Free Writing Tips

At two of my recent writing workshops, I figured many participants would want to devote some time to discussing the use of photos to complement text – whether that text was for a brochure, newsletter, email blast, website, or other material. If this is not a concern of yours, you have an excused absence. See you next week. But if this topic does appeal to you, here are a few thoughts.

Get real

As writers, we concentrate on themes, story angles, correctness, conciseness, word choice, and an assortment of other ingredients crucial to crafting a highly effective message. But how do our carefully conceived words stack up against a nifty design or compelling photo? Research has consistently revealed a decided edge in favor of design elements. They grab readers’ attention. So how do we handle this reality? With a “life ain’t fair” attitude or an “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” resolve? I say, “Join ’em.”

Use photos to advantage

Because I am in no way a designer, I won’t attempt to address aesthetic issues; I merely want to note a few common failings in making sure our photos advance our writing objectives.

Think twice about photos with more than three or four people. Yes, occasionally large group shots reinforce our message. A horde of runners at a 5-K fundraising race or a slew of volunteers serving meals might hit the mark, but generally we want to enable the reader to focus on a few faces. A long shot of hundreds of people at a banquet rarely conveys more than simply noting that our event attracted a record crowd of 360 people. Moreover, naming more than three or four people in a caption gets tedious (but, granted, that might be necessary if six VIPs in hardhats attended our groundbreaking).

Don’t fake it. Sure, action shots are best, but if no opportunity for that presents itself, don’t contrive a photo that will look phony. (The classic is two people earnestly pointing at something they are reading.) It’s better to just concede that the shot is posed and have the principals smile and look at the camera, especially if the surroundings provide valuable context.

Maintain quality standards. Given a choice of using a relevant but poor photo or going without a photo, I vote for the latter. Presenting a shoddy shot in our newsletter ranks with announcing an event that has already passed. Both make us look amateurish.

Make captions pay off

(Drum roll, please.) Particularly pertinent for writers are a couple of reminders about captions:

Consider moving a key point from body copy to a caption. (Remember, we said readers tend to pay much more attention to photos.) So if the fundraiser will enable 100 families to obtain subsidies for summer camp tuition for their kids – and we aren’t using a camp picture – why not include this key fact in the caption for the fundraiser photo?

Don’t bother saying something in the caption that is self-evident. (Supporters enjoyed bidding on dozens of items in the silent auction.) Amplify! (Items donated to the silent auction by more than 60 local businesses generated an additional $83,000 for the new day care center.)

Bottom line

Anyone who uses pictures in communicating knows we can never have too many compelling photos. A strong photo is gold, and we want to spend that treasure wisely.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

So was Hamlet confronting an existential moment … or just contemplating grammar? He probably was composing an email and noticed how often he’d relied on the unexciting verb “to be” (“I am,” “you are,” “she will have been,” “they were,” “we had been,” etc.). No wonder the poor guy was so anxious and perplexed. Overusing forms of “to be” is a common failing when we want to lend more zest or finesse to our writing.

Not to worry, though. Here’s a quick practice session on using a lively verb or verb phrase in lieu of some form of “to be” – or just eliminating “to be.” (Note that sometimes “to be” is part of a phrase that contains a strong verb, such as in “Dawn was ejected from the team” or “Drew will be honored for his efforts.” That’s fine. We’re focusing on forms of “to be” when they’re not linked to a strong verb.)

Your challenge sentences

1. Dave will be responsible for the refreshments.
2. I believe I introduced you to Dina, who is our newest life trustee.
3. At the end of his orientation, Dan was skillful at fielding questions.
4. Did you remember to collect all the flowers that were left on the stage?
5. Deb and Don are excellent at building client loyalty.
6. Several of us were wondering who will be the best candidate.
7. DeeDee should be the chair of the panel because she is someone we all respect.

My suggested solutions

1. We can improve “will be responsible for.” Dave will handle (or manage) the refreshments.
2. We can delete “who is.” I believe I introduced you to Dina, our newest life trustee.
3. We can improve “was skillful at fielding.” At the end of his orientation, Dan skillfully fielded questions.
4. We can delete “that were.” Did you remember to collect all the flowers left on the stage?
5. We can improve “are excellent.” Deb and Don excel at building client loyalty.
6. We can improve “will be.” Several of us were wondering who will emerge as the best candidate.
7. We can improve “should be the chair” and “is someone.” DeeDee should chair the panel because she commands everyone’s respect. 

Postscript

“To be” is a cornerstone of our communication. It will always be the verb we use the most. But when we are writing something that deserves extra time, a sure way to add a touch of elegance is making a few edits like the ones above.

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.

A certain presidential candidate is fond of the word “tremendous.” (A few days ago I heard him use it five times in 20 seconds.) So does the failure to use fresh language disqualify a candidate for high office? Even a word nerd like me would say no, but I do think each of us should pay attention to words we’re overly reliant on in written communications.

As a starter kit, I’ll pick on two words I find too commonplace in business writing, and you can take it from there.

Tremendous

Like a ball ricocheting off the sides of a pinball machine, “tremendous” seems to bounce around in the workplace at a dizzying clip: tremendous opportunity, tremendous job, tremendous advantage, tremendous resource, tremendous month. Does the word communicate? Sure. That’s why we use it so much. But the editing process gives us an opportunity to transcend the way we normally communicate and use language that wields more impact.

Let’s examine how we can refine a sentence just by focusing on this one word.

Hannah did a tremendous job on yesterday’s event.

Level one. How about using a fresher adjective to enhance the compliment? Maybe exceptional or superb or terrific or exemplary. (Probably not amazing or awesome if we’re aiming for freshness, but those words do have zing.)

Level two. Instead of being content with a fresh adjective, how about specifying why or how Hannah excelled? Hannah expertly prepared every speaker for yesterday’s event. 

Quality

This often seems to be a default word that expresses little: quality program, quality product, quality team, quality performance, quality job. (And let’s also put a target on the back of high-quality, as in high-quality investments, as if other firms specialize in low-quality investments.)

The trick, of course, is to identify what distinguishes our company or organization so we can employ more exacting language – language that will make our communications more compelling.

Your library

Today’s post echoes previous ones that focused on aiming for precision in our writing. Here are a few:

http://www.normfriedman.com/blog/using-twains-very-fine-advice/

http://www.normfriedman.com/blog/beware-of-the-cliche-drawer/

http://www.normfriedman.com/blog/precision/

http://www.normfriedman.com/blog/precision-encore/

In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.