How to write good.
🙈 Big apologies for the link issue in Friday's email. You can click here to access the one-sentence marketing strategy PDF. Thanks!
10 clever fundraising tips on How to Write Good.
Look for the lesson (and irony) in each.
Because your brand hinges on writing well. From fundraising applications to pitch decks, social media to websites — written communication is a nonprofit superpower.
📌 And here are five bonus witty writing tips:
Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Don’t use commas, that, are not, necessary.
Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
And always be sure to finish what
💪🏽💛
(Sources: Frank L. Visco & William Safire)
The daily bonus
Here are 50 additional (all serious) writing tools from Roy Peter Clark, Senior Scholar, Poynter Institute:
#1: Branch to the Right
Begin sentences with subjects and verbs, letting subordinate elements branch to the right. Even a long, long sentence can be clear and powerful when the subject and verb make meaning early.
#2: Use Strong Verbs
Use verbs in their strongest form, the simple present or past. Strong verbs create action, save words, and reveal the players.
#3: Beware of Adverbs
Beware of adverbs. They can dilute the meaning of the verb or repeat it.
#4: Period As a Stop Sign
Place strong words at the beginning of sentences and paragraphs, and at the end. The period acts as a stop sign. Any word next to the period says, "Look at me."
#5: Observe Word Territory
Observe "word territory." Give key words their space. Do not repeat a distinctive word unless you intend a specific effect.
#6: Play with Words
Play with words, even in serious stories. Choose words the average writer avoids but the average reader understands.
#7: Dig for the Concrete and Specific
Always get the name of the dog.
#8: Seek Original Images
Seek original images. Make word lists, free-associate, be surprised by language. Reject cliches and "first-level creativity."
#9: Prefer Simple to Technical
Prefer the simple to the technical: shorter words and paragraphs at the points of greatest complexity.
#10: Recognize the Roots of Stories
Recognize the mythic, symbolic, and poetic. Be aware (and beware) that common themes of news writing have deep roots in the culture of storytelling.
#11: Back Off or Show Off
When the news or topic is most serious, understate. When the topic is least serious, exaggerate.
#12: Control the Pace
Control the pace of the story by varying sentence length.
#13: Show and Tell
Good writers move up and down the ladder of abstraction. At the bottom are bloody knives and rosary beads, wedding rings and baseball cards. At the top are words that reach for a higher meaning, words like "freedom" and "literacy."
#14: Interesting Names
Remember that writers are, by training and disposition, attracted to people and places with interesting names.
#15: Reveal Character Traits
Reveal character traits to the reader through scenes, details, and dialogue.
#16: Odd and Interesting Things
Put odd and interesting things next to each other.
#17: The Number of Elements
The number of examples you use in a sentence or a story has meaning.
#18: Internal Cliffhangers
Use them to move readers to turn the page.
#19: Tune Your Voice
Of all the effects created by writers, none is more important or elusive than that quality called "voice."
#20: Narrative Opportunities
Take advantage of narrative opportunities.
#21: Quotes and Dialogue
Learn how quotes differ from dialogue.
#22: Get Ready
Take a tip from Hamlet and always be prepared to tell the big story: Expect the unexpected.
#23: Place Gold Coins Along the Path
Learn how to keep your readers interested by placing gold coins throughout your story.
#24: Name the Big Parts
Seeing the structure of a story is easier if you can identify the main parts.
#25: Repeat
Purposeful repetition is not redundancy.
#26: Fear Not the Long Sentence
Do what you fear: Use long sentences.
#27: Riffing for Originality
Riff on the creative language of others.
#28: Writing Cinematically
Authors have long understood how to shift their focus to capture both landscape and character.
#29: Report for Scenes
The scene is the most basic unit of narrative literature. Scenes put us there, and make us care.
#30: Write Endings to Lock the Box
All writers have a license to end, and there are many ways to do so.
#31: Parallel Lines
Writers shape up their writing by paying attention to parallel structures in their words, phrases, and sentences.
#32: Let It Flow
A transition from tools to habits.
#33: Rehearsal
Procrastination can be productive.
#34: Cut Big, Then Small
Precise and concise writing comes from disciplined cutting.
#35: Use Punctuation
Proper punctuation can help a writer control how fast -- or slow -- a reader goes.
#36: Write A Mission Statement for Your Story
Learn how to reach the next level in your writing.
#37: Long Projects
Breaking a big project into small parts makes it easier to start writing.
#38: Polish Your Jewels
In shorter works, don't waste a syllable.
#39: The Voice of Verbs
Choose active or passive verbs for their special effects.
#40: The Broken Line
Use this tool to combine storytelling with reporting.
#41: X-Ray Reading
Reading others' work can help make you a better writer.
#42: Paragraphs
Go short or long, depending upon your purpose.
#43: Self-criticism
Go from nice and easy to rough and tough.
#44: Save String
Save information -- it could be used for a big project later.
#45: Foreshadow
Plant important clues early in the story.
#46: Storytellers, Start Your Engines
Good questions drive good stories.
#47: Collaboration
Help others in their crafts so they can help you.
#48: Create An Editing Support Group
Create a support network of friends, colleagues, editors, experts, and coaches who can give you feedback on your work.
#49: Learn from Criticism
Even severe or cynical criticism can help a writer.
#50: Too Many ‘ings’
Beware of too many ‘ings.’
Sneak peek
Coming up in tomorrow’s newsletter:
“Even someone inclined to support your cause may not give unless you push the right buttons,” says fundraising coach Claire Axelrad. “Of all the ways to do that, social proof is among the easiest and most successful.”