MindMap-Writing With Flair

MindMap-Writing With Flair
Author: Shani Raja

Elements of Writing

1. Simplicity
2. Clarity
3. Elegance

Good writing

1. Clear in its expression
2. Writing flows
3. Capturing interest

Bad writing

1. Boring
2. Does not capture your imagination
3. Ambiguity
4. Clunky

4 Reasons for writing

1. Inform
2. Entertain
3. Persuade
4. Inspire

Mindset of Elite writer

1. Think deeply of the word you are writing
2. Have a very strong intention on how to connect to your audience [values, beliefs and perception]
3. Keep it real.  Be real and genuine.  Aim is to communicate not to impress. Cut out over the top word
4. Your presentation should be sleek. Consistency of punctuation, uppercase, quotation marks, commas. Attention to details.

Secret source of flair [distinctive/stylish]

1. Simplicity
2. Clarity
3. Elegance

Rules

1. Never repeat ideas if not needed
2. Clash of principles, choose

The Secret Sauce of Flair

1. Think deeply about every single word
2. Have a strong intention to connect with your audience
3. Keep it real
4. Be slick with the presentation
5. The secret sauce is simplicity, clarity and elegance
6. Be flexible with the principles

SIMPLICITY

Simplicity: How to be economical about your work

1. Use shorter words. Never use a long word when you can use a short word.
   Use “use” instead of utilize
   Use “get” instead of obtain
   Use “about” instead of approximately
   Use “show” instead of demonstrate
   Use “buy” instead of acquire
2. Use longer word only when it is necessary
3. Break the short word rule to show distinction
4. Any word that can go, must go
5. Less is really is more
6. Aim to create the strongest mental picture
7. Avoid “which is”
8. Use fewer words whenever feasible
9. Use every single word in a consistent way

Repetitions

1. Repeating a point, avoid it
2. Duplication is a bad look in writing
3. Avoid “as I mentioned” unless it is really needed for emphasis
4. Make a point clearly
5. Ruthlessly delete any ideas that are repeated
6. Aim to make a unique point in every sentence

Overcomplicating Things

1. Writer overcomplicate things
2. Simplify things as much as possible
3. Avoid double negative.
   Ex, He was not certain that he wouldn’t make a mess of it.
   Correct: He thought he might make a mess of it.
   Ex. It wasn’t that John didn’t care about Jenny. He just didn’t love her.
   Correct: John care about Jenny but didn’t love her.
4. Double negative gives the reader unnecessary strain
5. Don’t give the reader an extra step to get to the point. It produces a painful experience
6. Don’t multiply entities beyond necessities. Tagging to words that makes it longer
7. Simplify an overly complex sentence

Ex: It is the Singapore-based company’s first Australian deal since investing in gourmet food concept store chain Jones The Grocer
Correct: It is the Singapore-based company’s first Australian deal since investing in gourmet chain Jones the Grocer
Ex: Kevin Rudd became the leader of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Correct: Kevin Rudd became Australia’s leader

1. Simplify individual words
   Ex: toward instead of towards, profit instead of profits
2. Steer clear of unnecessary words
3. Avoid bloated words, cut it all down
4. Don’t make simple points sound more complex than they are
5. Don’t force reader to unwind what you’ve said
6. Make reading your work as painless as possible

Plainer is Better

1. Aim to keep your writing as plain and familiar-sounding as possible

Too Much Information

1. Be acutely sensitive to what your audience cares about
2. Know when to cut off the information tap

Redundant Words

1. Avoid weak words that don’t say much
2. Avoid redundant words that don’t say anything
3. Avoid hedging words that sap authority

Overstretching Words

1. Be aware of sentences that go on too long
2. Avoid too many sub clauses
3. Break up sentences and play around with word order to eliminate them

Active vs Passive

1. Prefer active to passive sentences
2. Active sentences make comprehension quicker
3. Active sentences help pictures for more quickly

Reversing into Sentences

1. Avoid backing into sentences
2. Backing into sentences slows down comprehension
3. An exception is where reversing in helps vary the rhythm

Unnecessary Ceremony

1. Remove pointless capital letters
2. Say what you want to say without embellishment

CLARITY
Fuzzy Thinking

1. Bad writing often stems from fuzzy thinking
2. First get clear of what you are trying to say
3. Prevent the reader’s mind going blank
4. Spell things out, don’t force readers to make inferences

Jargon

1. Strike out anything that smells of jargon
2. Avoid excessive abstraction
3. Shun clichés or common phrases that come quickly to mind

Ambiguity

1. Ambiguity is one of the biggest killers of comprehension
2. Fix any sentence where more than one interpretation is possible

Crisp Distinction

1. Make abundantly clear what you are comparing
2. Use punctuation to help sharpen comparison

Removing Clutter

1. Convert official language into layman’s terms
2. Move down anything that doesn’t need to be said immediately

Mixing Tenses

1. Smoot out all conflicting time elements

Misplaced Modifiers

1. Pay special attention to words that modify other words
2. Don’t just throw modifier down; place them carefully

Curly Sentences

1. Untangle sentences to the furthest extent possible
2. Don’t force readers to do mental gymnastics

This and That

1. Be specific about what ‘this’ and ‘that’ are
2. ‘This’ and ‘these’ are better for something coming; ‘that’ and ‘those’ are better for referring back
3. Consider deleting ‘that’ where possible

“It” vs “They”

1. Prefer to use ‘it’ for entities
2. Be consistent with singular and plural reference

ELEGANCE

House Style

1. Establish syntax and format rules that define your brand
2. Consistency in style makes writing look more professional and authoritative

Unsightly Widows

1. Avoid stray words at the end of paragraphs that create imbalance

Pristine Paragraphs

1. Neat paragraphs reflect clear thinking
2. Have an organizing principle behind switching to a new paragraph
3. Don’t create paragraphs of massively varying size

Word Echos

1. Try not to repeat a substantive word in the same sentence
2. Repeating a word in close proximity can look lazy

Alternative Words

1. Keep alternatives handy for often-repeated words
2. At the very least, leave as much distance between alternatives as possible

Parallel Ideas

1. Keep ideas parallel to avoid a jarring effect
2. Be especially sensitive to qualitative differences between ideas

Narrative Elegance

1. View your writing as blocks of ideas
2. Organize the blocks in the most elegant order
3. Arrange the points within each block logically

 

Writing With Flair
How To Become An Exceptional Writer
Elite Writing Checklist

✓ Do I use simple, familiar words throughout?
✓ Have I eliminated all jargon and clichés, hedging?
✓ Have I avoided repeating words, points?
✓ Have I gone into too much detail anywhere?
✓ Have I avoided ambiguity?
✓ Do I avoid making simple points sound complicated?
✓ Are all my distinctions/comparisons crisp?
✓ Can I cut out any more words?
✓ Are any sentences too long, or contain too many sub-clauses?
✓ Do I use the active voice?
✓ Do I avoid reversing into sentences?
✓ Are my tenses consistent?
✓ Do I avoid word echoes?
✓ Does my writing reflect clear, logical thinking?
✓ Will a reader be forced to reread anything?
✓ Have I removed all the unnecessary clutter?
✓ Have I got to the point immediately?
✓ Do I have a logical narrative structure?
Elite Writer’s
Checklist
✓ Do I steer the reader through my narrative?
✓ Are all ideas within a sentence neatly ordered?
✓ Are my paragraphs suitably arranged?