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Transform your writing, no magic required

Transform your writing, no magic required

Writing may be an art — but it’s not a dark art. No special incantation or secret potion is required to churn out high quality prose. Writers just need to follow a few rules of thumb.

1) Use short sentences. Commas are not your friend. If your sentence has more than one dependent clause, it’s generally possible to split it into two punchier sentences.

2) Employ active voice whenever possible. It makes prose more engaging and easier to understand.

3) Shorten verb phrases and avoid present participles (i.e. verbs that end in “ing”) when possible. Sentences with more than two verbs are difficult to understand.

4) Avoid weasel words such as “what’s more,” “moreover,” “indeed,” etc. If you wouldn’t say it out loud in a normal conversation, don’t include it in a pitch or press release.

5) Minimize the use of adjectives and adverbs. Too many descriptive words gunk up sentences.

Colin Valentine
colin@kbc.us