C is for Concise

First a quick story...

If I cast my mind back to the days of my English Language A-level classes (seems so long ago), there's one exercise which has always stood out. 

In it we read a long, rambling letter about NHS funding. We then had to summarise each paragraph in as few words as possible.

There was one particular paragraph, packed full of long words and linguistic clutter, and it lasted some five or six lines. I can still remember the teacher, with a deadpan expression, chopping it down to just two words: 'Needs money'. Masterful!

The moral of the story: be concise
Fluff is something that you either pick out of your belly button or hoover up off of the carpet. There's no room for it in writing.  

Be concise. Don't use three words where one will do, especially if you're writing advertising copy. For instance, why say 'make a decision' when you can simply write 'decide'? 

Strip away adjectives if they don't add anything to the text. Don't write 'hit somebody hard'. The beauty of the English language is we have a whole load of colourful expressions for acts of violence. So why 'hit someone hard' when, instead, you can slug 'em, crack 'em one, thump 'em or lamp 'em! Bit colloquial, I know, but you get the picture. 

The more concise you are, the easier you'll get your message across. Bury it in a mound of adjectives and set verb + noun phrases, and mix it up with some lousy punctuation, and your message will be lost. Not only that, so will your reader. Ouch!  

B is for Blogging

Are bloggers journalists? 

It's the great debate. Bloggers, journalists and a host of other professionals will still be arguing this one on their death bed. My personal opinion - who cares?

For me, the truly magical thing about blogging is that you have your own little corner of the web. It's a place where you can write for fun and discuss your own interests (with people who share the same ones), get something of your mind, even give yourself a bit of DIY work experience, or make a little money for yourself.  

Whether for business or pleasure, you should write a blog. It's the ideal way to hone your writing skills and also to find out if you have what it takes. You learn to express yourself. You develop your own style. You learn how to write for a particular type of audience. Whatever lights their fire, you'll learn how to deliver it.

Just one question: how do you write a blog?
That's a darned good question! I mentioned in the A section that you should know your audience. If you know them, write for them. Discuss the things that interest them. 

The simplest way to do this is by choosing a theme for your blog. This could be a hobby of yours, such as martial arts or photography. You could also write a blog about your profession, such as marketing, computing or teaching.

A blog can be about anything, really, but remember that writing consistently about a subject that readers are interested in is the easiest way to build up a following. You'll also become known as an expert on the area. And we all like to hear from someone who knows what they're talking about.

How long should the posts be?

There's no hard, fast rule about how long your blog posts should be, but the general convention is 200 to 400 words. They can can be longer if you wish, but avoid writing posts of 1 000 words or more (unless you want to lose readers). If a particular topic requires lengthy posts, you can split it up into a series. (Brownie points for me for following my own advice!)

Make your posts easier to read by splitting them up with subheadings. When reading texts on the Net, people tend to skim-read them first to see if the content is useful to them. If it is, they'll read the whole thing. The subheadings will steer the reader gently through the text, and the easier your post is to read the more chance you have of people reading them.  

Feel free to break up texts with pictures, too. They add colour to the post. Besides, visually, long blocks of text just ain't schmexy!  

On a final note... Do your put your own picture in?

You'll notice that I have put my picture on this blog. The face behind the words. However, the late Italian writer Italo Calvino believed that if writers kept from making public appearances, their work took on more authority. He had a point, but really, what harm can it do? Just enjoy yourself.

The first in a new series...

I've been writing for a long time now. It's something I've always done, in one way or another. 

First it was a spoof diary back in the school days. 

Then in the college years, and even before then, I was scribbling letters by good ole snail mail to penpals. 

'A' levels out of the way, I was free to contribute to the student newspaper in my uni days. Email was also starting to become a friend of mine. There were the love letters, too.... Loves that are lost now. Only the memory remains. 

Now we're in the digital era, my writing has turned to copywriting and blogging. Both are fun. 

So yes, I feel I've a fair bit of experience in the writing department, either from writing professionally, writing as an amateur or writing from what life has given me. People have said I do it well. Some have asked me how I do it. All I can say is I have passion for it. I've indulged it by reading, reading about writing, and by writing, and I've decided to share a few things I've picked up along the way.

I'd like to kick off the first in my own little A to Z of writing tips. The series will do what it says on the tin. Like all good A to Zs, why not start with the letter A?

A is for Audience

It's a golden rule, especially in advertising, that you should think about who (or, if we're going to split grammatical hairs, for whom) you're writing for. Know your audience. What do they like? What makes your blog, column or stories so special that they're reading your work instead of someone else?

Knowing your audience will keep you and your writing focused on the task, or better said, the text in hand. It'll help you provide useful, engaging content that speaks to them, instead of generic, mind-numbing drivel that talks at them.

Our parents always warn us when we're young not to talk to strangers. That applies to writing too. Find out who your audience are, learn about their likes and dislikes and, even though you might not have met them, they won't be strangers to you any more. More importantly, when they read your writing nor will you feel like them one to them.