You write a lot of soulless prose in business. It comes in the form of bland ‘How To’ articles. Copied + pasted product descriptions. Passive voice in an effort not to offend anyone. Three, boring #StruggleSentences on your About Us page. (Because it’s what you think you should say, rather than what your readers want you to say).
Meaningless copy is easy. It doesn’t take much effort. It’s corporate-speak, full of industry jargon. You don’t share any of the you in the spirit of your company. People don’t want that. They want to connect with you.
In an effort to make the Articles + Blogs section of Sprinting Herald more effective, I’ve come up with some rules for writing. You’ll get some ‘How To’ articles here for your DIY needs, but you’ll also get ideas on how to approach your business writing. If you want, you can follow these too.
Here are my new rules for writing*:
- Don’t be safe. Being safe isn’t being brave.
- If it embarrasses you, write it. Write it because someone else can relate.
- Edit until the manuscript bleeds. Use the sword. Stab it. Kill it. Burn the corpse. Then, allow the phoenix to rise from the ashes.
- Don’t hide. Bare it on the page.
- Feed yourself. Fill the well often, so you can empty it by filling others.
- Go to the edge of the page–whatever that means at the moment you’re writing. Don’t over think it. Just do it. Your intuition will tell you how.
- If all else fails, write. “Not like a girl. Not like a boy. Write like a motherfucker.”
*This article first appeared on my personal blog.