Writing For A Purpose
Everything you write should have a purpose. Without purpose, your blog posts or advice articles will be bland and difficult to read. Here are a few tips that will help you add clarity to your writing:
1. Organize Your Thoughts – Before you start writing, you should have a general idea of what you’re going to write about. If you’re making a list then you should lay out the bullet points. If you’re creating an article, you should write down the main thoughts that you want to cover. Organization will ensure that you cover all the goods without adding in the unnecessary extras.
2. Don’t Count Words – Unless you’re writing for a publication where you need to meet a specific word count, there is no reason for you to count words. By doing this, you’ll only be adding in meaningless filler or taking away powerful content. Just write what you want to write and let your quality, not quantity, do the talking.
3. Read It Afterwards – By reading your article after you’re finished, you’ll be able to reflect on it like a reader would. Reading it out loud is the best alternative, as it allows you to catch more of the errors that you would normally skim over.
There are many more tips in the blogosphere on how to improve your writing styles. One article that I found particularly useful was “Five Easy Steps to Editing Your Own Work,” by Anna Goldsmith. Check it out – and if you want even more, don’t forget to read some of the great articles on this topic in our archives.
