Great writing breaks all the rules.
But if you’re not Hemingway, Faulkner or Twain just yet, rules are what will help you get there.
These nine guidelines will instantly make your writing shorter, clearer and more conversational—all key elements of awesome prose.
1. Use contractions whenever possible.
You are = you’re. Do not = don’t.
Contractions are more conversational than their longer counterparts. They’re how we speak. Use them whenever possible to make your writing more natural.
2. Always pick the shorter, simpler word.
Unless you have a specific reason not to, choose ‘scary’ over ‘frightening,’ ‘sad’ instead of ‘melancholy,’ ‘many’ instead of ‘numerous,’ and so on.
3. Give specifics.
Specific, concrete examples add power and color to your writing. Why don’t people use them more? Because it’s hard.
Finding specifics that perfectly capture what you mean to say takes time, like this famous insult penned by Mark Twain. Instead of telling one of his critics simply, “you’re stupid,” he said this:
“Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?”
Bam.
Then there’s this awesome example, which I came across just this morning when I was listening to Beyonce’s new release, Formation.
Bey could have said “I’m a strong, powerful black woman who’s unapologetic about her massive success and proud of her Southern upbringing.”
But instead, she said “I got hot sauce in my bag. Swag.”
Just a handful of painstakingly selected words say it perfectly.
4. Don’t use sub-modifiers.
In most cases, sub-modifiers like ‘very’ and ‘extremely’ are just taking up space.
Instead of saying it’s very cold, say it’s freezing. You’re not extremely angry, you’re furious. Choose words that convey what you mean, instead of getting there with sub-modifiers.
5. Don’t use exclamation points.
I had a writing teacher in college who said that you only have a certain amount of exclamation points to use in your life. When you use them all up, you die.
In other words, use them sparingly.
When you use an exclamation point, you’re signaling to the reader that the line should be read in the voice of a giddy 12-year-old girl. Don’t believe me? Watch.
OMG! I loooooove Justin Bieber! #Baegoals!
See? This is not what we aspire to, people.
Exclamation points cheapen your writing. Once you begin to learn and appreciate this rule, you’ll see how periods make your copy so much stronger.
6. Use active voice.
Active voice is not only more pointed and direct than passive voice, it’s also a surefire way to tighten up your writing.
Passive voice: Applicants are encouraged to submit their resumes to info@tamibrehse.com.
Active voice: Submit your resume to info@tamibrehse.com.
For a quick refresher on active vs. passive voice, I like this guide from the University of Wisconsin’s Writing Center.
7. Don’t be afraid to use the word ‘you.’
I remember being taught in grad school that writing in the second person (using the word ‘you’) was strictly off limits.
Then I started working in news and learned that ‘you’ is the single most powerful word in copywriting.
‘You’ means you’re talking to the reader. It instantly brings them closer to the action. Use it.
8. Cut the word ‘that.’
It’s one of those filler words that can often be cut without losing meaning.
The house that my parents built.
She said that she wanted to come along.
Remember the time that you fell down?
The same goes for the word ‘just.’
9. Edit, edit and edit some more.
What separates average writers from great ones? It’s not writing. It’s editing.
Edit. Ruthlessly.
Got any other tips I should add to this list? Leave ‘em in the comments below.
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Tami Brehse
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Hi Tami –
Love this – sloppy content drives me nuts! The only thing I’d add would be a comment to your final bullet. Bloggers/writers should invest in an outside set of eyes (a professional copy editor) to review their posts. No matter how many times you review your own content errors pop up – outside eyes decrease the errors.
Thanks!
Julia
I totally agree, Julia. I am definitely guilty of having typos in my posts, even when I’ve proofed them multiple times. You just don’t see them when you’ve been staring at your own work for so long.