Wordle for Frequently Used Words

Ever heard of a wordle? A wordle is a tool for generating 'word clouds' to analyze and create greater prominence of words frequently used in a source text, such as blog.

The following image shows he frequently used words at this blog. The larger the size of the word is displayed, the greater the number of times the word has been used.

http://www.wordle.net/ ~ June 2, 2009

Editorial Style Guide

When writing for corporate communication, it is usual for writers to follow a certain style of writing as prescribed by the corporation. This style is commonly termed as house style or editorial style guide.

Not too long ago, I was tasked by a corporation in the technology industry to come out with an Editorial Style Guide for its marketing communication team and internal technical writers. As documentation in the corporation involves various genres of writings, I decided upon using the standards or guidelines set by two of the world's most accepted editorial styles: Modern Language Association (MLA) and Associated Press (AP).

Documentation with content primarily consisting of story writing style will follow the guidelines by MLA, while documentation associated with news or media will follow the guidelines by AP. This essentially means documentation using MLA editorial style will include technical paper, white paper, solution brief, solution guide, user guide, sales guide, product data sheet, magazine, newsletter, presentation, proposal, release note, report, training material and web content. Documentation using AP style, on the other hand, will include press/media/news release, media kit, news wire and other related stuff.

One of the key differences between the two style guides is in the way a heading or title is written. While MLA style guide recommends de-capitalizing all conjunctions, prepositions, and articles in headings or titles with the exception of the first and last word, AP style guide recommends capitalizing all principal words including verbs, prepositions and conjunctions with more than three letters.

Editorial style guides are essential tools for writers looking into writing for corporations and businesses. If you are planning to look into writing for the commercial world, you will need to understand some of the standards required in writing practices for the industry, including the usage of capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, quotation and numbers.

More information on Editorial Style Guide available: MLA / AP

Customer-Centric Writing

There are many ways to write a story and depending on the point of view or the angle the story is written will decide how readers respond to the story or be drawn to continue reading the story.

Take a scenario description in a solution guide of a computer networking company for example. The scenario may be described in three different ways:

Option 1
A company with 5 to 50 computer network nodes hopes to achieve more efficient information-sharing among employees. Budget and IT expertise are key constraints. The company wants a network infrastructure solution that is cost effective, easy to deploy, and simple to manage.

Option 2
Alex is the owner of a company with 5 to 50 employees. He hopes to have his employees share information more efficiently. Budget and IT expertise are key constraints, and Alex hopes to have a network infrastructure that is cost effective, easy to deploy, and simple to manage.

Option 3
Your company is made up of 5 to 50 employees with each having a computer, and you hope to have your employees share information efficiently and securely. Budget and IT expertise are key constraints, and you hope to build a network infrastructure which is cost effective, easy to deploy, and simple to manage.

Which of the three options above do you think is more customer-centric? Option 1 is not the one, because it does not draw customers’ attention to desire to read further. Option 2 is not too bad as a narrative and is perfectly normal for novel reading, being written from a third person’s perspective. Option 3, however, is usually preferred for business writing because it draws the reader into the scenario.

Customer-centric writing is in some way similar to marketing writing or copywriting, where the AIDA principle applies. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. AIDA is usually achieved in sequence, first to draw readers’ attention especially in the headlines, then the interest to continue reading, bring the customer to desire the product or solution before taking final action to purchase.

In the example mentioned above, when it comes to writing about the solution, therefore, rather than emphasize what the company can offer as a solution, write to show the customer how the solution can help meet their needs and provide benefits.

Peace and Quiet

Peace and quiet is a must-have for most writers, in order for them to think and write creatively. These days, however, peace and quiet is almost impossible to achieve. Whether as a passenger onboard public transport, a driver in a car, a pedestrian walking on the street, or a worker at the workplace, there are noises, sounds, and chatter everywhere.

Take public transport for example. In a bus or train, we hear people talking over the phones or to one another, people playing music on their mp3 or mp4 out loud, parents teaching their children or telling stories from story books to their children, among other noises. One of the ways for writers to get away from all these s to go a place of quiet peace, such as in a room of your house, or out at sea, or to a nature reserve or park some distance away from the noises of vehicles, mobile devices and the kinds.

If time does not permit for the writer to go to the world of nature or to be away from the daily hustles and bustles of life, however, the next best thing to do is for the writer to have his or her own mp3 or mp4 player plugged in with soothing music, such as the instrumentals. One audio CD which I particularly like that helps me put my mind to rest is Peace Instrumental by Integrity Music. If you, like me, need to calm your mind before you write, you can try listening to this CD.

With noises surroundings us almost every moment of our lives, it is important for us to find peace and quiet in the midst of all these. Without a heart of solitude and an environment of calm, it is often hard to produce good writings, and good writings are what we must have if we want to be good writers.

All About Writing

Some of you may find it difficult to search through my blog for specific topics on writing experiences and tips in the archives, so I have created this entry to help you navigate:

• A Writer's Nightmare
• Editorial Style Guide
• Fee or Free?
• Writers' Block
• Live to Write
• Ghostwriting
• Copywriting
• Feature Writing
• News Reporting: The Inverted Pyramid
• Contemporary Fiction: Genres and Beyond
• International Journalism: Freedom of Press
• International Journalism - A Book Review
• Online Journalism
• Photo Journalism
• Writing Simple
• Writing Dialogues
• Writing Techniques
• Writing Beyond Cultures

Feel free to share your views on writing at this blog!

Colons and Dialogues

Colons are commonly seen in dialogues within news stories, but they are never seen in fiction writing because colons hinder the flow of reading.

Take for example the following dialogue in a newspaper:

A witness of the accident, Howart Steward, 47, said:

"The boy was running across the road while the traffic light was still red."

In fiction writing, the example above will have to be reworded to exclude the colon, and this may be done in several ways. For example:

"The boy was running across the road while the traffic light was still red," Howart Steward told the policeman.

or

Howart Steward was at the scene of the accident when it happened.

"The boy was running across the road while the traffic light was still red," he told the policeman.

From the examples above, it is clear that news and fiction writing requires dissimilar styles in writing. The use of colon while acceptable in news stories is a no-no in fiction writing, so if you are writing fiction, remember always to exclude colon in dialogues.

P.S. This is one of the reasons why many journalists find it hard to write a novel!

Writers' Block: Clarity of Mind

As a writer for a corporation, I sometimes encounter creative blocks in my writing, especially when under pressure to get something done within a short deadline.

A few days ago, I was assigned to write a corporate email to a Minister of State on behalf of the top management to give an account of the events that took place while she was visiting our country. It was evening, and I was expected to finish the writing on the same day so the mail can be sent out first thing in the next morning.

After three hours of struggle, I managed to complete the draft, which I deem as not exactly up to standard. What I was unable to achieve in three hours that evening, however, I was able to complete within half hour early the next morning, entirely re-written and with the needed punch.

The fact that an article can be better written at a different time shows the effectiveness of writing with needed rest, and the importance of clarity of mind. By the end of a day, writers are often too tired to think, and when pressured to come up with something within a short time, the written work will never be as good as when it is written with a clear mind. Much can be achieved with better results when a writer is given the needed rest and a fresh mind on another day. However, such luxury is usually hard to come by, therefore, alternatives such as a break in routine can help.

To find out more about overcoming writers' block, read my article on Inspiration vs Hard Work.