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10 Tips for Better Writing
As a proofreader of business writing, I see many of the same errors made again and again. Errors in your writing (be they in advertising copy, correspondence, or a web site) are more serious, I believe, than most people realize. Why? Well, the...
12 Point Checklist for Writing Feature Articles
1. Have you selected your intended subject topic and carefully planned out your idea? 2. Have you sent your idea query pitch to magazines or newspapers who may be interested? or will you write "on spec"? With many magazines and newspapers now...
Having Difficulty Writing A Compelling Offer? Click On A TV Infomercial!
Yes it's true. Everything I ever needed to learn about assembling a compelling offer, especially telling the difference between features and benefits, I learned from TV infomercials! Now, just give me a second here. Remember when you first started...
How to Evaluate Writing Contests: Six Starter Questions
At some point in your writing career you will probably encounter the possibility of entering writing contests. As you peruse writing newsletters and magazines, at any rate, you’ll almost inevitably find listings of competitions; you may very well...
Top Ten Tips For Writing Your Best Press Release Ever
Keep these few crucial details in mind when writing and submitting your press release to increase your chances of news coverage: 1. If you are not the news: become the news. No matter what your release is about, you need to find a way to tie...
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HOLD THAT ARTICLE! (OR 5 TECHNIQUES TO EFFECTIVE RE-WRITING)
Hold it! Don't send that article! Not just yet!
You may think you're through writing your article and that it's
now ready for publication. But after the writing, you're not
really done.
You might not know it, but you can prune down that 750-word
article you've just finished into one that's only 500 words or
less.
And guess what?
I bet the short version would still be as effective as your
original article, if not more.
Writing is all about communicating. It's about getting your
message across to your readers simply, quickly, and effectively.
You don't just send in your first draft to your editor or publish it
right away without looking it over first.
Re-writing. It's the key.
Actually, it's the most crucial step in the writing process.
It can be a frustrating thing to do especially when you're
still in "writer mode" and you believe you've written a
brilliant piece.
But realize this: Re-writing your article will definitely pay
off.
So here are 5 re-writing techniques you can use:
Technique # 1:
Stick to your central theme or idea. Don't insert bits and
pieces of information about other things. Read through your
work carefully. You're bound to find ideas, words, phrases
and sentences you can strike out.
Technique # 2:
Beware of long introductions. It's OK to start with an
introductory paragraph, but some writers tend to write
introductions that span several paragraphs. Start with the
most striking sentence, quote, or idea and then go on
from there.
Technique # 3:
Rearrange words, phrases and sentences. Often, merely
rearranging words within a sentence will shorten that sentence.
The trick here is to find prepositions
and eliminate them. Break
down long sentences that contain two or more ideas. You'll get
rid of more conjunctions, articles and prepositions that way.
Technique # 4:
Are you being redundant? If you used something like
"absolutely complete," "ask the question," "for a span of
one month," or "factual information," then you've managed
to be redundant. It's either complete or not -- you don't have
to add the "absolutely" to make your point. Do you ask a
statement? Of course not! So it's fine if you use "ask." You
say "for one month." You don't have to add "a span of." And
lastly, save yourself the trouble and use "facts" instead of
"factual information."
Technique # 5:
Get rid of dangling modifiers and participles, awkward
prepositional phrases, and unnecessary adjectives. Look
over your work to see if you have cliches. You may have
overdone your metaphors and analogies too. Find them
and cut them out.
Apply the 5 re-writing techniques on your article and you'll
get a leaner, meaner and more polished piece. And *that*
will get your piece published in more ezines and sites!
So...have you just used the 5 techniques on that article
you were about to send a while ago?
If you have, then don't keep that article sitting on your
computer -- Send it NOW!
About the Author
Shery Ma Belle Arrieta
mailto:publisher@ewritersplace.com
Shery is the creator and author of the exciting
new series of ebooks for writers, SEEDS: Ideas for the Everyday
(Non-Fiction) Writer. You can download a FREE sampler at
http://ewritersplace.com/seeds.html. The July SEEDS ebook
contains 82 idea seeds, all based on historical events.
Visit http://www.thepublishedwriter.com/report1002.html.
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| Writing.Com: Writers, Writing, Poetry, Creative Writing, Fiction ... |
| An online community dedicated to fostering writing skills. With a free membership anyone may read, write, rate, and review works. |
| www.writing.com |
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| Welcome to Writing-World.com! |
| Writing articles and resources. Tips about how to become a better writer, get published and find writing markets. From Moira Allen. |
| www.writing-world.com |
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| Guide to Grammar and Writing |
| The Guide to Grammar and Writing contains scores of digital handouts on grammar and English usage, over 170 computer-graded quizzes, recommendations on ... |
| grammar.ccc.commnet.edu |
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| Purdue University's Online Writing Lab - The OWL Family of Sites |
| Writing lab and resources. Email newsletter available. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| OWL at Purdue University: General Writing Concerns Handouts |
| This page contains important links to the writing: planning/writing/revising aspects of the OWL website. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| Writing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| The original Mesopotamian writing system was initially derived from a system of ... If it is deemed to be a written language, writing in China will predate ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Writing.org - Advice for Freelance Writers |
| Articles to help you launch a freelance writing career, from a former literary agent and PLAYBOY editor. |
| www.writing.org |
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| Writing HTML |
| More than just an HTML reference, this is a structured approach for learning how to create web pages, designed by specialists in learning at the Maricopa ... |
| www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu |
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| National Novel Writing Month - National Novel Writing Month |
| NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world. |
| www.nanowrimo.org |
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| Poynter Online |
| Apply by Dec. 11 Reporting and Writing the Untold Stories Apply by Dec. 11 ... Reporting & Writing for Multi-Platform Newsrooms. Apply by Jan. 10 ... |
| www.poynter.org |
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| Pages tagged with "writing" on del.icio.us |
| This short online course provides a practical introduction to writing fiction. During the course you will be expected to write two short pieces for ... |
| del.icio.us |
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| BBC Get Writing |
| The BBC's online resource for writing drama and comedy for television, radio and film. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
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| TOC About Writing |
| Menu of articles on writing written by professional SF/F writers. |
| www.sfwa.org |
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| 11 Rules of Writing -- a concise guide to important grammar ... |
| A concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar. |
| www.junketstudies.com |
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| NAEP Writing Subject Area |
| NAEP assesses student performance in writing periodically in grades 4, 8, and 12 for the nation, and in grades 4 and 8 for the states. |
| nces.ed.gov |
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| Writing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with writing on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
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| IPL Teenspace: A+ Research & Writing |
| Includes step-by-step instructions on researching and writing, how to find information online and offline, as well as links to useful resources. |
| www.ipl.org |
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| Dictionary.com: Writing Resources |
| Free online English dictionary and reference guide. List of sites writers can use. |
| dictionary.reference.com |
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| WritingFix: Home of Interactive Writing Prompts and 6 Trait ... |
| Daily and interactive writing prompts. |
| www.writingfix.com |
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| Advice on Academic Writing |
| Includes articles on critical reading, planning, researching, style and editing, grammar and punctuation. |
| www.utoronto.ca |
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