10 Clear Ideas for writing well.

1. Answer the question: “Why am I writing?”

We’re taught that it’s important to fill up pages, impress people, and be right. Those goals will
rarely (make that never) result in clear thinking or clear writing. Instead, define a clear
objective for writing your memo, report, proposal, email, or letter.

Write a sentence like this and tape it to your monitor to remind you why you’re sitting there
tapping on the keyboard: “After reading my report, my manager will approve my budget.”
Then, ask yourself : “Do all my ideas support that goal? Am I giving my reader everything she
needs (and only what she needs) to compel her to approve my budget?”


2. Know your reader

I mean really know your reader. Not just a name, or a demographic, or a subscriber number.
But who they are, how they think, what’s important to them, and why and how and when are
they readers of your stuff. Learn to speak your reader’s language.

The great crime writer Elmore Leonard said it perfectly when asked why all his books become best  sellers: “I leave out the parts people skip.” That’s genius. He has his material down cold and an accurate bead on his reader’s expectations. And he delivers the suspenseful shot they so crave.
 

3. Plan, write, revise, edit.

In that order. We’ve all struggled with the editor in our heads who won’t let us go on to
sentence number two until we’ve polished sentence number one.
Fire that editor. Do it now.

There.

Now you can write to your heart’s content. Just get your ideas down. Turn off that annoying
spell checker. (It doesn’t know the difference between form and from any way...oops I mean
anyway.) You can fiddle with the sentences later. Choose different words. Rearrange things.
Oh, and follow the advice in Clear Idea #8 instead of using spell checker.


4. Perfectly sliced tomatoes.

Remember the Ginsu Knives commercials that ran on late-night TV? Those people sold millions of dollars worth of knives thanks to seven simple words. “Look how easily it cuts a tomato.”

They showed us what we really wanted. Perfectly sliced tomatoes, not a knife. Looking at that
guy slice through those rosy beefsteaks, I could almost taste their wonderful sweetness. And so could millions of other people who ordered Ginsu Knives.

People make decisions based on benefits not features. The next time you’re pondering how to
start a letter, or planning a presentation, or editing your web site, think about the people who
have to listen to you. And imagine perfectly sliced tomatoes.


5. Information is useless.

The information superhighway. How quaint. Technology, tempered by wisdom, has evolved
the information age into the knowledge age. Most people despise data and crave context. Your
job as a communicator is to show your readers why what you think is so vitally important is
so vitally important to them. We all ask: “What’s in it for me?” Give your readers relevance,
context, and meaning.


6. Give yourself the freedom to think.

Have you ever been stuck in traffic? Do you like those moments? No? Well, I invite you to
cherish those opportunities!

That’s right. The next time you’re stuck behind the paving crew, turn off your radio, shut
down your iPod Touch (gosh they’re cool!), mute your cell phone (you’ve got voice mail!) and
think.

Here’s the thing: Being stuck in traffic is one of the few moments during our waking hours
when nobody expects anything from us! (except to move forward inch by inch) Seize the
opportunity!
And while you’re thinking, ask yourself a bunch of simple questions like the ones you see
among these Clear Ideas. The fact is, the best solution will come to you when you’re     not    trying to solve the problem. Try it and see for yourself. It’s a Zen experience.

7. Make your writing transparent.

Clear writing is like a window. Your ideas are the view. You don’t want your reader to think: “Gosh, that’s a clever sentence” and tap on your double-paned glass.  Instead your reader ought to be thinking: “Wow, this guy makes sense. I want what he’s selling.” Your ideas are the heroes, not the words.

 
8. Read your writing out loud.

Before you send your document, print it, get up from your desk, and walk down the hall
reading it out loud. A few things will happen.

First, you’ll get bored. Bored! Man, if you’re bored by your own writing, just imagine how
triple-bored your reader will be! Strive to thrill yourself with what you write.

Second, you’ll get confused. That’s because your sentences contain too many ideas. How many ideas should each sentence contain? One! Just one.

Third, you’ll run out of breath while reading. That’s another signal that your sentences are
too long (or you need to jump on the treadmill three times a week).

And finally, you’ll catch typos you’re...oops, your spell checker missed.


9. Ask a lot of simple questions.

Here are a few to get you started: “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” Your reader is
asking those questions as he reads your letter, memo, report, proposal, email, or analysis. If
you don’t answer them for him, he’ll get distracted and bored and toss your proposal in the
trash after a couple of paragraphs.

And here’s the best question of all: “So what?” After you write each sentence, think about what
it means, the idea in the sentence, and ask yourself “So what?” The answer is always a much
more compelling idea.


10. Be clear

The essence of clear writing is to focus on being clear. So often, we simply pour out
everything on our minds – in any which way – and dump it in our reader’s lap. The next
time you’re about to reach for the “send” or “print” key, pause and ask yourself: “Are my
ideas clear? Will my reader understand this?”