Leads, Words, and Voice
Yet another week of improving my writing. So what did I learn this week you might ask? Well, a ton about leads, words and voice. Don’t worry, I’ll get more specific for you as we go along. It is important that when we are writing, we are able to draw the reader in, eliminate distractions, and find a voice that our readers will gravitate towards. These three elements will provide a strong piece and further improve your readability.
Leads
The lead of your piece is one of the most important aspects to get right. You don’t want a boring first, second or even third sentence. Your reader will get bored and either skim the remainder of the document, or even worse “X out” of your page. You must draw the reader in from the very first sentence. They must be so intrigued by what you have to say, they just can’t help reading more. A good way to think about writing your lead is to include interesting or novel facts or opinions. This will leave the reader thinking: “No way!” or “That’s cool, I didn’t know that.” After this, is when you can hook the reader with your hard facts and explain to the reader why what you have to say is so important.
Words
Even professional writers are constantly struggling with finding the right words. They might ask themselves: “Does this have a good rhythm?” or “Should I include an adjective here?” When it comes to selecting your word choice, there are a few good tips to keep in mind:
Use active verbs over passive verbs:
Active verbs will push a sentence forward and give it better momentum. Passive verbs will drag a sentence down and create excess clutter.
Adjectives can be unnecessary:
Although it’s fine to use a describing word here and there, a writer should decrease the use of them to reduce clutter.
Contractions are good:
Despite what your high school English teacher told you, a contraction can add warmth to any sentence, making you more relatable to the reader.
Keep paragraphs short:
Erasing unnecessary sentences in your paragraphs will allow for conciseness and clarity.
By incorporating these tidbits into your writing, you will find that your content has become straight to the point and easier to understand.
Voice
Finding your voice in any scenario can be difficult for many people. Whether it is with friends, a professor, or a coach, it can be hard to know just the “right” way to say something. Finding your voice in your own writing is no exception to this obstacle. The easiest way to do this is to simply be yourself. I know, cliché, right? Well, it’s true. Especially in blog style writing, you should write how you speak. This will allow for a more authentic you that shines through in your pieces. In Writing for (not by) the Ear by Donnell King, he discusses the benefits of writing how you would talk on a day-to-day basis. Some of his suggestions include using “you” and “I” as well as paraphrasing over quoting. Using these ideas will improve your voice, draw in the audience and connect them to you as the writer.
I hope you learned a little something today about how to further improve your writing. These ideas are primarily focused on drawing in your audience and keeping them. By doing this, your content creation will be worthwhile and gain recognition faster than ever before.
Hi! My name is Kristin Ardese and I am a professional Graphic Designer and Marketing Strategist. I hope that by sharing some of my expertise, I can help offer valuable insights and build an engaging community.
