7 Ways to Improve Your Writing ASAP!

Many of you would love to write more compelling blog posts, articles or web copy.


You’ve heard all the old advice. Practice makes perfect. Get your 10,000 hours in. Just show up and write.


And of course, that’s all a good idea. It just takes so danged long.
Meanwhile, I’ve got a couple of fast ways you can improve your writing immediately. No waiting for that pesky, tedious “practice” to kick in.


Way better.


Be concise and be clear


You’ve heard this one a million times. Tight, concise, easy-to-read pieces are heaven for readers. Long, complex, convoluted ones are just confusing.


Very often, the longer you write, the less you hold a reader’s interest.


If you can’t say it simply in just a few words, then you’ve lost readers. Write short, write lean, andwrite clearly, so you don’t have to waste words explaining what you’ve just written.


Keep it short


Not your writing (although that’s a good idea), but your line length.
Interestingly, people actually read longer lines faster. But fast reading isn’t necessarily what you want them to be doing. You want readers to be absorbing what you wrote, understanding your message, and reading comfortably as well.


So go for short. Set your page layout so that it’s not full width, or if you need that full width, keep sentences short and use plenty of paragraph breaks.


100 characters per line is optimal for speed — but about 45 characters is best for reader comfort.


Stick to three


3 is a magic number.


It’s said that people can process 7 bits of information (more or less) at a time. But the number that’s most compelling is the one we like the best: 3.


So have 3 bullet points. 3 steps, 3 strategies. Use the number 3 as often as you can.


Not only will you capture better reader interest by doing so, but you’ll improve your readers’ ability to remember what you’ve written. We tend to chunk information into groups of three, and recall those triads more easily.


Watch your tone


It’s easy for writers to assume readers can pick up on our mood and tone from our writing.


After all, we certainly know our feelings, humor, intent, and state of mind at the time we write. But for readers, it’s clear as mud. They’re guessing at your tone — and they may guess wrong.


Here’s an example:


Honey. Please.


Was I exasperated and rolling my eyes? Smiling and gently teasing? Acidly sarcastic? Or maybe just eating toast and reaching for the bear-shaped bottle?


As a reader, you have no idea unless the words around that phrase cue you into my written tone.


Talk Food, Sex, and Danger...


Susan Weinschenk from What Makes Them Click is writing a great series called 100 Things You Should Know About People.


Go check it out. It’s good. Seriously good.


In this resource, Susan mentions that our brains always ask the following questions:


Can I eat it? Can I have sex with it? Will it kill me?


Nice.


Nice for you, too, because if you want people to pay more attention to your writing, bring up those big three (there’s that number again). Use stories and examples that touch on aspects of food, sex, or danger.


Add descriptors or associative words. Pair it with a nice picture, if you’d like. It’ll glue them to the page.


Break it up


Time and again, I see writers spooling out long, chunky paragraphs.
No, no, no.


Make it easy for people to read your work. The easier it is, the more they’ll get your point and enjoy reading — and that’s what you want.


Reading online is tiring (yes, even for you fresh-eyed Gen Ys out there). So you need to do everything you can to make it less of a strain.


 No more than three sentences to a paragraph, please, and keep those sentences short.
 Add bullet points and subheads to guide people along.
 Oh, and bump up that font size, would you? Tiny means squint, and that’s no good.


Stay on topic


I know how tough this one is — I commit the crime of wandering too often myself, and have to make sure I don’t stray too far from my main point.


If I add too many points to a piece of writing, readers get confused about the main point of my post. They’ll be confused about yours, too.


Building an outline helps. Decide on the main point of your piece and create three (!) sub-points that support it. Make sure each one ties back to the message you want to get across to readers, and make sure each sub-point is supportive and relevant.


So there are your quick guides to becoming a better writer today.
How about you? What’s your favorite tip for immediate writing improvement? Let us know in the comments!


From 7 Ways to Improve Your Writing … Right Now

10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer

10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer:
1. Write.
2. Write more.
3. Write even more.
4. Write even more than that.
5. Write when you don’t want to.
6. Write when you do.
7. Write when you have something to say.
8. Write when you don’t.
9. Write every day.
10. Keep writing.


From Become A Better Writer on CopyBlogger.com.

What To Do When Your Client Forgets to Pay You

I found this great article on Freelance Switch that might be useful for Vas like you and me. It gives beneficial advice on what to do when your clients forget to pay you. There are a number of pleasant ways to ask for your pay without offending your clients.

First, always, always send that invoice. If your agreement with your clients involves sending invoices regularly then you better follow suit. Forgetting to send that invoice could spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E for you. So this makes a whole lot of sense to me.

