Category — good writing

a famous writer, I can’t remember who at this point, once advised that you stop writing — either for a break or for the day — not at the end of a thought, but in the middle. the idea is that it’ll still be there when you get back (despite your fears otherwise), and when you do get back to it, you’ll start in the middle of something. no staring at a blank screen wondering what to do next, and no writers block. just the continuation of flow, and even from session-to-session and day-to-day, a good rhythm.

why am I passing this along? not just because I think it’s good advice, but because I think it highlights a point about good copy: you need rhythm. all good speeches have it. all good comedy has it. all good poetry has it. all good novels, even, if they’re well-edited, have it. and more than anything, all good copy needs to have it. rhythm.

rhythm isn’t just about saying the rights things, it’s about saying them in the right order (and at the right time). it’s about communicating ideas in an easy, effortless, and attractive way. get it wrong, and the reader has to work for what you’re communicating (if they understand it at all). get it right, and the reader not only effortlessly receives your point, but gets it with the thrill that only great communication and understanding can bring.

in other words, good rhythm not only helps someone understand your idea, it helps them become an advocate of it. for startups, new tech startups especially, that’s important.

Good writing is authoritative. It knows what it wants to say, and then it says it. simple as that. Bad writing, on the other hand, winds, dips, and dives through various, disconnected thoughts… never getting to a point, and never giving anything of actual value to the reader.

What does this have to do with writing rules, and knowing the rules of writing? Well… putting top-quality words to page isn’t all that different to putting formal fork-and-knife to filet mignon: you may want to break the rules (like using that smaller fork because it works better for this course), and you should if it feels right. But you want to know the rules to start with too. If you know the rules, you can use them - and break them - with some authority.

What’s my point? You gotta know the rules of writing to write good copy. And no, that doesn’t mean you have to make flash cards out of your high-school English text book. But it might mean you should take a peak. Or at least take a copy of Elements of Style out of the Public Library. Learn what a semi-colon actually does (and doesn’t do). Learn when to use a parentheses, and when to just use a comma. Learn other stuff. Learn to write with authority.

Then, find your natural voice.

The last post was a blast to write (and I still think it’s pretty good). but now (here), I’ll talk a little bit more about what it means for you. Namely, what it means for you to write write better (more working-class) copy.

Maybe it’s because we were all exposed to great, romantic works in school (and never exposed to good, straight-forward copywriting), but most people think of writing as genius. That’s fine (and it can serve you to write some pretty good stuff). But there’s a draw-back (because more than likely, you’re not a genius); it mostly comes out as fluff. There’s more focus on describing the beautiful rolling cow pastures than there is focus on shoveling the gutters (I bet you can guess what that entails).

I bet too, that if you look back at some of your own copy (or that of some others), you’ll see what I mean. You want to fix it? Well, you don’t necessarily need to cut out all the fluff (it certainly serves its’ purpose). And you definitely don’t need to change your style (just to imitate mine)… that would be stupid. You do, however, need to tighten it up. You need to roll up your sleeves, put on your Carhart’s (or your work pants of choice), and shovel some shit. You need to not only make it pretty, but you need to make it work.

Do that, and you’ll have working-class copy. You get that, and you’ll have a better website (and a better brand). It’s that simple (kinda); hard work, good results.