Here ye. Here ye.

This is the first of many blogs to help writers write. Whether notes to family and friends, memos to colleagues, press releases, feature stories or anything else you produce to communicate your thoughts, I will try to give you some tips on making them more interesting and readable.

With over 35 years of writing experience, I have found the following Top 10 to be important guides in getting stuff read:

1. always remember who are you trying to reach
2. have something to say and ask yourself "who cares?"
3. write about what you know
4. write like you talk and from the heart
5. write short sentences and paragraphs
6. be clear and don't assume your reader has your knowledge
7. DON'T WRITE IN CAPS
8. avoid words that you think make you sound smart
9. do not write in anger
10. use a dictionary or spellcheck

There are many other factors that enter into writing, such as style and tone, but I'll try to explore those in later blogs. I'd love to hear your comments and successes.

Your champion,

Sir Wordsalot