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Cliches

Posted on July 17, 2015 - 2:33 pm by

Cliches

A cliche is a phrase that is so overused that it’s become meaningless. Using cliches makes you seem boring, uncreative, and lazy.

Identifying Cliches

The first step to eliminating cliches is identifying them. If you’re using a phrase that you’ve heard before, it’s likely a cliche. You can also search for a cliche here.

Cliches can be long:

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Or short:

Achilles’ heel.

My bad.

Kick ass.

Once upon a time (did you notice that?), these phrases were meaningful, witty, and descriptive. But their popularity has worn away their charm.

Eliminating Cliches

Once you’ve spotted a cliche in your writing, think about what it means and how you can express that meaning in a unique way.

Cliched: Erin used to write by the book, but now she lets freedom ring.

Not cliched: Erin used to fastidiously follow grammar “rules”. Now she embraces the freedom of creative writing: splitting infinitives and starting sentences with conjunctions whenever she wants.

The second sentence is more descriptive;  it specifically explains how Erin’s writing has changed, rather than just giving a vague idea that it’s become more freer.

Using Cliches

Once in a blue moon, such as when you’re writing about cliches, it’s okay to use a cliche. Make sure that your writing is informal, since cliches are worst in formal writing, and then consider why you want to use a cliche.

Perhaps the best use of cliches is the ironic cliche. If you’re writing about marketing, you can turn around the cliche “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” by showing how much brand names matter.

The problem with cliches is that they’re uninteresting. But if you can make them interesting, then you don’t have to avoid them like the plague. Okay, okay, I’ll stop my cliches now.

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Paragraph Unity

Posted on July 17, 2015 - 2:07 pm by

Paragraph Unity

Like sentences, readable paragraphs are unified and coherent. A paragraph is a group of sentences all focused on one idea.

Stick to the Topic

In academic writing, each paragraph has a topic sentence that states the idea for that paragraph.

You might find this style too formal for your online writing, but you should at least know what topic you are covering in each paragraph and make that topic clear to your readers.

Since short paragraphs are best in online writing, it is crucial that you stick to one topic per paragraph.

Is That a Topic?

How do you know if you’re sticking to the topic or heading off on a tangent? Once you’ve chosen your paragraph topic, make sure that each sentence in that paragraph supports the topic.

If your sentences are helping your topic, you’re doing well. If you have a sentence that seems more important than the topic (the topic is supporting the sentence), though, it should probably become a separate paragraph.

I say “probably” because, as with all matters of style, you must use your discretion.

Remain Coherent

It’s not enough to have unified ideas. You must also present your ideas coherently, i.e. in an order that makes sense.

As an example, look what happens if I jumble up the sentences in the “Stick to the Topic” paragraph (above):

“You might find this style too formal for your online writing, but you should at least know what topic you are covering in each paragraph, and make that topic clear to your readers. In academic writing, each paragraph has a topic sentence that states the idea for that paragraph. Since short paragraphs are best in online writing, it is crucial that you stick to one topic per paragraph.”

From the beginning, the reader is confused. What is “this style”? Is this paragraph about online or academic writing?

The writer is obviously talking about topic sentences, but it’s not clear what she’s trying to say about them.

For a coherent paragraph, consider how you want your ideas to flow.

  • Chronologically?
  • By comparing and contrasting?
  • Providing a definition?

Also check how each sentence relates to the sentences immediately before and after it. Do they make sense in that order or should they be moved?

Learn More:

Split Infinitives

Posted on July 17, 2015 - 1:50 pm by

Split Infinitives

If I controlled the English language, we wouldn’t need this lesson because split infinitives should be a non-issue.

Unfortunately, self-appointed know-it-alls are still insisting the split infinitives are wrong, even though they aren’t.

So, what’s the issue?

Split Infinitives: A Problem?

An infinitive is the word “to” plus a verb.

Examples: to conspire, to write, to dance, to laugh

When you put a word, generally an adverb, in between the “to” and the verb, that’s called splitting the infinitive.

