7 Steps to Better Writing

Book excerpt: Finally, a book that shows how to vastly improve your writing using modern technology! This book lays out 7 steps that will enhance your writing. These proven methods yield superior results. As you apply them, you'll communicate better and achieve more influence. You'll learn how to better identify your readers' needs and write to capture their interest. You'll sense how to control the tone of your writing so it rings true with your readers. You'll understand how to collect and organize the information you need to be persuasive. This book shows you how to exploit the power of the internet, how to quickly find information, and how to use it to full advantage. You'll learn how to make interviews productive. You'll find tools to help you capture information so it's easy to recall and reuse. You'll discover how to brainstorm more effectively, whether you work alone or are part of a team. You'll come to know how to use mind-mapping software to spur your creativity. You'll see how to use Ishikawa Diagrams to structure your ideas. And, you'll grasp how to check your thinking for completeness. You'll be provided with dozens of techniques for organizing your thoughts and material. You'll learn approaches for analyzing problems, proposing changes, persuading others, explaining complex topics, telling stories, and generating powerful sales copy. You'll know how to capture attention, hold the reader's interest, and drive home your point. You'll acquire the ability to draft faster with better results. You'll see how to focus on what works. You'll pick up tips on how to better use voice recognition software to go for speed, control your tone, always have more relevant things to say, and write compelling summaries and conclusions. You'll learn how to edit with power and confidence. You'll realize how to spot and eliminate unclear themes, incorrect assumptions, lapses in logic, irrelevant information, and inappropriate amount of evidence--both too little and too much. You'll find simple explanations of grammar. And in doing so, you'll get the tools you need to craft sentences that really work to communicate your ideas. You'll gain the ability to keep your writing simple and clear. In addition, you'll learn how to check the sound of what you have written using text readers so it resonates with your readers. In short, you'll become a master of crafting powerful and persuasive language. In addition, you'll improve your ability to proof your work, so you are not embarrassed by making stupid errors. You'll be introduced to a sequenced approach to proofreading that minimizes your effort and provides the best results. And finally, you'll learn how to apply these many insights and tips to write better emails, letters, memos, reports, presentations, articles, blogs, websites, and business proposals. THE RESULT. You'll find the words to express your thoughts and feelings. And, your proposals, reports, and emails will get the attention they deserve. This is a book for people in business, government, non-profit organizations, and education. It's a book for those writing serious material for their jobs and their callings. This book contains everything necessary to improve your writing, and there's no fluff. In the time it takes to read this book--less than 4 hours--you can start becoming a stronger writer. After investing only 8 hours--one normal workday--in doing some of the recommended exercises, you'll see improvements in your writing. Is it magic? No. It's just good advice backed up by extensive research and decades of experience. You too can write better, even exceptionally well. 7 Steps to Better Writing will help you do it.