Give your writing some time

Writing is like a good wine. It's better when aged. Think of the times that you hurriedly composed something, gave it a quick read-through and shipped it off to its recipient, only to later discover that it contained spelling errors or sloppy grammar flaws. You might shrug it off with, "So what? Nobody worries about that sort of thing anymore." But they should. After all, sloppy writing -- like a weak, clammy handshake, a run in your stocking or a stain on your tie -- says something about you. Something not very flattering.

Maybe a grammar or spelling error or a typo wasn't buried in your copy. There are worse flaws. Perhaps you crafted a fuzzy, awkwardly worded sentence, or you put in a factual error or inserted a double-entendre that will be passed around the office like a juicy rumor.

So, like a good wine, let your writing age. Before you press the send button or slip that envelope into the mailbox, try to move onto other things for at least an hour, then come back to the piece and re-examine what you wrote. You'll be stunned at how many typing errors or writing flaws that you didn't see the first time now stand out. That's because when you initially write something, your mind can trick you. The first draft has you so absorbed that you can gloss over spelling or grammar problems, or miss flaws in structure. Coming back to your writing after a break, enables you to scrutinize your work with fresh eyes. An hour is a good, basic aging period. But if you can spare several hours, or better yet, a day or two, it's even better. If you can't, if that e-mail, memo or blog entry must be shipped instantly, go ahead. Just beware of the literary landmines that it might contain and give it an extra-careful read-through before sending it.

Will you catch every flaw and slip in your writing? Probably not. I'm sure this blog, for example, has some goofs in it. But aging your writing will aid you in catching the worst of the errors and, with time, you'll get better at spotting trouble in your writing before someone else does.

Extra! Extra! Sloppy writing can lead to slip-ups and snickers

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

As you can see from these actual newspaper headlines and the business sign in the photo, it's easy in writing to be funny without meaning to. That's why it's vital to always be mindful of the subtleties of language. Unintentionally humorous writing can slip into headlines and text without your knowing it until it's too late.

It's amusing when someone else inadvertently crafts copy that causes chuckles. But you don't want to be the wordsmith who pens such errors. Carefully read over what you've written. If possible, ask someone else to take a look at it. These precautions might prevent you from unwittingly becoming a comedy writer. The headline samples above came from alphadictionary.com, an informative Web site aimed at those interested in the use and mis-use of language.

Your Web site may look "mahvelous," but does it read well?

Would you slip someone your business card if it had a coffee stain on it? Would you show up at an important meeting wearing a wrinkled suit? You wouldn't dream of delivering a critical sales presentation without polishing it until it was perfect, would you?

My guess is that you answered, "No," "No" and "Heck no!" or something like that to the above questions. After all, appearances and effective communication count in business, you might add. I agree. That's why I'm stumped that so many businesses and organizations spend thousands of dollars on Web sites that are flashy and easily navigable, yet are marred by errors in grammar, usage, punctuation and even spelling. Flaws in syntax and sentence structure abound as well. Rarely do I find a site without some of these problems.

"You look mahvelous!" Billy Crystal liked to say in his old SNL act. Your Web site may look marvelous, too. But having it read poorly is akin to having a showy storefront that masks a cock-roach infested interior. The exterior may draw customers in, but what they find inside will send them fleeing.

Typically, what many companies do is hire folks with the technical savvy to construct a slick-looking site. Many meetings, demonstrations and tweaks later, all the bells and whistles are in place. As for writing the copy, that job is typically shoved off onto whoever has time to do it. Unfortunately, that may be someone who can write a decent business letter but who finds him or herself overwhelmed by a much more complex and demanding writing task. Maybe the assigned person simply doesn't have the time to devote to the project. Either way, errors slip in and are seen by the thousands of people who try to read the site and come away thinking, "If these people can't put up a readable Web site, how can I trust them with my important project?"

My advice: Put the same effort into ensuring the written content of your Web site is solid as you put into making the visual content shine. If you don't have someone on staff who's a writing expert, find someone who is (like me) and have that professional write the copy. That way, not only will your site look marvelous, it will read that way as well.

Good readers make better writers

One point I try to make to the students in my university-level writing class is that to be a good writer, you must be a good reader. When I tell them this, I sometimes get puzzled looks. Many think, mistakenly, that becoming skilled at writing only entails developing a solid grasp of grammar and mechanics, and learning how to assemble forceful sentences and paragraphs.

Those are all vital elements to learning the craft, but reading matters to the writer, too. It's by reading, reading and reading some more that your mind begins to absorb the nuances of language and how it's used. It exposes you to the myriad ways in which words can be harnessed to meaning. Reading the classics is a good start. For inspiration and instruction in the art of reading well, try Mortimer J. Adler's "How To Read A Book." But don't limit your reading to Dickens, Twain, Faulkner, Shakespeare and other august wordsmiths. Sample everything: comics, blogs, newspapers, ads. Read the good, the bad and the ugly.

Pay attention to how effective writing accomplishes its aims and how the awful stuff falls flat. In time, you'll see how your reading informs your writing ... and makes it worth reading.

Choose your words wisely

One of my favorite pieces of writing advice comes from Mark Twain: "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." I like that maxim so much that it's on the home page of my Web site, leighcomonline.com.

