Is Your Writing Bland?

Ever feel like your writing is boring?

Unfortunately, creativity isn’t always born once you’ve had your morning coffee and sit happily with your fingers resting on your keyboard. And although laughter ensued last night when you shared a round with your buddies after work, your favorite bar joke isn’t the best opener when writing advertising copy, website content, a press release, or your résumé.

Still, all the factors that make you you contribute to the brand that you advertise, whether it is your company or yourself—that’s why you are writing the task at hand and not Joe OtherGuy. How do you combine charisma with your copywriting goal of having the reader take the action that you desire?

Follow these three steps to spice up your writing.

Introduce an Emotional Connection

After a recent product recall, Toyota launched an ad campaign about the safety of their cars. In a 30-second television ad, Toyota states the word “safety” seven times. Driving a car is a potentially dangerous experience, and Toyota wants consumers to associate their vehicles with safety (especially in light of the incident that could have damaged their reputation).

Toyota recognizes that buyers are concerned about their safety and the safety of their loved ones. Therefore, it is Toyota’s job to make safety their top priority.

In this case, a straightforward discussion on passenger safety appeals more to customers’ emotions (or fears) than highlighting aesthetic or superficial features of Toyota brand cars.

The concept of engaging your audience’s emotions is simple. Why did the headline of this article interest you?

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Here are two “preventative” strategies to sharpen your writing skills before you produce your final document.

1. Study and categorize advertising that you like and dislike. Use your favorite techniques in your writing. As an exercise, can you improve the campaigns that you loathe? You’ll discover ideas that may help with your own copywriting.

2. Using colloquial phrases in rough drafts is an effective way to develop and organize your ideas. However, you need a filter to recognize concepts that are not successfully translated from your mind into your document or digressions that may not be appropriate for your current project.

Copy that you think is clever, poignant, or clear may not register with your readers if it is not crafted correctly. A proofreader acts as your own personal American Idol judging panel. Feedback will determine whether you get a standing-O, or if the text was not your best performance, Dawg.

Write Without Expectations

Express one position. You rarely need to oblige every point of view. The text that you write should have one specific purpose. It’s not about pleasing everyone. Don’t expect people to love or hate your writing because you’ll encounter both reactions. Make a genuine impact with your target audience.

Bravo television currently promotes a new spin-off reality series called “Top Chef: Just Desserts,” hosted by “Top Chef” judge Gail Simmons. One of the television ads states, “You love ‘Top Chef.’ You adore Gail Simmons. Now they’re together for a brand new show that’s going to be sweet.”

The ad speaks to “Top Chef” viewers who do “adore” Gail Simmons and will watch a new show that she hosts because they are “fans.” The ad doesn’t state, “You may or may not like Gail Simmons from ‘Top Chef.’ And even if you hate her or ‘Top Chef,’ you should still watch this new reality series.” Bravo’s word choice is bold and direct.

Your audience will always have opinions. When writing for an online publication or blog, the “comments” section of your article allows the peanut gallery to weigh in on the topic. Let the conversation begin after you express your point. You will dilute your writing if you unnecessarily play devil’s advocate in order to cover “everything.”

Want to learn more simple techniques that will immediately improve your writing? Check out my new free report, Business Proofreading Tips Other Proofreaders Don’t Want You to Know: 8 Essays About Crafting Flawless Documents.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Beside vs. Besides

A proofreader is familiar with the following essential definitions that clarify when to use the word "beside" and the appropriate context for the word "besides."

Meanings of the preposition “beside”:

1. next to
2. compared to/next to
3. not connected to

Meanings of the preposition “besides”:

1. in addition to
2. other than/except

The first distinction that must be made between “beside” and “besides” is the easiest one. If you want to convey the meaning of “next to, or alongside” always use “beside.”

Associate the word “beside” with the word “alongside”. Both words end with the letters
“s-i-d-e”.

