Content Development Tips Archives - Page 2 of 3

The Best Question to Ask a Creative Company

Choosing a creative company becomes easier when you ask this.

Productivity-Boosting Keyboard Shortcuts for Writers

Speed up your everyday writing workflow with these basic keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Word. Sometimes mouse-work can be slow and tedious. Here are a few essential PC keyboard shortcuts you can use to get more done in less time! Ctrl + A Select all Ctrl + C Copy Ctrl + V Paste Ctrl + F …

14 Ways to Break Writer’s Block

When your livelihood depends upon your ability to write, writer’s block is like a power outage. Your mind goes dark, and you have no idea when the lights will come back on. Here are 14 time-honored ways to break writer’s block: Take a break. Overworking your brain can make it just shut down. Surf the …

[CONTENT DEVELOPMENT] Don’t Read Today’s Blog Post!

Maybe telling people that they shouldn’t read your blog post is a lousy idea for actually getting people to read your blog post. But the point is made, nonetheless. You’re here. This week’s post is about how to write attention-getting titles for your blog posts. Here are some templates that you can put to immediate …

[WORD PEOPLE] Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lorem Ipsum…

This week’s blog posting will explore a topic that has bugged Word People for hundreds of years. What is “Lorem Ipsum” anyway, and why do we use it in page layout? According to lipsum.com (and yes, there is a website devoted to this topic…who knew?): “Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and …

[CONTENT DEVELOPMENT TIPS] The Art of Writing Small

Want to be a better writer? Learn to “write small.” Great writers know how to pack loads of meaning and emotion into the fewest possible words. Ernest Hemingway’s works contain powerful examples of small writing. He was once challenged to tell an entire story in only six words. Here’s how he did it: “For sale: …

Tips for Avoiding Gender Bias in Writing

In the past, it was considered acceptable to simply refer to a person as he or him or man. However, along with the deeper and long overdue integration of women into the workforce came more respect for women as individuals. We must show that respect in our writing. This can be difficult because gender bias …

How to Write for an Eighth-Grade Reading Level

When writing documentation, marketing content, or training materials, keeping the audience in mind is an important step in producing effective content. Sometimes, you may be asked to limit your writing to a specific reading level so it’s accessible to a broad range of users. You can monitor the reading level of a document by turning …

Writing for the Web: Using Your Middle Brain

Ever tried writing for the web? Ever wonder why it’s so hard? There’s an awful lot of brainpower that is needed in order to write great web copy—a mixture of both sides of the brain. If your brain was a computer (which it really is), and it ran a program like “Web Writer 6.0,” you’d …

The Revenge of Project Killers

What’s worse than Friday the 13th? The sequels. Okay, that was a cheap shot, but now that I have your attention, what’s really worse than Friday the 13th—even worse than having a black cat cross your path under a ladder? Falling prey to superstitious assumptions when we should know better. Before you think we’re talking …