Finding your audience, as a writer, is critical. But narrowing down on a specific audience can be quite painful. That’s because as writers, we suffer from Fear of Missing a Reader (FOMaR). FOMaR is closely related to Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), except that I just made up the term and it’s not a documented […]
Writing
One Question to Ask Before You Write
Want a quick, easy-to-implement strategy for improving your writing? Before you sit down to write anything (a blog post, a report, a book), ask yourself this simple question: Who will read this? Who are you writing for? Can you envision an ideal reader? Why would they want to read this piece of content, and what will […]
Are You a One-Size-Fits-All Writer?
Early in my career, I worked in a small startup. As the only writer in the company, I wrote nearly everything for the business, from data sheets and white papers to direct response ad copy, emails, user manuals (back when companies shipped printed manuals), and invitations to the holiday party. In retrospect, I’m pretty confident that […]
Sticking to the Writing Habit on the Road
I intended to have this blog post drafted before leaving town for a short family visit, but didn’t manage it. Then I planned to write it during the visit. Again, didn’t happen. So here I sit on the plane home, composing a post about the virtues of writing while traveling. The irony is of the […]
A Field Guide to Writers in the Workplace
On any given workday, you can find countless people typing on laptops. They may be writing emails, reports, papers, advertisements, job postings, or resumes. They all have one thing in common: They are assembling thoughts into a written form, and hope that those efforts will support their careers. They are workplace writers. Workplace writers come in […]
The Perils of Worshipping the Big Idea
Raise your hand if you’ve ever worried about someone “stealing your idea” – and let that worry stop you from doing something. We’ve all done it at one point or another. But except in patent situations and other unusual cases, those worries are usually unfounded. Worse, they can hurt us as writers. Be careful not […]