The confusing part involves the fine line between “compared to/next to” or “not
connected to” (uses of “beside”) and “in addition to” or “other than/except” (uses of
“besides”).

Let's make these differences explicit.

Beside

How do you make a comparison?

You may compare/contrast items by arranging them alongside/beside each other.

For example, if you have three apples and one orange lined up in a row alongside each
other, the orange is the one that is not connected to, or not like, the other pieces of fruit.

Beside--> Alongside--> Compared to--> Not connected to the others

“Beside” as “alongside”:

On the train, I sat beside Ellen.

“Beside” as “compared to/next to”:

Beside the world top pianist, the other piano players felt inadequate.

“Beside” as “not connected to”:

An economics lesson would be beside the theme of this post.

Besides

The phrases “in addition to” and “other than/except” may be substituted with the word “besides.” Let's make use of the fact that the word ends with the letter "s" to help us remember when to use “besides” accurately.

The letter “s” reminds us of words that are plural.

Besides--> With an "s"--> Plural--> In Addition To (Think Two or More—Plural)

In addition to the steak, we had potatoes.

Besides the steak, we had potatoes.

Besides--> With an "s"--> Except

Associate the “s” sound in the word “except” with the word “besides,” which ends with the letter “s.”

The movie was quite entertaining except for the ending.

The movie was quite entertaining besides the ending.

Although these two words look interchangeable to the untrained eye, a proofreader recognizes minor details that may be detrimental to your writing.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

What Batman Can Teach You About Proofreading

Everyone wants to be Batman.

He’s cool and edgy, but has benevolent intentions—and the man gets results.

Luckily for you, it’s easy to adopt Batman’s intriguing qualities to perfect your writing and make others believe that you rock as hard as the Caped Crusader.

Whether you’re writing for yourself (a blog, a novel, a business document, etc.) or a client, mistakes aren’t going to cut it. Your text has to be poignant, useful, and error-free.

Here are three aspects of the Batman persona that you can apply to your proofreading habits.

Costume – The importance of writing drafts

When speaking in front of an audience, it is said that the crowd forms 70% of their opinions on how you look, 20% on how you sound, and only 10% on what you say. When you apply the theory to written text, the 70% of “how you look” reflects the content and structure of your writing.

How your writing “looks” involves its appeal to the reader, and proofreading enhances appeal. Text that a writer initially believes to be straightforward may actually be vague, unclear, or forgettable.

While the design of your document can certainly play a role in your visual presentation, you perfect your composition’s “look” by not only fixing typos, spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes, but also checking for consistency, clarity, and cohesiveness (among other factors, which may or may not be words that begin with the letter “c”). Readers are more receptive to your ideas when they can easily comprehend your writing. A document full of blemishes will not hold the reader’s interest.

You often know what you want to say, but your concept is not always translated to the reader. It’s essential to review your document as if you were not the person who wrote it. If you casually proofread your own text, you may skip reading every word in a sentence, but it will likely still make sense—it won’t necessarily to someone else.

Schedule an editing session after you take a break from writing. Spending time away from your ideas and the words on the page helps you decipher how can you improve the quality of your work.

No one gets it right on the first try. Take advantage of drafts.

Writing is as much a process as drawing, painting, or sculpting. A project needs to be carefully crafted. Each step contributes to the next action, whether it’s cleaning your paintbrushes, sketching a mock-up of your vision, or writing the seedlings of your ideas down in a rough draft.

Each draft is a costume. Batman had to experiment with different versions of the “bat suit” until it was the ideal combination of aesthetics and functionality—an outfit that communicates that you don’t want to mess with Batman.

Change costumes by proofreading until you get it right. When complete, you’ll have a suit that tells a powerful story.

Gadgets – When to use resources to improve your weaknesses

Crime fighting is Batman’s goal. Communicating a clear message is yours. Stay as focused on your goal as Batman by genuinely connecting with your audience. Work with what you know, and do the appropriate research when you discuss unfamiliar topics.

