10 Specific Ways to Jazz Up Your Writing

The clearer (and more specific) you are about your message and the results you want to achieve, the easier it is for you to write. Then the words flow, because they're flowing from the heart. Once those words are flowing nicely and easily (because you're connecting with your passion), then you can go on to to look at the actual writing.

What are 10 specific techniques you can use to jazz up your writing?

1. Strong introduction - You have to get the reader's attention. If you don't capture it right away, then your reader starts to doubt you, your message, and your ability to convey it. Without a strong introduction, the reader may not continue reading.

2. Strong conclusion - Your writing can be excellent, AMAZING, but if you don't conclude strongly, you've lost all the trust you've built, and your reader probably won't do what you want him/her to do.

3. Stories, even in nonfiction - Engage your readers. CONNECT with them. Not only do stories help you connect with your reader, but they also help adult readers really understand and SEE what you're trying to say. They can imagine and visualize stories much better than abstract concepts.

From INC. Magazine, February 2008: Introduction to their case study section:

Greg Watkins stood at the bar at a New York City nightclub, watching a fashion show unfold onstage and trying not to think about all the drinks his guests were charging to his credit card. He was paying for three rappers, two of whom each ordered an entire bottle of Hennessy cognac. Pretty soon the tab exceeded $600 - and that was the least of his worries.

The reader can picture Greg and his dilemma. She's compelled to read more about Greg and all his worries.

4. Short, snappy sentences - I've seen a trend in writing where people go on and on and on. Sentences are long and rambling, as if the writer feels as if the longer the sentence, the smarter he looks. Short sentences have great impact. But use sparingly. Don't write with all short sentences, or your writing begins to resemble the old Dick and Jane books.

Here's a small excerpt from Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love:

I'd been attempting to convince myself that this was normal. All women must feel this way when they're trying to get pregnant, I'd decided. ('Ambivalent' was the word I used, avoiding the much more accurate description: 'utterly consumed with dread.') I was trying to convince myself that my feelings were customary, despite all evidence to the contrary-such as the acquaintance I'd run into last week who'd just discovered that she was pregnant for the first time, after spending two years and a king's ransom in fertility treatments. She was ecstatic.

Notice how short the last sentence is. And how powerful.

5. Great words - Our standard vocabulary has dropped in the last several decades from 40,000 words used on a regular basis to 10,000 words. What that means is that people use the same words over and over, and their message fades into the background - because it looks like everyone else's.

6. Active and passive voice - Don't say "there is" or "there are." Talk about how people struggle, stumble, crumble, collapse.... Or, conversely, soar, catapult, climb, skyrocket...

7. Concrete and abstract - When we're writing, we have to be clear on what we're trying to convey. Many times it can be somewhat abstract - a concept. Concrete would be "We apologize that the 123 Widget was damaged upon receipt. We have sent a replacement Widget, and you should receive it within three business days." It doesn't get more concrete than that. However, we're usually trying to convey a message that's a tad bit more abstract (like write with power and passion or improve your financial wealth or lose weight now!). If you're talking about something abstract, make it more concrete for your readers.

8. Tighten your writing - Are there words, or even whole sections of your writing, that just aren't crucial to your message? Are there things you've written that aren't really necessary for the reader? EVERY word, EVERY sentence should have a reason for being. If you don't know what a word or a sentence is doing, it doesn't need to be there.

9. Let your reader see what it is you have to say - Don't just say "I've worked with the best of the best." Why is that even important? What is it about that sentence that you're trying to get across to the reader? What information do you want your reader to have?

10. Parallel structure - This is a grad-school-writing technique. This is where you've done all the things you're supposed to do - be clear on your message, your audience, and your purpose - you've used your checklist and applied it - and here's where you can really shine. The best writing is that which really reaches the audience. And when you write it in such a way that it sticks in your reader's head - you've done your job. And parallel structure is one way to give your writing rhythm, beauty, and power.

Here's an example: September 2009 TCM Magazine article by Robert Osborne:

We aim to do what we can this month to help make up for the slights to [Claude] Rains over the years, beating the drums as to how fine, how versatile, how valuable he was.

You'll find parallel structure in the last bit: "how fine, how versatile, how valuable..." You have "how" followed by an adjective.

Apply these techniques to your passion-filled writing for a more powerful effect. Your audience will thank you.