just relied on my own instincts) to determine whether my pieces were too wordy or jargon-filled.

But why not use a tool that’s already built in to your writing software?

Here’s a quick guide on how to activate yours.

5. Choose Expressive Verbs

The best verbs are bold verbs. They follow tip number two by helping you visually tell your stories. Here are a few swaps Ann suggests, as well as a few of my own:

Instead of “cut” her finger use “slashed.”

Instead of “ran” through the airport use “sprinted.”

Instead of “asked” him for more details, use “pressed.”

Now, you may not have these all ready in your TUFD (and you shouldn’t, if you’re following the barf-up-content-quickly model). But they’re a good thing to add when you go through that first round of revisions.

6. Break some Rules

Back in elementary school, teachers lowered our grades for starting sentences with “because” or “and.”

But you know what? Times have changed, and professor Handley is in charge now.

Ann suggests throwing in some fragments, starting sentences with “but” when it feels right and opting for one-sentence paragraphs for effect.

Today’s online readers don’t want your five paragraph essays, with three-sentence paragraphs.

They want it short, sweet and readable.

Learn More

To learn all of Ann’s “Everybody Writes” tips, read the full book, which can be found here:

http://annhandley.com/everybodywrites/

To read my full post, visit:

www.stephanievermillion.com