Examples: to maliciously conspire, to frantically write, to passionately dance, to awkwardly laugh

The Latin Problem

In the 1800s, scholars loved Latin. As a Latin student myself, I sometimes dream of going back to those good-old-days. But there was a problem.

Some grammarians tried apply Latin rules to English grammar, even though English isn’t Latin. Most Latin infinitives are a single word, so they can’t be split.

Those Latin loving grammarians decided that if Latin infinitives couldn’t be split, neither could English ones.

Of course, the problem is that English infinitives are constructed completely differently from Latin ones, so it doesn’t make sense to follow the same rules.

The Problem Today

Today, there is disagreement about whether or not split infinitives are acceptable. The websites that I looked at all said that split infinitives are allowed, but also said that they would hesitate to use split infinitives because some people still believe that they’re wrong.

What should you do?

If you have a split infinitive, try rewriting it. Most split infinitives don’t need to be split.

Split: Jabari decided to stealthily tiptoe to the cookie tin.

Not split: Jabari decided to tiptoe stealthily to the cookie tin.

Sometimes, though, the meaning of a split infinitive is different when you don’t split it, or the non-split version sounds awkward.

Split: I decided to quickly write the product descriptions.

Not split: I decided to write the product descriptions quickly.

Split: It feels good to really laugh.

Not split: It feels good to laugh really.

If your non-split version doesn’t work as well as your split infinitive, try to ask your client about it.

If you don’t hear back from him or her, I think you’re safe to leave it in, since it can always be edited during the revision process.

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Facebook: Voice

Posted on July 17, 2015 - 1:34 pm by

Facebook: Voice

As a writer, you represent your client on Facebook. Your content’s tone is their company’s voice, and that’s a big responsibility. Here are four tips for achieving a likeable Facebook voice.

1. Develop Your Voice

If your client already has an established voice, make sure that your posts imitate that style. If they’re a new company, or new to Facebook, always check what tone they want.

Professional? Relaxed? Funny?

2. Know Your Audience

The best way to find your voice is by knowing your audience. Who are you targeting and how do they speak?

Your language will change if you’re writing for people in their 60s or their 20s, for businesses or families.

3. Stay Positive

No matter what voice you choose, stay positive. Negative posts are unpopular and for good reason.

Your readers don’t care if you lost revenue last month or just stubbed your toe. They want to be inspired by you, not depressed. If you’ve got negative news, be creative about how to change it into something positive.

Rainy weather doesn’t have to ruin your summer vacation. Comment with a picture of your wet adventures.

Despite this advice, never make light of tragedies.

4. Provide a Call to Action

Once you’ve provided some inspiration, give a call to action (tell your reader what to do). In the example above, the call to action is “comment”.

“Like”, “share”, and “comment” are the most common Facebook calls to action, but you can give any call you want.

Example: In preparation for the marathon, we’re selling running shirts and water bottles at 40% off. Buy yours today!

Example: Are you coming to our blogging workshop this Tuesday? Join our event and see if your friends are going.

Learn More:

Facebook: Content

Posted on July 17, 2015 - 10:22 am by

Facebook: Content

You’ve found your voice. Great! But you need more than the perfect voice to attract followers; you need content.

Here are six suggestions for your next Facebook post.

1. Ask Questions

Social media is just that — a social platform. If you don’t interact with people on it, you’re using it wrong. Asking questions is an almost certain way to create follower engagement.

Questions come in many forms

  • yes or no
  • open ended
  • polls
  • contests
  • fill in the blank

Find the right balance of questions to other types of posts so that you neither exhaust nor bore your reader.

2. Share Quotes and Facts

Quotes and facts seem authoritative, so they interest readers and lend credibility to your business. If you’re including a link (see below), post an interesting quote or statistic from the website along with it. If you post a quote all by itself, tell readers to “like if they agree” or “tell us what you think in the comments”.

3. Link Where You Want to Go

You’re unlikely to have much control over putting links in your posts since you client will choose what links she wants (if any). Make sure that you include some writing with your link, whether it’s a quote from the article or your own commentary.