If you're trying to capture lightning on paper, or at least a few illustrative sparks, you must choose wisely when it comes to words. Nuance is everything. That means paying attention to words, many of which sound alike but have different meanings, such as affect and effect or continual and continuous. Confusing word meanings and connotations can create confusion or produce chuckles.

One of the exercises I give my university students is to write a news story about a bank robbery from a fictional set of facts, including one that states that the robbers ordered the tellers to dump the cash from the cash drawers into bags. Unfailingly, I'll get sentences from my students such as, "The robbers got into the tellers' drawers" or "The robbers told the tellers to empty their drawers into bags."

In these instances, the students didn't confuse meaning, but they neglected word nuance and the fact that drawers can have a different interpretation, sometimes to comical effect. These slips are funny when someone else does them. But be careful and make sure it isn't you.

Keyboard casualties

The Washington Post is reporting that handwriting is becoming a forgotten skill, largely because people have abandoned pens and pencils and are using keyboards for most of their writing tasks. This is starting earlier and earlier in life. Even most elementary school children know their way around a keyboard. Those with poor handwriting or those who have struggled to read someone else's sloppy handwriting may celebrate handwriting's downfall, but maybe this is not such a good thing.

In my last post I talked about writing things manually as a means of oiling a creaky brain and permitting words and ideas to flow more freely. Writing by hand also is an aid in brainstorming ideas in connection with a writing project. These were my own opinions based on personal experience. But it turns out that researchers have established a link between handwriting and the ability to write more richly, according to the Washington Post article. It's always nice when science supports your opinions, isn't it?

Another keyboard casualty is cursive writing. Anyone older than 45 probably knows instantly what cursive is. You probably spent hours in grade school painstakingly copying curvy, looping letters based on the models posted on the board at the front of the class. Compared with block-style handwriting or printing, cursive lettering seems particularly outdated. But, like the printed handwriting we do when we succeed in unshackling ourselves from the keyboard, cursive also has its uses, though many of us who were taught it in school probably have forgotten how to form all the letters, especially "q," which bears little resemblance to its printed cousin.

Certainly, I'm not arguing that it's acceptable for business or organizational communications to be submitted in handwritten form, no matter how neat your style is. But, as I've said before, keep handwriting handy in your writer's toolbox as a crowbar for unlodging stubborn thoughts.

Take a break from the keyboard

If you ever get jaded with the dull clack of plastic keyboard keys when you're writing on a computer screen, or your writing becomes swept up in a mental logjam, try switching to a different writing medium.

Pull out a legal pad and a pen or pencil and start writing longhand – the way everyone from Shakespeare to Dickens did it. There's something about the tactile process of putting words on paper manually that pries open the door to more creative and expressive communication. Plus, a pen-and-paper medium allows you to cross out, annotate, sketch and connect thoughts with bold, slashing pen strokes. Though I write mostly on a keyboard, I keep several legal pads handy as well as a spiral-bound artist's sketch diary. I like the sketch pad's heavyweight paper and the fact that the sheets are unlined. This lack of form sometimes sparks creativity. Writing on paper also lets you sample different writing instruments.

Buy a box of Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils, the bright yellow ones with the shiny green lettering that you may have chewed on in sixth grade. Write big and bold with a Sharpie or cough up some serious cash and buy a fine pen like a Mont Blanc. I used to write with a cherished Mont Blanc fountain pen until it rolled off the table and crashed nib-first onto a ceramic tile floor. It's still on my desk in the 125 ml chemistry beaker I use as a pen holder. One of these days I'll shell out the dough to get the crumpled nib fixed.

Another option is scrounging up a typewriter, preferably a manual. Hammering away on a vintage Royal or Underwood and hearing the pleasantly percussive sound of metal keys striking paper is a forgotten pleasure that makes you feel like tipping back your fedora and barking, "Copy boy!" These mechanical beauties can still be found cheap at flea markets and garage sales. They don't always work perfectly, but that's OK. All you need is a technique to break away from the routine of writing electronically so you can gain a fresh outlook on what it is you want to say.

Simply say what you mean

"Simplify," Thoreau said. Good advice for cluttered lives and for bloated writing. It's easy when we write to let our message wander into a wilderness of tangled sentences and thorny paragraphs. We know what we want to say and could express it clearly if we were talking to someone. But when we try to communicate through writing, it's as though we've donned a powdered wig and taken up a plumed pen. We get too formal, too darned starchy.

Before long, awkward phrases like "despite the fact that," "at the present time," "during the course of," and similarly sluggish expressions start wandering onto the stage. This is where it's wise to remember Thoreau's edict. Simplify, be straightforward, use one word instead of two or three. Taken in order, the phrases above could be pared to "although," "now" and "during."

Most of us rarely use overly formal phrasing when we're speaking. It's just when we take up that feathery pen that it spills out. Next time you're writing and you spot a mucky string of words, scratch them out and imagine that you're having a conversation with a good listener. How would you say it? Usually, a more direct, less cumbersome word or words will come to you. Use them and you'll edge that much closer to communicating effectively. Simple, isn't it?