Comments on (More) tips for writing well

Cennydd Bowles — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:14:32 GMT

Austin – better late than never, but thank you for this post. I refer to it all the damn time.

Dennis Schleicher — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:06:00 GMT

Thanks Austin. Great ideas for me to use on my blog. Could you create a nice little widget that shows me how many I violate in each post? (I am guessing I am double digits!) I will try to work on one in each new post. Thank you again. I’ll buy you lunch next time we meet up.
—Dennis

Loren B — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:34:57 GMT

If everyone on the web wrote this way, I’d certainly read more of it. Thanks!

“On Writing Well” by William Zinsser goes into much more depth on a lot of this. He also recommends reading your work out loud to gain fresh perspective.

Austin Govella — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:40:59 GMT

Liz,

Those are great. I have a really tough article I’m editing now that I’ll try the context switching on. I’ll probably try a new format AND a new location.

Reading the piece backwards sounds especially good for material you’re self-editing (like blog posts).

In a similar vein, I often change context by letting something to sit for several days. The different head space helps provide a new perspective.

Liz Danzico — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:04:58 GMT

My favorite editing tricks involve getting a new perspective on the text, almost like seeing it for the first time (which is part of the value of having an editor in the first place):

1. After you finish editing it, read it one more time backwards. Not the words, but read the last paragraph, then the one before it, and so on, all the way to the beginning. You’ll see the paragraphs out of order, giving you context on the text unlike what you had before.

2. Take the text to a different format. If you were editing it on the screen before, print it out. If you were editing it in print, read it on screen. If you were editing in a coffee shop, take it home. Changing context is all you need to see something differently.

So change context however you can. And do it often.

Michael Beavers — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:51:39 GMT

Thank you for editing my piece a few years back, Austin. You helped me talk good.