8 Writing Tips for 2023
...and my permission to ignore them all.
Happy New Year, all!
I’m not a big fan of making New Year’s resolutions that are hard to keep and/or leave you in despair. I’ve already found myself on the brink of tears this week while trying to learn how to crochet Star Wars amigurumi. (The noble resolution that led me to this crochet crisis: instead of wasting time on social media, I will learn how to make something!).
I am persisting (for now) with my new crocheting hobby because I am a fan of learning new things and of developing new habits. With that in mind, I want to offer you a mix of familiar and new tips for making your writing clearer and your writing process less frustrating in 2023.
At the same time, I want to give you permission to *not* follow these suggestions at times when you think your writing is better without them. But if you aren’t going to follow them, you should know why you’re not. Want to say “I literally died of embarrassment” even though we all know you didn’t? Go for it. But make that decision because you think the sentence works in the context of what you’re writing—not because you haven’t considered the fact that you (literally!) did not literally die of embarrassment.
See below for my New Year’s tips (and please let me know if you have any crocheting advice).
Tip #1: Cut words you don’t need.
I repeat this advice a lot because people do not follow it enough. You should actually, basically, essentially, literally cut all those filler words from your sentences. They completely and totally water down your message and really take up space.
Whenever I give this advice in a writing workshop, at least one person disagrees with my examples. We like our filler words, especially if we think they soften bad news or make us sound friendlier. Fair enough. But before you keep those extra words, ask these questions:
What are you trying to achieve with this word?
If you cut it, does your sentence lose anything?
If you keep it, will you water down your message?
If you answer these questions and still feel strongly about keeping the word, keep it. Otherwise, you should literally let it go.
Tip #2: Know when to use active verbs.
Make people do things in your sentences if they are doing things in your life. Use active verbs to make your prose clearer and sharper; the using of the passive should be saved for when it doesn't matter who is doing what and when you want to emphasize the action rather than the actor (think: “the votes were counted”).
I’ve seen a lot of writing advice about active vs. passive that says active is always better. This is wrong! You should use what makes sense for your sentence. But if you write a lot of long and confusing passive sentences, try to follow this basic principle: Make people do things in your sentences unless you have a good reason not to.
Tip #3: Step away from the jargon.
It will be a win-win in this new normal of 2023 if you hit the ground running and avoid leveraging jargon in your writing. (See what I did there?)
Last week, Elon Musk tweeted this jargon-filled sentence: "New Twitter will strive to optimize unregretted user-minutes.”
Before you use jargon, ask these questions:
Do you want to live in a world where everyone writes sentences like Elon’s? (No!)
Will your audience understand the jargon you’re using? (Maybe!)
Will your prose be clearer without the jargon? (Almost always!)
Is there ever a good reason to use the jargon? It’s helpful to distinguish between jargon and useful terms from your field. For example, I am not a fan of “leverage” as a verb, but many people use it. If everyone in your field uses it, you may choose to do so.
On the other hand, no one needs to write sentences like these: Today’s mission-critical, impactful writing action item is to leverage your ability to create clear, future-proof writing deliverables by recognizing that utilizing jargon will not optimize your product. Inbox me for high-impact strategies for never writing sentences like these.
Tip #4: Move your best ideas to the beginning.
Look at the end of your first draft for your most important ideas. Then consider putting those ideas at the beginning of your document. We figure out what we think as we write (which is a big reason not to outsource your writing to ChatGPT—more on that soon!). Your reader doesn’t always need to travel that same meandering path to your main point.
Will there be times when you want to build slowly to that great point at the end? Sure. In those cases, keep it where it is. I’m talking about the times when you have to work through your thoughts before you know what you want to say. In those cases, bring that point to the beginning and cut what you don’t need.
Tip #5: Stop repeating yourself!
Stop doubling up on words, sentences, and paragraphs. In other words, no need to say the same thing in multiple words, sentences, and paragraphs. (See what I did there?) When we’re not sure we’re being clear, we tend to try out different versions of the same points. It’s easy to see this when you’re repeating words (any and all, tried and true) and harder to see it in sentences and paragraphs when the repetition might be more subtle. When you edit a draft, try highlighting repetition in different colors and then delete what you don’t need.
Are there exceptions? Sure. You may want to repeat something to emphasize it. But if that’s not what you’re doing, delete.
Tip #6: Think about your audience.
What do your readers need to know and what do they NOT need to know? If I suddenly started writing here about how much I like avocados, would that be distracting to those in search of writing advice? I could keep the avocado mention if I thought you’d be amused. But if I’m trying to get right to the point, I should cut the distractions. We often think about what our readers need to know, but we sometimes forget to think about what they don’t need to know.
Another big thing readers often don’t need to know: All the thinking you did before you figured out your main point (see Tip #4).
Tip #7: Write a messy first draft.
Get all your ideas out first and worry about organization later. Jot down ideas, write sentence fragments, put in subheadings that you won’t keep in the final version, write out of order—whatever works to get those ideas on the screen.
If you get something down right away, you won't be staring at a blank screen, and you'll be a step closer to figuring out what you want to say.
If you don’t like the messy first draft, try a flexible outline: Make a list of all your points and move them around to see how they fit together.
Tip #8: Ignore my advice!
If you don’t want to follow the advice above, don’t. But ignore it on purpose after considering it—and make sure you have a good reason for ignoring it.
Your writing will be clearer and more effective if you make conscious choices about what to keep, what to cut, and what to revise.
What’s coming up in 2023: The release of ChatGPT has left me wondering how much longer people will do their own writing—and what the writing process will look like for those who choose to use AI. I believe that we figure out what we think—and why—through writing, and I worry about the consequences of outsourcing our thinking to machines. I’ll be paying close attention to this in 2023, and I’ll be back soon with tips on how to know when to listen to AI writing tools and when to ignore them.
As always, please let me know what you think by commenting or replying to this newsletter. Best wishes for 2023!
Jane
Thank you for this. I will apply for a scholarship and I need to write essays, this will really come in handy!
Great advice, including the advice to ignore your advice. As Douglas Bader put it, "rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men (sic)." Are we wise enough to know when a rule should be ignored?
I also agree with you 100 per cent about leverage as a verb.