Useful writing techniques....

Richard --

Thank you so much for posting this. Opens up whole ideas for me from the research standpoint. Has some close ties to my "The Instant Expert" method from our book. I'll have to think about how they mesh.

Thanks again!

-- Dan Butler

> Dien,

> I agree with Jason. Except he’s more
> mentally organized than I am. My thoughts
> come out in order in spurts, but mostly,
> they’re all over the board. My procedure
> below reflects this.

> You don’t specifically say it’s sales
> materials you want to write. Here’s my
> procedure in writing an article, but I do
> much the same for a sales letter, too. Only
> the research is different.

> 1. Choose a subject you know.
> 2. Using a hand-held tape recorder, record
> every thought on the subject. I like the
> cheap Olympus Pearlcorder with variable
> speed playback. (About $40 at OfficeMax)
> 3. Transcribe the tape onto disk.
> 4. Research keywords using
> http://www.ixquick.com/ 5. Find related
> websites.
> 6. When you find useful info, talk it into
> the recorder in your own words.
> 7. Print.
> 8. Categorize & label each thought into
> an idea ("oranges," "palmetto
> bugs," "artichokes," etc.).
> 9. Rearrange on disk, putting all thoughts
> about oranges first, then palmetto bugs,
> then artichokes, etc.
> 10. Print.
> 11. Prioritize the main points under
> "oranges," 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
> 12. Re-write each idea by priority.
> 13. Print.
> 14. Fill in any missing points.
> 15. Prioritize each idea in the subject,
> starting with the most important.
> 16. Print.
> 17. Edit out the extras and redundancies.
> 18. Read & edit, read & edit, read
> & edit, until it all makes sense.
> 19. Read the article again each of the next
> 5 days. Edit where necessary.

> By the way … I have the tape recorder with
> me at all times, in “record” position, pause
> button on. Whenever an idea comes, I grab
> it. Of course, transcribing is a chore, but
> some of this has to be work.

> The key part is the editing. So let’s focus
> in more on it.

> What a reader wants most is clear, simple,
> understandable statements. When they get
> long-winded, sleep-inducing paragraphs,
> they’re gone.

> Editing Tips:

> 1. Keep or improve the meaning. Simpler
> isn't necessarily better. When you edit,
> focus on the meaning.

> 2. Sharpen the meaning. Fewer, simpler words
> usually clarify with less chance of
> misunderstanding.

> 3. Delete extra or redundant words. Some
> sentences or paragraphs or articles repeat
> the same exact thing over and over, again
> and again, ad infinitum. (And if that
> sentence sounds fine to you, re-read the one
> before it.) You may well want to repeat an
> idea LATER in the article … but not in one
> sentence.

> 4. Downsize your words. Learn from the
> greatest, most memorable songs. Their short
> words convey clear meaning. "Ole Man
> River," for example:

>
> http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/pennvalley/biology/lewis/crosby/olmanriver.html
> 100+ words, total clarity, and only one
> word more than 2 syllables. When you write,
> keep your thesaurus nearby and replace long
> words with short ones.

> 5. Keep your readers. If you write clearly,
> they'll figure you think clearly. (And
> they're probably right.) If you also choose
> good subjects, they'll stick around.

> Below are 3 paragraphs from 3 random ezines,
> followed by an edited version.

> NOTE: I'm not picking on anybody. I have the
> greatest respect for people who actually DO
> something. I'd have even more respect if
> they would EDIT something.

> #1:
> "In previous written works, I have
> touched on the aspect of publishing a
> newsletter as a means of promoting your
> business. Why? Simply because I, along with
> thousands of other successful entrepreneurs
> have discovered that newsletter publishing
> ranks high in the most effective marketing
> concepts of an on-line business." (49
> words)

> Edit:
> "To promote your online business,
> publish a newsletter. Why? Because it works
> like crazy." (14 words)

> #2:
> "It usually takes 6-7 sales
> presentations before a prospect turns into a
> customer. You won't have the chance to make
> those presentations, however, if you haven't
> developed a mechanism for ongoing
> communication. That's why it is necessary
> for you to employ several different methods
> of collecting site visitors email
> addresses." (50 words)

> Edit:
> "You may need 6-7 sales presentations
> to turn a prospect into a customer. So you
> absolutely MUST collect visitors' email
> addresses for automatic re-contact."
> (24 words)

> #3:
> "If you scroll down today's issue,
> you'll notice a new section entitled
> "Web Reviews". Every Friday I'll
> be scouring the Web to find a selection of
> some of the most useful sites for Internet
> marketers. These sites are *not*
> advertisements, but have been chosen
> independently by myself to feature in this
> e-zine because they have something that you
> might be able to use. Some of the sites may
> be commercial in nature, but my choice of
> sites is not going to be influenced in any
> way by this, so you won't see any affiliate
> links in the "Web Reviews"
> section." (100 words)

> Edit:
> "Announcing a new section: "Web
> Reviews." Each week I scour the Web for
> the top Internet marketing sites. Some
> listings are commercial, but the reviews
> aren't ads. None is an affiliate link. Do
> yourself a favor and check out these
> successful sites. Learn from them. Model
> them." (47 words)

> See what I mean? Each edit conveys or
> improves the idea & clarity, yet each
> edit is fewer than half the words of the
> original. And each edit took just 3 or 4
> minutes.

> This isn't hard. It only requires you to:

> 1. Write down all your thoughts on a
> subject.
> 2. Focus clearly on what's important.
> 3. Delete the excess.

> I spend way more time editing than on any
> other part of the writing process.

> Richard Dennis




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