To be honest, I’ve had my share of trouble of this sort. I never got paid even after sending an invoice for three straight months. This brings me to the next piece of advice. Check your contract. Allow me to paraphrase this in a way that gives you the power to go after runaway clients.

Always, always have an iron-clad contract ready each time you start working with a new client. Remember, VA work means you call half the shots. You don’t have a boss looking over your shoulder or Human Resources officers watching your back.

You are your own boss so you better fill those shoes and fast. Make sure you and your client have a written contract that protects the interest of both parties, including the terms for your pay.

And if you already have that iron-clad contract ready, be sure to check it from time to time in case you may have forgotten the time period involved in your regular paycheck. I read from the article that clients may change the contract from time to time so be sure you’re in the loop. Check your contract and confirm if you’ve got things straight.

Perhaps the best and most sensible piece of advice is this – Be patient. In all areas of my life, I realize now that being patient pays... and I don’t mean that in the monetary sense. Patience is a virtue that everyone must have, especially Virtual Assistants.

Working patiently on one task while you do other tasks at the same time, a skill also known as multi-tasking involves the kind of patience that I had to acquire the hard way. Now I realize that it is an all-important virtue and from experience, it’s the best one there is, for anyone or any kind of work for that matter. Always be patient.

As for the rest of the article, I invite you to click here to find out more about how to get paid and what to do when you don’t receive your salary. Do you have your own advice to share? Be sure to leave your sage advice in the comments section. Thank you!

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Why We Should Be Passionate About Our Work

I love my work. It's not even work most of the time. It's fun! I understand now what my mentors mean by being passionate about our work. It's really important for us to love what we're doing because it's the only way to really be happy here on earth. Yes, we're all pilgrims living in our temporary home but I never realized before now that God truly wants us to be happy here on earth. He gave us the freedom to choose and I choose to be happy. I choose to bless and be blessed. I choose to live the life God wants for me. And I guess I'll always be me -- a writer servant. That is in honor of our servant King -- my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.


I love writing. I've been doing this since I can remember. It's my core gift. I am sure of that now. I guess I'm just the usual late-bloomer and wallflower. I dared to dream and I chased after my dreams with my heart on my sleeve and God by my side and Mama Mary urging me on. And now I'm doing exactly what I was put on earth to do, in my humble opinion. I believe that I was born to serve and I do that through my writing.


A priest once told me that I should write to inspire. And that's my mindset from now on. I am currently writing my first book and I am so inspired it blows my mind, figuratively, of course. God has gifted me with so much and I never even realized that I am already doing His will. Now I understand the real value of service and it requires a whole lot of patience while God provides all the inspiration I could ever need. He truly is my rock and my salvation. I know this is what God wants me to do -- be a writer, serve and inspire others through my gifts and show the world how much I care.


I have so many blogs right now, one for each of my passion but my favorite ones are this one, Misty's Gratitude Journal, and SelfHelpBlog.biz and oh, I also love Heroes for Children because I adore kids, toddlers in particular. Yes, I'm single and I hope to have a family someday. This is the best part about my work. When God will give me a husband and child someday, I won't have too much difficulty. I will be able to  spend time with my future husband and baby as much as I can because of my work. And I guess this is how God is shaping my future. He started with my core gifts and He just keeps on giving. Thank you Jesus! You are LOVE.


Aside from my passion for writing, I am also a gadget geek. I love tinkering with my PC. I love playing with my cellphones and I love walking while counting steps using my iPod. I know, I'm too attached to gadgets but I can't help it. It's both my blessing and my weakness. I am blessed because I am not afraid to try new things. I like trying new software. I've gotten over my fear of clicking things online. I learned that my PC doesn't explode if I do so my question is "Why not?"


Passion is important in all aspects of life. When we love what we do, it's no longer work. It's fun. And that takes all the stress away. I guess one of the advantages of working from home is that I manage my own time. That gives me the discipline to manage tasks and other people effectively. That takes away the pressure. Plus, I keep receiving the confidence boost that I never expected out of my work. The fulfillment of knowing that at the end of the day you have accomplished the important stuff, that's what keeps me going day in and day out. I don't even like being absent from work. I miss it when I'm not doing what I do.


Plus, all of the clients that I've worked with are the best people around. They have given me glowing praises and until now I am still overwhelmed by their kindness and generosity, in more ways than one. In one word, all of the people I have worked with are awesome. And I know that God sent them my way to encourage me to walk this path. He has paved the way for my freedom. God has literally given me the key to my freedom and happiness and I never even realized it. My dreams are unfolding before my eyes and this roller coaster ride called my life is awesome! God is awesome!