It’s not what you write, it’s how you write it!

Writing means sharing. It's part of the human condition to want to share things - thoughts, ideas, opinions.

Paulo Coelho

Many people ask where I get the inspiration for my blog posts, the answer is easy, I pick one of the thousands of observations I see every day, the hard bit is how to get it down on paper or errrr, screen in a reasonably coherent, interesting and hopefully sometimes entertaining way! The truth is, I used to find writing really hard, in fact, it’s one of the reasons I started this blog, I wanted to get better, so this is kind of a bit of a challenge. If you’re reading this thinking, actually, I could do a better job than that, you might just be right! Don’t let the fact that writing is hard put you off, there’s loads of help groups and forums that provide excellent, free advice.

Jane Shannon is an inspirational woman, not only was she the president of HR Communication at Citibank, she went on to become a highly successful communication consultant and the author of a highly successful book, 73 Ways to Improve Your Employee Communication Program.

She’s one of those people that makes writing look effortless, bringing text to life and helping paint clear and helpful mind pictures, (I hate her!!). In a recent interview she presented her nine simple steps to improving your writing skills, I found the steps really resonated with me, especially when I’m writing for work, perhaps they will with you?

1. Read The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.

Yes, it's a classic, but it still offers valuable advice. If you haven't read it, do so. If it's been awhile, pick it up again. As co-author William Strunk Jr. wrote: "Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts."

2. Use the word you a lot.

Shannon writes: "First of all, using the word you immediately causes you to focus on your audience. An email that starts out, 'You have an important opportunity to help our company succeed,' has a different impact than an email that begins, 'I want to share some thoughts I have on the success of the company.'"

By identifying the benefit you're offering to the reader, and then working it into a sentence that begins with the word you, you'll be amazed how much stronger that makes your writing.

3. Create more powerful headlines.

Too many headlines are labels: Introduction, Your Benefits, Departments, etc. Shannon's advice: "Instead of using labels, write a headline that highlights the most important concept you want the reader to know. That way, if the reader skims (which we all do), he or she will still have the information that matters."

4. Make it easy for readers to learn what you want them to learn.

Don't force readers to slog through stuff they don't need to know to get to the stuff they're really interested in. Title, quick intro then get stuck into the stuff you want people to know

5. Spell out acronyms and initialisms.

Every profession develops a shorthand way of speaking and writing. Your job as a writer is to make sure everyone understands. Whether it's an acronym like SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely), as in SMART goals, or an initialism (which doesn't create an actual word) like NHS for National Health Service, spell out what every term stands for in the first reference, then use the abbreviated form from that point on. I have passed this advice onto several managers at my place already!

6. If you’re writing something formal. eliminate use of the passive voice.

"Too much writing in organizations is so passive it would give a visitor from another planet the impression that a) there are no people at the company or b) if people are present, they don't engage in any activities requiring verbs," writes Shannon. "Verbs are your friends!"

When you articulate what happened in an active way ("The CEO has abolished Fridays"), it's infinitely more compelling than if you write in the passive voice ("It has been decided that the fifth day of the workweek has been dropped").

7. Use contractions.

Contractions make your writing more conversational. The voice you hear when you read sounds like a real human being when you say, "I can't live without Fridays," instead of a poorly recorded elevator voice: "I cannot imagine a life that does not include the fifth day of the week."

8. Create a table of contents that serves as a summary.

Whenever you produce a longer piece of content; a handbook, manual, or reference piece, build a table of contents to summarize what's inside. That way, people can see at a glance where to find what they need.

9. Seek constructive feedback.

"One of the hardest hurdles a writer must conquer in order to grow is getting--and gracefully accepting--feedback," Shannon writes. "But when you listen to feedback from a talented writer or editor, your work will improve. Ask someone you respect to review something you've written. Describe your concerns. For example: Is the writing brief enough? Clear enough? Then listen to what the reviewer has to say, and most importantly take the advice."

If you’ve read this far, I’m grateful, if you could give me some feedback on my writing, I’d be super grateful, thanks!

What’s on today?

Head, Eyes & Teeth – Catwa Head, Rigged Eyes and teeth - Catya v3.2

Hair – *barberyumyum* B02(blonde) Btype @ this round of Uber

Skin – [theSkinnery] Amber (Catwa Applier) sorbet

Body, Hands & Feet – Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara V4.0

Physics – Temptation – 5.5 BONUS C+ D+ SuperTease - Physics

AO – VISTA ANIMATIONS *HUD 5.33*ZOE FULL BENTO-V1 NOFACE

Shape – [Elle et Lui Style] Tiffany Shape, Catwa Bento Head Catya - Maitreya Body

Nose Piercing – ^^Swallow^^ Princess Piercing Nose 01

Tattoo – [CAROL G] Nomadic Owl - Black

Earings – (Yummy) Ornate Christmas Ball Earring @ this round of Uber