Shiny Writing Style
If you know your goal with a piece of writing and who you're writing for, it's time to write.
While writing style is unique, the principles of good writing aren't. Please follow these guidelines consistently throughout your writing.
Speak to your reader
Address your reader unless you're sharing a first-person lesson or writing a third-person case study. This engages readers and makes them feel like you're writing for them, not at them.
Example:
✅"In this article, we'll show you how to increase wifi reach indoors"
❌"In this article, you'll discover how to increase wifi reach in your house"
Remove unnecessary words.
Attention spans are short. That's why we convey our message with the fewest words possible. Concise writing is authoritative, readable and effective.
Ask yourself: Can I remove words from this sentence without reducing its message?
If the answer is yes, remove those words.
An example: If you want to buy yourself a nice computer you'll love, we can really recommend the MacBook Pro.
This sentence has a clear message. But it sounds whimsical and uncertain.
If you want a computer you'll love, we recommend the MacBook Pro.
This simpler sentence contains the same message. It uses fewer words, but sounds clearer and more trustworthy.
Common ways to cut words
Useless words often occur in a few places:
Adverbs
You can usually distill adverb + verb to one descriptive verb. "radically changed" becomes "transformed". "Walked quickly" becomes "rushed" etc.
Adjectives
Like adverbs, many adjectives serve no purpose. The "very tall man" becomes "giant". "Big company" becomes "corporation".
Nouns => Verbs
When verbs become nouns, sentences become complex. To simplify, avoid words that end in"-ion" "-ization", etc.
An example: ❌"The influx of urban elites led to a transformation in the city." ✅"The influx of urban elites transformed the city."
Simplify Sentences
Complex sentences confuse readers. While we need variation, most sentences benefit from shortening. There are two ways to simplify sentences:
Break one big sentence up into two simple ones
Remove words and change sentence structure
An example of both:
❌At this point, it should be clear that bananas are one of the best foods for your gut health, especially considering the fact that they contain high amounts of potassium, which has been known to promote healthy metabolism for decades. This sentence is confusing. Most people wouldn’t finish or comprehend it. ✅By now, you know bananas are one of the best foods for your gut health. That's because they contain potassium, a mineral known for promoting a healthy metabolism. The information is the same, but the phrasing is simpler. This makes the writing more readable.
Specific > General
Generalities make writing boring and untrustworthy. Specifics show your reader that you know them and did your research. Imagine you wrote an article on NFT marketing tactics that helps creators sell out NFT profile picture mints. Your subtitle reads: ❌NFT creators can be successful by only using these social media marketing tactics. This sentence says little. It doesn't speak to a specific reader. What does success mean? What do we mean by social media? ✅NFT creators can sell out their mint by only using these Twitter and Discord marketing tactics. This sentence clarifies what success means: Selling out a mint. It speaks to the specific audience the article targets. By specifying social networks, we define what media this is about. In either case, specificity helps a reader decide whether this article is for them. If someone was looking for Instagram marketing advice (something not in the article), they would be frustrated by their interaction with Shiny.
Active > Passive
Passive voice is sometimes necessary, but makes writing harder to understand. Switching into active voice forces you to clarify who's doing something, which makes writing clearer. ❌It has been said that "You lead by being willing to walk alone." ✅Naval Ravikant said: "You lead by willing to walk alone."
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