Seems impossible to swiftly travel from the ground to the top of a tall building? Didn’t stop Batman. He uses resources to overcome obstacles, invent complementary gadgets, and enhance his ability to stifle bad guys.

If you forgot a punctuation rule, look it up. If a sentence is incomplete, elaborate. If a paragraph is convoluted, simplify. Thorough proofreading examines each word and kicks it to the curb if it can be replaced with a more effective option.

Don’t take any aspect of your text for granted. Everyone knows that grammar mistakes make your writing look sloppy, but fixing them isn’t always a writer’s priority.

It reminds me of a Chinese story about the monk, Birdsnest, who lived in a tree and gave the most profound advice in China. When the governor of the land visited Birdsnest, the guidance that the monk told the officer was simple, “Don’t do bad things. Always do good things.”

Feeling cheated by this obvious statement, the governor exclaimed, “I knew that when I was three years old!”

“Ah, yes,” Birdsnest replied. “The three-year-old knows it, but the eighty-year-old still finds it difficult to do.”

Tone – The benefits of writing and editing with confidence

The sound of Bruce Wayne’s voice changes when he becomes Batman. The deeper, firm tone of the winged vigilante is not a frivolous characteristic; it is an intentional display of confidence.

Batman doesn’t worry about pleasing everyone. Unapologetically write from your point of view, but don’t be sloppy or careless.

After writing a draft, confidently make changes to weak sections. To proofread meticulously, you don’t merely spot glaring errors, you recognize the message that the text intends to convey and ensure that each word in the document contributes to that purpose.

Batman doesn’t ask for permission; he’s in a class of his own.

When people find out that I’m a proofreader, I’ve often received the flippant reaction, “Oh, that’s nice. I’m a sales manager, but I’m thinking of picking up some extra proofreading work on the side. What do you really want to do?” Another popular reply is, “But you actually want to be a writer, don’t you?”

If you’re an entrepreneur or aspire to leave a nine-to-five job to pursue creative interests, the same individuals may also smile politely at the sound of your dreams, arrogantly thinking the ubiquitous phrase, “Don’t quit your day job.”

As a proofreader, I get to write, re-write, and revise. I’m not just any proofreader; I’m the Batman of proofreaders. I play a vital role in the writing process and transform copy to a polished level of flawlessness.

No matter what you do, be Batman. It’s about doing what no one else does.

It wasn’t a radioactive spider bite, non-Earthling birth status, or mutated genetics that bestowed Bruce Wayne with the talent to be a superhero. He’s a guy that decided to kick ass no matter what.

Batman reminds us:

Don’t quit your night job.

Bruce Wayne may be a necessary part of life, but listen to your Batman-calling to be something extraordinary.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Regard vs. Regards

The word “regard” can be used as a verb or a noun.

As a noun, the word expresses "an aspect or thought":

In regard to your question, no, I do not prefer sugar in my coffee.

The noun also references “a point or aspect”:

In this regard, I like bitter coffee.

“Regard” can also be utilized as a verb to signify “having esteem”:

After hearing his presentation, I highly regard Dr. Smith’s intelligence.

Regard

“Regard” is the word that you want to use if you aim to express any of the above thoughts (or any of the other meanings of the word “regard”).

Regards

“Regards” should be used in two specific circumstances.

1. “Regards” is used only as a noun related to emotions.

For example:

- “Linda has not been feeling well.”
- “Oh, really? I’m sorry to hear that! Please send her my regards.”

In the above example, you are feeling an emotion or sentiment about Linda’s illness, so you want to send her your good wishes.

2. The verb “regard” transforms into “regards” when related to a singular noun or pronoun:

-I regard
-You regard
-He/she/it regards
-They regard

That’s it! Use “regard” (or a form of "regard") unless you are sending your feelings of empathy to someone else!

In conversation, if you say “regard” instead of “regards,” or vice versa, what you intend to express may still be understood by listeners; if you tend to confuse these two words when writing text, check that you use the appropriate option while proofreading.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.