Posted on 19 May 2008 by Ugur Akinci
(Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons)
Don't write what is obvious.
Eliminate all redundant words and phrases.
Your readers will still get your drift without any over-explanations.
EXAMPLE: The judge sentenced the thief to six years in jail.
BETTER: The judge sentenced the thief to six years.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Posted on 16 May 2008 by Ugur Akinci
(Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons)
You've heard it a thousand times that "passive voice" is bad and "active voice" is good.
In general, I also agree with that advice.
For example, "I wrote this e-mail" (active voice) is a much better way of stating the fact than "this e-mail was written by me".
However, as with everything else under the sun, there are exceptions to this rule as well.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Posted on 08 May 2008 by Ugur Akinci
Rules 7 - 10
7) Repeat after Kenny Rogers: “You got to know when to hold’em; know when to fold’em…”
Sometimes we all get stuck on a track that leads to nowhere but for some reason we keep banging our heads on the same wall.
There ARE alternatives in life, especially for writers. Remember that.
I was a newspaper reporter for four years in Washington DC. The first couple of years I thought my career was going somewhere.
During the last two years I realized, nope, it wasn’t really going to add up to anything. I was on a treadmill repeating the same old things for the same old results. No progress.
After looking around for six months, someone suggested “technical writing” – something I didn't even think before. I wasn’t even sure what tech writers exactly did. But I decided to take a calculated gamble anyways.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Posted on 04 May 2008 by Ugur Akinci
Rules 3 - 6
3) Know your heart and your inner voice.
WHY are you writing? Money is fine, but what else? What are your beliefs and core values? What is your Truth?
The answers to these questions do not come easy and they change over time too.
I’m for example still formulating my answers and refining them, re-configuring some of them. But the questions are smoking alive, burning while illuminating my way.
Without that inner sense of who you are, you’ll never have the courage to make the necessary investment and sacrifice. You need that to create the kind of writing that will benefit you and the world. We can talk more about this important point later if you’d like.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Posted on 30 April 2008 by Ugur Akinci
Rules 1 and 2
I've been working as a professional writer for almost 20 years now.
It’s been a long haul, and fun too. I always enjoyed sitting at my keyboard and click-clicking the keys. Remember that B.B. King classic, “The Thrill Is Gone”? I never had to sing that one, knock on wood.
God knows I tried many genres and styles in the past, including academic papers, journalism, desk top publishing, screen writing, short stories, blogging, copy writing, and technical writing.
Popularity: 7% [?]
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