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Motivation—yours and theirs The core of any half-decent piece of persuasive writing is the why. If you are looking for an outcome, you have to keep this front and centre. What will make your reader do what you’re asking? It’s both carrot and stick. These things will keep you on track. Where is the power? Even …
The second lesson in my persuasive writing masterclass is about understanding. Once you know what you want to say and can support it with the right facts, demonstrating understanding is critical. Your words need to ring with confidence. You are building trust with your reader. If you are going to persuade, expect to defend. And …
It was astonishing to hear a spokesperson from the Donald Trump camp question whether a 'fact’ even existed anymore. Her argument that ‘truth’ is in the eye of the beholder is a disturbing sign of the pervasiveness of spin, and complete rubbish. In the world that the rest of us inhabit, facts matter. While the …
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some of the ways you can get results with clever use of words. I’ll teach you how to attract someone’s attention, hold it, and get a result. Writing for outcomes is a blend of basic elements which can be ticked off in a checklist, and poetry …
Last week, I went to Forest for the Trees—a Sydney Writers’ Festival workshop—to hear industry insiders talk about the state of writing and publishing in Australia in 2016. A panel chaired by David Hunt, author of Girt: the unauthorised history of Australia and the podcast Rum, Rebels & Ratbags, talked about the rise of audio …
Continue reading "What publishers think about the future of books"
Everybody likes a system. The smooth operation of our civilisation depends on following rules. Sure, some are ill-designed, some are just stupid and others are unfair. We all flout some rules, sometimes with excellent reasons but, in the main, they stand between us and that other law—the jungle. I was reminded of this today. Volunteering …
With technical, operational, or business writing, banish anything that makes the reader work too hard understanding you—they need their energy to understand the topic. Let them see what lies ahead. Don’t trigger anxiety.
I love hyperlinking. Opening up a portal to another world through the simplest tools of highlighting, cutting and pasting has always been a special piece of magic. I am writing and editing suites of technical documents for a legal company and adore playing in the references sections. All those arcane statutes with their Parts, Divisions, …
Editors don’t rally. We’re not activists. Not in the marching in the streets ‘What do we want?’! More commas! When do we want them? Now!’ kind of way. Apart from the occasional guerrilla warfare on rogue apostrophes (who amongst us hasn’t erased one?), we prefer to do our work quietly. The Queensland Society of Editors …
Your Second Draft 