Language is a virus. Most writers pick up one or two pesky word bugs at the start of our careers. Engineers, for example, write approximately in front of any number they haven’t measured to at least three decimal points. Bureaucrats of all sorts learn to disseminate information and make decisions in accordance with strategic plans that have passed a stringent risk-based analysis process. If that sentence makes sense to you, the virus has already taken hold. It’s time for a 30-second … [Read more...] about 30-Second Edit: Look it up
30-Second Edit: The Two-Line Limit
There’s a limit to how much readers can take. Here’s a quick self-editing technique that all readers will appreciate. A two-line limit. About 25 words per sentence. Yes, you read that correctly, dear reader who is also a writer. About 25 words. Fewer if you can manage it. When readers reach the third line of text and still don’t see a period coming up, they start to think perhaps there’s something else they should be doing. When sentences lose their focus, readers do … [Read more...] about 30-Second Edit: The Two-Line Limit
30-Second Edits: Refocus for readers
Self-editing: flag and fix It takes a lifetime to become a writer. If you break the task into smaller steps, it’s much easier. That’s where 30 seconds of self-editing come in. Try this self-editing technique for a week. Set your timer to 30 seconds.Check the first two or three words in every sentence. Don't read, just look. Do this as a series of quick glances across and down the page.Find and fix sentences that have a weak start. Set the timer: 30 seconds Flagging and … [Read more...] about 30-Second Edits: Refocus for readers
The 30-Second Editor @ Work
30 seconds of self-editing Do you have a minute to look this over? If you're the editor at work, you've heard this question before. It's complete nonsense! But that doesn't stop writers from asking—and editors from accepting the impossible assignment. This is the moment to teach those writers how to fish! Ask them to do a little self-editing: run the spell checker first and then do a few 30-second edits. These are quick scans that help writers self-edit. Editors can also apply these … [Read more...] about The 30-Second Editor @ Work
Twitter: The Anti-Confessional
Accusation without barriers? At times, Twitter serves as the exact opposite of “information without barriers.” Beyond keeping us informed, Twitter allows users to set up barriers of the worst kind. A sort of anti-confessional prison cell. In its helpful form, Twitter is an exercise in chirping out the fresh and the obvious. Good news! The sun is up! When the news is extraordinary, we chirp a little louder. Look out! The hawk is hunting! Then, with alarming speed and purpose, the … [Read more...] about Twitter: The Anti-Confessional