Struggling to hold your readers’ attention? It may not be your content, but your style that is causing them to yawn unnecessarily. To increase the power of your writing, you need to focus on your readers’ style requirements, your authenticity, and the right writing technique.
Your 10-step plan for an attention-grabbing article
Isn’t it amazing that the same subject written by two different people can be so different, one being more exciting and more interesting than the other? The difference is not in the details and the facts, but rather in the way it is written. Writing good online content is a skill that needs to be honed over time, however, there are a few basics that anyone can use to achieve a certain level of fluency in writing that previously eluded them. Here are 10 ways to improve your writing style that will dramatically improve the quality of your article.
Write with your target audience in mind
The first step is to always write for the reader you are addressing. Indeed, what interests one demographic group does not necessarily interest another. Knowing your target reader helps you write text that interests them, taking into account their preferences, even before a single word is written on the page. For example, if you’re writing for a group of lawyers, they’ll be more interested in facts and figures than when you’re writing for a fashion magazine, where you’ll have to focus on look and feel.
Sketch out your main ideas first
Once you know which group you’re writing to, choose a concept that interests them and sketch out the main ideas so you can start with a coherent framework in mind, rather than just improvising. Once you get used to sketching the outline of the beginning, middle, and end, you can often do this step in your head. If your plan is too long, start cutting it down.
Keep it short and simple
Each main section of your sketch should be able to be easily summed up in a short paragraph. However, if you are writing more than just a summary article, your outline may need to focus on the themes of the individual chapters first, and then break it down into interesting ideas related to the theme of each main section of the chapter. It’s about making every idea easy to read, easy to digest, and not making it boring or complicated. Avoid sentences that are too long, endless blocks of paragraphs without subtitles, and chapters that are too long to digest at once.
Avoid redundancy
Whatever subject you are discussing, get straight to the point. If you repeat yourself in writing, it will seem boring and unnecessary. Don’t repeat your ideas unless you add helpful information, such as when you use a story, metaphor, or example to clarify the thought process. Do not use multiple words with the same meaning in the same sentence.
Use an active tone
Passive verbs in your sentences make reading less exciting, so use active verbs that create action in the story. The present tense is also a good way to draw the reader into the present moment of your story, instead of letting them focus on the past or the future. If your subject isn’t acting straight and other actors are interjecting into your sentence, revise it aloud to make your style more impactful.
Show, don’t tell
Fiction and creative writers will need to focus on being descriptive as well, to create a 3D world with their words. They will therefore also have to show what their characters think, believe and feel through their actions, instead of dictating to the reader what to think of those actions. They will need to be able to describe things in a new way, rather than using common words that are flat and uninteresting.
Present examples, metaphors and stories
Even if you don’t write fiction, and want to write blogs and/or magazine articles, you can still benefit from presenting your intentions to the reader, through examples, metaphors and explanations. stories. These types of techniques can make your style captivating and addictive, too. It also captivates the reader on many levels, invoking a common experience that triggers memory feedback and, sometimes, sensory feedback.
Get creative with layouts
Your writing style is not limited to the words on your page. It also relates to how those words are arranged on the page. Take advantage of formats that can make your writing style easy to read and concise, such as bulleted lists or numbers. Don’t neglect the use of spaces to make your text easier to read. Break a large paragraph into two, if necessary, by adding spaces. This is particularly useful for texts written in successive paragraphs. These consecutive paragraphs tend to visually intersect when viewed on a computer screen.