4. Attract Visually

When you scroll through your Facebook feed, what catches your attention? Your friends’ status updates or their new profile pictures? Humans are visual creatures so we’re naturally attracted to images. You don’t have control over what photos you post on Facebook, but you do get to write the commentary. Since followers are more likely to read a post with a picture, make sure you give a clear call to action.

5. Be Topical

Facebook moves quickly, so seem timely and informed by relating your postings to current affairs or holidays. As always, write for your target audience. Will they understand your football reference? Have they seen that new movie? Do they celebrate Christmas?

6. Keep It Short

No matter what you decide to post, keep it short. Although Facebook doesn’t have the same character limits as Twitter, you should aim for the same length of posts — around 100 characters.

Learn More:

Bite-Size Information

Posted on July 16, 2015 - 3:42 pm by

Bite-Size Information

Scannability

Even though an ebook has “book” in it’s name, the “e” is the most important feature when it comes to formatting.

Because your writing is electronic, it must be scannable. Subheaders, bolding, lists, and whitespace are just as important for ebooks as they are for blogs.

In fact, since ebooks are long, your readers are especially likely to get tired of reading and need help from good formatting.

Snacks

As I said, don’t forget the “e” in “ebook”. While an ebook is a long piece of content, you need to focus on its small components.

Think about your ebook as a collection of snacks rather than a meal that must be eaten in one go. Those snacks must all relate to your thesis, but they come in enjoyable bite-sized chunks like lists and short paragraphs.

Learn More:

Engaging Writing

Posted on July 16, 2015 - 3:33 pm by

Engaging Writing

Have you ever fallen asleep while reading? Unless you were incredibly exhausted, I bet the book you were reading was boring.

So instead of paying attention, your brain decided, “There’s nothing interesting here. I think I’ll go to sleep instead”.

You don’t want anyone falling asleep while reading your ebook, so you need engaging writing. Here’s how.

1. Tone

In general, you should write your ebook the same way you blog — conversationally. Be humorous. Keep your sentences short and use informal language.

As always, you must know your audience before you pick your tone. If you’re writing a specialized ebook for experts, your language will be different than if you’re writing an general introductory ebook.

2. Examples and Anecdotes

Facts show that you’ve done your research and give you credibility, but they lack personality. Peppering your writing with examples and anecdotes combats the tedium of plain facts.

Maybe you want to start each chapter with a story that hooks your readers. No matter what format you choose, be sure to distribute your examples evenly.

It’s fine if one chapter has two stories and another has one, but don’t put three examples in one chapter and none in another.

3. Exercises

The best way to engage your readers is by making them active participants. Give them something to do other than just read. If you’re writing a how-to guide, this step should be easy.

If your book is informational, think about how you could turn it into a how-to. What steps will help your readers digest the information? If you’ve got enough exercises, include on per chapter.

If you don’t have enough for that, put them in an appendix at the end of your book and reference them in your text.

Learn More:

Finish with a Bang

Posted on July 16, 2015 - 3:15 pm by

Finish with a Bang

Your conclusion is likely the last section that you write (although you can, of course, write it whenever you want).

You’re probably feeling accomplished, excited, and relieved. You’re almost done!

But wait.

The conclusion is an essential section of your ebook, and you don’t want to short change it.

Take a deep breath and follow these steps.

1. Recap

You should have covered all the ideas in your outline, so recap them now. Your readers might not have read your whole ebook, or they might have forgotten some of your points, so remind them here.

2. Persuade

Conclusions that simply summarize are boring. While a brief summary is helpful, you have to assume that your readers have read most of your ebook. Now they’re looking for more. Persuade your readers about the importance of your arguments.

Why does it matter that they’ve read your ebook?

The most persuasive arguments aren’t extreme. Your ebook probably isn’t the most life-changing book your readers have ever read, so don’t claim that it is.

3. Call

Your persuasive conclusion leads to your call to action. Your readers are done reading, but you don’t want them to go away, so you need to tell them the next step.

Are they supposed to visit your client’s website? Start their own blog? Send you feedback? State your call to action clearly so that no one can mistake what you want them to do.

