Abstract concepts encapsulate many ideas into one word. Shoes and boots become footwear. The set of politicians includes local mayors as well as heads of state. Mothers and fathers are, more generally, parents. Abstractions are absolutely essential for achieving any of the following goals with your writing: Making conclusions or inferences based on varied evidence Demonstrating mastery of complex topics […]
Writing
Have Faith in Your Muse But Trust Your Process
Imagine for a moment that someone offers you the job that you’ve always dreamed of. But there’s a catch – you’ll have to work closely with someone else in the role. In fact, you’ll be job-sharing with this person. You start asking around about this other person, and discover that she doesn’t show up for meetings, but pops […]
Advice for Marketing Writers: A Podcast Interview
Writing is a critical skill for marketers, especially for those in businesses pursuing content marketing strategies. But it’s only part of the job, easily overshadowed by the constant distractions of the open office, the immediate gratification of social media and online analytics, and interruptions of always-on connectivity. Pressed to create more and better content, how […]
Fast, Fluid, and Fearless: Training your Freewriting
Freewriting fills a critical role in my personal writing process. By freewriting, I mean the act of writing about a topic quickly and fluidly, without stopping to censor or revise. I use the technique to conduct “inner research” into what I already know (or want to find out) about a topic, and to prime the creative pump for future work. […]
Writing in the Workplace: The Open Office
Every Sunday afternoon, a product marketing manager I know sits down at home to write the blog posts and other written projects that she couldn’t complete the previous week. She steals time from her weekend because she isn’t able to get compose blog posts or articles during the week, in the office. She told me this while we were […]
Feeling Lazy? In a Rush? Lame Reasons to Shortcut the Process
You’ve got friends coming over at 6pm for dinner, and you want to serve fresh-baked bread. But you didn’t get around to starting the bread until about 4pm. So – what the heck – you decide to shorten the rising time. You knead the dough, shape the loaves, and throw them in the oven. What could […]
