Use them to change, not intensify, meaning
Beware adverbs, counsels The Poynter Institute’s Roy Peter Clark.
Too often, they dilute the meaning of the verb or repeat it: “The building was completely destroyed.”… Read the full article
Writing and editing
When to use adverbs and adjectives
‘Applewood-smoked bacon’ just tastes better
Turns out a Southwestern Tex-Mex salad by any other name would not taste as good.
Vivid menu descriptions — “applewood-smoked bacon,” “Maytag blue cheese” and “buttery plump pasta,” for instance — can increase restaurant sales up to 27 percent, according to research by Brian Wansink.… Read the full article
Why avoid adjectives or adverbs?
They make journalists cry ‘hype’ & more
Why cut adjectives and adverbs from your copy?
Because modifiers:
1. Strike journalists as hype
Writing media relations pieces?… Read the full article
Why cut the marketing fluff from your web page?
Hype reduces reading, sharing — even sales
When “king of usability” Jakob Neilsen cut the fluff from a web page about Nebraska, the neutral web page was 27% more useful.… Read the full article
Use WIIFM communication for news release leads
Move from event to impact to engage readers
Screenwriter Nora Ephron long remembered the first day of her high school journalism class.
Ephron’s teacher announced the first assignment: to write the lead for a story to appear in the student newspaper.… Read the full article
Answer What’s In It For Me (WIIFM)
Position your message in the reader’s best interest
Too often, communicators think the topic is the topic. But the topic is never the topic. The reader is always the topic.… Read the full article
How to write with benefits vs. features
What can readers do differently with your stuff?
What’s the difference between benefits and features?
Features
A feature is what it is:
Multitrack recording tools
Documentation repositories
Wearable technology webinars
When you get to the feature, you will have arrived at a noun — tools, repositories, webinars.… Read the full article
Why is the writing process important?
It helps you Write Better, Easier & Faster
When I’m feeling whiny about how hard writing is, I turn to my file of quotes from the pros.… Read the full article
How to overcome writer’s block
Work with, not against, your brain
I don’t believe in writer’s block. Never had time for it. Blank page? I’ll take two, please. I’ve never met the muse.… Read the full article
Creative templates outperform thinking outside the box
Templates more effective than brainstorming, free association
Can creativity be templated?
Yes it can, according to a team of Israeli researchers.
In 1999, the researchers studied 200 ads that had been award winners or finalists in top advertising competitions.… Read the full article