Also be sure that you only have one call to action. Multiple calls are overwhelming, so you risk having your readers do nothing. And never ever ever forget to write a call to action. If there’s one thing that your ebook must have, it’s call.

Seriously.

Learn More:

Purpose and Thesis

Posted on July 16, 2015 - 2:19 pm by

Purpose and Thesis

If you’ve been asked to write an ebook, I’m going to assume that you’re an experienced writer. Some of the information covered in other Stellar University lessons is covered here as well, but I don’t want to repeat everything, so I encourage you to review any lessons that you’re rusty on before writing your ebook.

What’s Your Purpose?

Why are you writing an ebook? Before you write a single letter, you need to answer this question. If you’re writing it because that’s what your client told you to do, you need to know his purpose.

If you mess up, you’ve got an awful lot of rewriting to do, so make sure you’re totally clear about what your client wants.

What’s Your Thesis?

Now it’s time to go back to your high school English class. Remember thesis statements? You certainly don’t use them in product descriptions, Twitter, or Facebook, and even blog posts are often short enough that you’re fine without them.

An ebook is much longer. To keep your writing on track, you need a thesis statement: a sentence that describes your purpose. Every sentence in your ebook must relate to your thesis statement.

If that sounds daunting, don’t worry. Having a thesis statement is actually helpful, since it keeps your writing on track and helps you present strong arguments.

A thesis statement also tells your readers what your writing is about, since they won’t otherwise know your purpose.

How Do You Write a Thesis Statement?

Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. Write down what your purpose is. You can use as many sentences as necessary. Once you’ve described your purpose, rewrite it in a condensed version.

Continue rewriting until you can explain your purpose in one sentence. This is a thesis statement. Now rewrite that sentence several times. You’re unlikely to achieve the perfect thesis statement on your first try , so keep revising it until you’re happy.

You can also edit your thesis statement while you write your ebook, as long as you don’t change the whole meaning. As you revise your thesis statement, make your language as specific as possible. There are links to thesis statement writing resources in the “Learn More” section below.

How Do You Stick to a Thesis Statement?

Remember how I said that every sentence must relate to your thesis? Creating an outline is the best way to do this. Each of the points in your outline must relate to your thesis. Then, when you write, each of your sentences should relate to your outline.

Learn More:

Research

Posted on July 16, 2015 - 11:39 am by

Research

If you’re a blogger, you’re already familiar with research. You probably hyperlink to your source when you cite a fact, and you might do a quick Google search before you start writing to see if there’s any relevant info that you should include.

The same principles apply with ebooks, but are even more important.

Reputable Research

The problem with researching on the web, where you’ll probably do most of your research, is that there is so much content. And while I’m sure that all your content is great, not everyone’s is.

Using academic research tools such as Google Scholar, JSTOR, and EBSCO will help you find peer-reviewed papers. Doing a regular Google search is fine too as long as you check your sources. Research the websites that you want to cite.

Who owns them? What are their credentials? How well written is the content? Are they well-respected by others in their field?

For example, Copyblogger isn’t scholarly, but I frequently link to it in these lessons because it’s one of the most respected content marketing sites.

Needed Notes

As you research, take notes. Your notes should include the information that you found useful, where you found it (the specific URL or page number), and when you found it.

If you’re using a direct quote, place quotation marks in your notes so that you know you’re quoting word-for-word and not paraphrasing.

When you quote or give evidence in your writing you need to cite your sources, so you’ll be glad that you kept track of them in your notes while researching.

Since websites are always changing, your citation must include the date that you accessed a website.

The More the Merrier

How much research should you do?

Unless you’re writing a highly specialized ebook, you probably don’t want lots of footnotes and a lengthy works cited page. But you also don’t want readers to question whether your basic facts are true.

Statistics, quotes, facts that aren’t commonly known, and ideas that aren’t your own must be cited.

A common fact, such as “Canada is in North America” or “Steve Jobs lived from 1955-2011” doesn’t need a citation, but a more obscure or surprising fact, like “Amazon sells more ebooks than print books”, should have a source.

Your ideas are yours, so they don’t need a citation, but give credit to the people who inspired your ideas by citing them.

Learn More:

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