Right Attitudes » Ideas for Impact
» by Nagesh Belludi

Stephen King “On Writing”

Blogger Henrik Edberg at the ‘Positivity Blog’ shares the following tips from celebrated science-fiction writer Stephen King’s book “On Writing.”

• Get to the point. Do not waste your reader’s time with too much back-story, long intros or longer anecdotes about your life. Reduce the noise.
• Write a draft. Then let it rest. King recommends that you crank out a first draft and then put it in your drawer to let it rest. This enables you to get out of the mindset you had when you wrote the draft and get a more detached and clear perspective on the text.
• Cut down your text. When you revisit your text, it is time to kill your darlings and remove all the superfluous words and sentences. Removing will de-clutter your text and often get your message through with more clarity and a bigger emotional punch.
• Be relatable and honest. One of the keys to doing that is to have an honest voice and honest characters with both bad and good sides to them. People we can relate to with all of their faults, passions, fears, weaknesses and good moments. Another key to being honest and relatable is keeping a conversational style.
• Write a lot. To become a better writer you probably—and not so surprisingly—need to write more.

Call for Action

Communication is all about the audience: it is about leading the audience to comprehend a message and identify your point of view. The above writing tips will help you focus on your message–be it in a speech, a blog post, an essay or an email.

To add to the above tips, as we have discussed in an earlier blog article, the most effective start to the communication process is to begin at the end and enumerate the outcome–the conclusions the audience should draw. This helps you collect and present ideas logically and thus lead the audience to those desired conclusions.

***See other articles related to persuasion, written communication, general communication, verbal communication, public speaking, presentation skills