Beyond Tactics: Three Principles for Better Writing

COVID-19 has forced the modern world inside. For marketers, our world is upside down and underfunded. But there is a lot of optimism in this collective, global action. Humans are acting together to stop a common foe. This is fundamentally a good thing because humans don’t tend to change when comfortable. This moment of discomfort will mean movement, and I believe we will all change for the better. Some of that positive change will be in the world of content marketing, a discipline more relevant now than ever before. Becoming comfortable creating great content is a must. The new world of content goes far beyond the written word but these three lessons, while learned and taught through writing, are core to crafting any content moving audience to action.

Beyond your job, remember that writing is an effort towards immortality, a journey into self and a connection to the future. Today is an opportunity to observe, record, learn, share, and connect through content like never before. 

My team at Cunningham Collective and I recently read Ann Handley’s Everybody Writes. We treat writing as a core competency and Ann’s book is an amazing tool for any writer at any level. I highly recommend you read her book for comprehensive tactics that will make you a better and more effective writer.

After reading her book we came together to dive deeper into our own internal editors. How do we ensure we are always becoming better writers? Some of the tricks we came up with are in my “Quick Tricks for Better Writing" article. But more important than any tactic, we settled on three writing concepts that are like elders whose teachings grow in mysterious but profound ways.

A concert pianist makes many mistakes while practicing but knows enough about the instrument, music, and their abilities to teach themselves through the mistakes to further their mastery in real-time. This is what we want to do when writing. 

1. It is ALWAYS your responsibility as a writer or communicator to be understood and NEVER your listener’s or audience’s responsibility to understand. Language would not work if it did not rest on this very simple logic. This is an example of golden logic. Logic that, if followed, produces naturally beneficial outcomes for all parties. Another example of golden logic is a strategy of sharing food between two people where one makes the cut and the other chooses which half. It perfectly aligns the incentives of each person to be maximally fair. It is exceedingly simple. Knowing it is your responsibility to be understood when communicating is just as simple and probably more valuable to your life. Unless you have kids, in which case fair sharing may indeed be the higher priority!

This wisdom puts the onus on you to communicate. When you live this wisdom, you avoid making assumptions that would confuse or mislead your audience. You will write with greater empathy because you are helping your audience understand something specific. Being understood is on you. Always. 

2. Write a lot into a little. You have probably heard this idea before, perhaps as articulated by Mark Twain, “I would have written you a shorter letter if only I had the time.” Brevity and clarity are the surest signals of great writing. 

Always be asking yourself, why is this here? Why am I doing this? What does it all mean!? No, not the meaning of life - don’t get nihilistic - but be skeptical that what you have written is helpful or meaningful. There is always a way to successfully communicate, to be understood, with fewer words. Challenge yourself to find that way. 

3. Rhythm. Write with mellifluous language. What flows pleasantly past the ear and into the heart will stay longer in the mind. This is why there are poetry forms like sonnets and limericks. People noticed that certain patterns of words and syllables sound better than everyday language. If what you are communicating is beautiful, it will be received and understood more readily. You’ll earn more attention, improve retention, and show that you are an optimistic humanist who believes in cultivating a better, lovelier world. 

Developing rhythm in writing is a lifelong journey. You will never “make it.” This shouldn’t be disheartening. You’ll learn to love the small sentences that sing. They’ll surprise you and delight you in myriad ways. As you pay attention to what aesthetically and phonetically pleases you when writing, you’ll improve over time while developing your unique voice. 

In summary: 1. Remember it is ALWAYS your responsibility to be understood, never your audience’s responsibility to understand. 2. Write a lot into a little. 3. Write rhythmically for attention, retention, and the love of humanity.