11 tips for how to keep your readers reading - Josh Bernoff 1 Scare the crap out of them. 2 Ditch the introduction. 3 Keep it short. 4 Use the reader questions method to design the book before you write it. 5 Start chapters with stories 6 End chapters with teasers. 7 Write directly to the reader with “you” and “we.” 8 Vary the length of sentences and paragraphs, and keep paragraphs short....
The thread - Josh Bernoff What is the thread? It is the throughline of any blog post, essay, or book chapter. The point Setup Reasoning Exploration The point Start with the end in mind. What is the point? Write the title and the lede based on that. Then, the setup. What is the problem? What is have I noticed? Then, reasoning. Examples. Stories. Structures and frameworks. Subsidiary points. Then some additional richness....
If they tell you how they think or feel, they’re most likely right. If they tell you what to do, they’re most likely wrong. From a comment on…
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“UI design starts with words.” (via How Do You Design Interaction? | Smashing Magazine )
How to Steal Killer Sales Copy Straight from Your Prospects' Mouths What’s in these 2 warehouses? Pure copywriting gold. … Also known as “customer reviews”. Warehouse #1: Amazon Reviews Most services are tied, in some way, to products. So if you offer a service, read the related product reviews, and steal from there. For example: If you offer a project management service, mine reviews for books about how to manage projects If you offer a directory of professionals – like AnyFu or Sortfolio – pull from reviews of biographies of the legends in those professions If you have a deal-of-the-day site, spend a little time on Amazon reviews for every product you host every day If you’re an unknown fashion designer on Etsy, pull from clothing reviews that highlight the things people want when they don’t care about big brands and labels If you’re a freelance graphic designer, find new ways to express your value by reading the reviews for Adobe Photoshop and for books on DIY design Warehouse #2: AppStore Reviews If you’re in the mobile app, digital product or game business, the AppStore is loaded with customer reviews that will help you write sick copy that resonates with prospects....
The Elements of Style (via jslint_com – Yahoo Groups ) According to Wikipedia: The Elements of Style (1918), by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, is a prescriptive American English writing style guide comprising eight “elementary rules of usage”, ten “elementary principles of composition”, “a few matters of form”, a list of forty-nine “words and expressions commonly misused”, and a list of fifty-seven “words often misspelled”.
What is the best horror story you can come up with in two sentences. : AskReddit I just saw my reflection blink. — marino1310 I begin tucking him into bed and he tells me, “Daddy check for monsters under my bed.” I look underneath for his amusement and see him, another him, under the bed, staring back at me quivering and whispering, “Daddy there’s somebody on my bed.” — justAnotherMuffledVo...
Svbtle An invite-only network of people who strive to produce great content. We focus on three things: the writing, the news, and the ideas. Everything else is a distraction.
“Every Time Technology Changes, It Changes What People in the Plot Can Do.” An Interview With Margaret Atwood Reading and writing has always changed depending on how it was delivered. This is not a new thing. We tend to be “Golden Age” about everything. We imagine a past about things being better, but we’ve forgotten a lot of stuff. People are always scared of new technology. On the first trains, people had nervous breakdowns, because they were going too fast....