4 Key Writing Tips: What to Keep & What to Dump

Here's the thing. My latest article chronicled my job search of 2018. It was cathartic for me to write, especially because it was a thank you letter to many influential people in my life, but I'm more than ready for a new article to take residence at the top of my profile.

And what I do every day is write. And edit. And brainstorm about what I could be writing, that I will then edit.

So I thought I would compile a few of my top tips that are some quick, yet foundational recommendations on how to polish a piece of writing, whether you're in the midst of writing a piece or editing it.

1. Use digits (hello 7!). Dump numbers as words (bye bye, seven).

What do I mean by this?

Courtesy of fellow LinkedIn member Sandra Muller, I've been reminded recently how important it is to use digits instead of written-out numbers. Why? My reasons:

• Shortening your text keeps your reader longer
• We are visual readers – most enjoy graphics and visual interruptions to long text
• Why would you make reading harder than it has to be?

Essentially, 1, 2, 3, and 4 help secure attention better than one, two, three and four, because they are more recognizable and quicker work for your brain to compute. Symbols trump words.

The only time I do not follow this rule, is in a scenario where a digit at the beginning of the sentence looks wrong (maybe the font type lowers the digit compared to the letters, or maybe my 2nd grade teacher ingrained in me that it was wrong). I might write it, and if the look or consistency of the sentence is thrown off by digits I would theoretically use later in the sentence or paragraph, I would write them out.

You have your values and your principles as a writer, but causing confusion by inconsistency is something you want to avoid!

2. Be a watchdog for word use and alternative meanings.

Some of the words in our collective use are easily misinterpreted. A word might have multiple meanings. A word compared to a similar phrase might mean 2 very different things.

Your goal as a writer is to be accurate and also demystify.

As a result, I would say you need to vigilantly question your word use.

One or two examples of tricky words I've encountered in the last years (and months!):

Everyday vs. Every Day: "Everyday" means "ordinary" or "typical." "Every day," means occurring each day. One is an adjective and one is a phrase. Tread wisely!

Biennial vs. Biannual: To be frank with you, I didn't realize the word "biennial" existed until a few months ago. (I guess I'm not a gardener.) I had assumed "biannually" functioned similarly to "biweekly" or "bimonthly." It does not. If you want to host an event "biannually," you are hosting that event exactly twice a year. If you are hosting an event every 2 years, you are hosting it "biennially." You're welcome.

Long story short: be inquisitive around word use.

3. Nix most apostrophes when it comes to decades and centuries.

This is a pet peeve of mine! So I'll admit I'm a little spicy on this one. Read on for the heat.

Let's say you're referencing a date in time. Perhaps a decade due to its fashion or music was incredible! Maybe a certain century had a certain industrial revolution! I don't really care what it was, but more often than not you are simply mentioning a time period. You are saying, hey, this thing at this moment in time rocked!

Thus, it is the 1880s. It was the 1900s. Perhaps it was the 1990s.

It is not the 1880's. or the 1900's. Or the amazing 1990's. Trust me.

Need examples? Let me give you some. The 1880s saw great hair days. (Ok, I made that up.) / The Backstreet Boys became popular in the 1990s. / The 2010s have been a whirlwind decade!

My point is, using these dates does not entail possessive use. There's no ownership going on. It's all descriptive. Try to get rid of that instinct to put an apostrophe where it shouldn't be! It will be clarifying for your readers.

4. Use "their, them, they" – pluralistic and inclusive choices are welcome.

My approach to writing includes being short and sweet, accurate, and inclusive. Inclusivity to me means not holding on so tightly to extra words when you're talking about a theoretical or very real person (e.g., a he or a she, a him or a her) and swapping it all out for pluralistic, inclusive choices.

This approach is widely applauded both for not alienating people or mis-gendering them (or gendering them to begin with), and also for shortening word count! Huzzah! I'm a firm believer that your shorter sentences roll off the tongue much better, as well.

Examples:

"If we get a new hire, they'll have to start training immediately." (This, instead of, "If we get a new hire, he or she will have to start training immediately.)

Perhaps a new person does start at your work. Maybe they have a gender-ambiguous name. Maybe they have self-identified to you their preferred pronouns. Maybe ourselves or our workplaces have opened up to inquiring about preferences before addressing folks. Who knows! Examples would follow:

"Hey, have you met Sharon? They're great." / "The new person's cubicle? Yeah they did a really great job decorating."

And on, and on.

More to come?

I have more tips in store, but for now I wanted to document a few. If you had to write an article on polishing your writing, what are your top go-to recommendations for other writers? Share in the comments! Thanks all.