The no.1 rule in learning how to write
Way back in the dark ages when I was first learning how to write, producing computer handbooks and features articles I learned a rule that improved my writing life in four ways:
- It helped me decide whether an idea had legs or not
- It helped me choose the best content for the piece
- It helped me to write pieces that were more likely to sell
- It saved me heaps of time in the planning and research stage
That rule was this: Anything you write must do one or more of the following:
Inspire • Support • Inform • Entertain If your writing does not inspire the reader in some way, maybe to do or think something different then it does not inspire.
If your writing does not resonate with the reader, showing they are not alone and pointing them in the direction of resources that will help them, then it does not support.
If your writing does not teach something useful, sharing new research, the voice of experts or fascinating facts, then it does not inform.
If your writing does not compel the reader to keep turning pages because your writers’ voice is wonderful to read, you write captivating characters engaged in a gripping plot or you are amusing, then it does not entertain.
On February 4th I ran an In Conversation Masterclass with three recently published memoirists and asked them whether their goals were to inspire, support, inform, entertain or a combination of two or more. Their answers were candid, revealing and inspiring. The video extracts below from Jo Weaver, author of 100 Days in Lockdown in Spain, Doreen Cumberford, author of Life in the Camel Lane and Margaret Ghielmetti, author of Brave(ish) will give you food for thought and help you to craft words that work – and sell!
If you want to attend a future In Conversation Masterclass, you can find a list of all my Virtual Events on my website here.
All past In Conversation Masterclasses can be watched on my YouTube channel, so be sure to sign up here.
