How writers build good roads

You have an amazing idea. Your product can change the world. Your service will make life so much easier.

But none of that matters if you can’t communicate about it.

Think about what our words accomplish: at the most basic level, they take idea from your head and put it into the head of someone else. Doing that well means the idea arrives at its destination intact.

Words also have the incredible ability to create emotion and influence our feelings. Think of it like colouring in the idea that we’re sending on that journey, and really bringing it to life.

When done right, we walk away with two things: person #2 knows exactly what we’re talking about, and they care.

Our words shape our messages. So when it comes to writing well, I’m going to break it down into those two parts, as two metaphors, over two posts. Let’s get started.

Writing is a road trip for your ideas

Instead of cities, they’re traveling between minds, and instead of a highway, they’re using your words to get there. When they leave, you tell them “don’t forget to buckle up” and “have a good trip,” while hoping they arrive quickly and in one piece.

Let’s say there’s an accident on the road. This one’s relatively minor (like a typo or a missing word), but it’s still slowing down traffic. Your ideas have to wait a little longer and the inconvenience might annoy the person waiting for them to arrive, but at least they get there.

Now let’s say it’s been snowing and your ideas can’t see the road very well. We’re getting a bit more serious here (like awkward or ambiguous phrasing). Your ideas take it slow, but – whoops – that’s the ditch. They dig themselves out and patch themselves up as best they can, but when they arrive, they don’t look the same as they did when they left.

Finally, let’s say the road crosses a hundred intersections, and all of them are unmarked. This is the worst-case scenario (like writing without an outline or a sense of what you want to say). Your ideas are trying their best to reach their destination, but they’re just getting lost over and over again, leaving your reader with no idea what’s going on.

I could go on – there are lots of hazards on the road that could impede your ideas. That’s where writers come in. They help build and navigate those roads so your message arrives on time, as intended.

Here’s how writers build good roads

Keep it clear. We remove anything that doesn’t make the path clean and simple, support the idea, or have a clear purpose in helping the idea arrive.

• Use language that your audience will understand
• Don’t cram too much into a sentence or point

Make it short. We want the idea to arrive in its entirety as quickly as possible, so we stop building when the idea is complete and avoid taking unnecessary detours.

• Cull unnecessary words, sentences, and paragraphs if they don’t add value
• Rewrite wordy or awkward phrases to make them shorter

Carry a map. We like to plan the route first, so we know where we’re going and how to get there before we start.

• Define what one piece of information you want your audience to walk away with
• Outline what you want to say and how you’ll structure it before you start writing

Install signage. We’re experts in navigation and signage, whether it’s through punctuation, grammar, or spelling. We keep it consistent through the entire ride, too.

• Check for punctuation and grammatical errors
• Use a style guide to make sure you apply the same rules everywhere

Use good material. We use good information that passes muster on inspection, and provides concrete support to the ideas that cross it.

• Have proof to back up your ideas (and make it available for your audience)
• Check your information and sources

Pave carefully. We make sure there are no gaps, cracks, or holes in the information. The path should be smooth and complete from end to end.

• Introduce information in an order that’s easy to follow
• Check that there aren’t any missing steps or information along the way

I’m not just talking about blog posts like this one, though it’s definitely a prime example. Writing matters in everything from your product pitch and your business plan to your videos and websites. It’s the layer of your company people probably interact with most commonly, and acts as a foundation upon which they make decisions.

Follow these tips and you’ll come out with writing that more effectively communicates your ideas. Point A to Point B accomplished. But what about the second part, where you get the other person to care about them? We’ll cover that in part two, when we look at writing as a conversation.