10 tips to electrify your writing
Source : By Bhaskar Sarma |Posted:July 5, 2012
William Zinsser needs no introduction to
writers. His book "On Writing Well" is one of the must-have additions
to your reading list if you aim to write well.
If you are a marketing copywriter, your ignoring
this book would be akin to a medical student's not having read a copy of
"Gray's Anatomy": You would look like a newbie quack.
In no particular order, here are 10 lessons
that I took away from a first reading of Zinsser's book. I am sure that I will
easily be able to write 25 more points after revisiting it.
若你是一個營銷文案寫手，你忽略了這本書將類似於醫學院的學生不讀“葛氏人體解剖學”的版本：你會像一個新手。
沒有特定的順序，這裡有10個重點是我初次閱讀此書後的摘要。我相信，我再重新閱讀後我能再輕鬆的寫出25個重點。
1. KISS: Keep it short and simple.
1. Kiss：保持扼要和簡單。
Brevity is at the core of Zinsser's writing
philosophy. The use of every word has to be justified, and, wherever possible,
more should be done with less.
This advice is especially important when
you are writing to sell something online, given the extremely short attention
spans of readers.
An overuse of abbreviations, jargon, and
clichés is the easiest way to ensure that you will bore your readers
and make them click elsewhere. The first two are as sneaky as pickpockets,
especially when your copywriting niche is something like B2B IT.
Eternal vigilance is the price of
persuasive copywriting.
簡潔是Zinsser寫作理念的核心。合理使用的每一個字，並在可能的情況下，簡單扼要。
當你正在編寫網路行銷產品時，這個建議是特別重要的，給讀者極簡的注意力。
永恆的警惕是具說服力的文案價格。
2. Obsess over word choices.
2 迷戀字的選擇。
Because words are all a writer has to
persuade readers, Zinsser emphasizes the need for appropriate words. For
instance, one single word in the subject line is all it takes to shoot the open
rates of an email through the roof.
Even when you have chosen the right words,
their order of placement is also important. Would "hearty and hale"
cut the mustard? Does a "friend family" make the same sense as a
"family friend"?
Further evidence of the power of words lies
in the power
words: words used in headlines to strike an emotional chord in the reader.
Words matter in real life, and they matter
even more in copy.
因為作家選用字詞來說服讀者，Zinsser強調需要用適當的詞語。例如，在主題行中的首段關鍵字句段落往往影響一封電子郵件的命中開閱率。
即使你選擇了正確的字句，他們放置的順序也很重要。“精神充沛” 會削減熱情嗎？“朋友般的家庭”和一個“家庭朋友”的意義相同嗎？
在現實生活中單詞的素材內容，在副本裡更重要。
3. The thesaurus is your friend.
3. 詞庫是你的朋友。
This point follows from the previous one.
You need an extensive stock of words, and the human brain can hold only so much
information without being overwhelmed. Enter the thesaurus.
If you don't have a tome like Roget's
Thesaurus, which Zinsser highly recommends, use a free online thesaurus such as
http://thesaurus.com/.
A thesaurus comes in handy when you need to
repeat a thought but don't want to repeat a given word. It is also a life saver
when you just can't find that perfect term to fit into the sentence or you need
an adjective or an adverb to make the paragraph sing.
這一重點來自先前的一個。你需要一個廣泛的詞彙資料儲存庫，人類的大腦可以容納很多的信息而不被淹沒。進入詞庫。
當您需要重複一個想法，但不想重複一個給定的單詞時，詞庫可派上用場。它也能節省元氣，當你無法找到完美的措詞融入句子，或者您需要一個形容詞或副詞，以使該段產生共鳴。
4. Begin with a bang; end with a boom.
4。澎湃的開始
華麗的結束。
Nothing catches reader attention like a
snappy headline, but if your first few lines are limp, even the catchiest
headline won't matter a damn.
There is also an art to knowing when you
need to stop. A perfect ending is when the message of your piece stays with
your readers after they have stopped reading. Zinsser says it best:
For the nonfiction writer … if you have
presented all the facts and made the point you want to make, look for the nearest
exit.
若不是一個活潑的標題則不能抓住讀者的注意，但如果你的前幾行的結構是鬆垮的，即使是聳動有趣的標題也無可陳之處。
還有一個知道何時你需要停止的藝術。保持一個完美的結局是當你的讀者停止閱讀後，你所給予的文章訊息能與他們同在。Zinsser說，這是最好的。
5. Never lose the logical flow of
sentences.
5。永遠不要失去句子的流暢邏輯。
This is Writing 101: For the entire piece
to make sense, every sentence must be built upon the preceding one. Random
jumps in the narrative confuse readers, and that is never good when you aim to
persuade.
To maintain the flow, plan before typing.
Another of Zinsser's tips is that the final draft should have a uniform tone,
tense, or person. Switching from a formal to a casual tone, jumping between
first and third person, or writing in both present and past tense is a definite
no-no.
這是寫作101：為讓整篇文章有意義，每一句句子都必須建立在先前的一個句子上。隨機跳躍的敘述會混淆讀者，尤其是當你的目標是說服時，從不是好事。
為了保持流暢，打字前先計畫。Zinsser的另一個秘訣是最後的草稿應該有一個統一的定調，懸疑，或人物。從正式到休閒的基調轉換，第一和第三人稱之間的跳躍，現在式和過去式同時並行的寫作，是一個明確的禁忌。
6. Rewrite multiple times, and read aloud.
6。重寫多次，並大聲朗讀。
If you aim to persuade with your writing,
you must rewrite. First drafts always suck, and the readability of a
piece is directly proportional to the number of rewrites it has gone through.
But don't commit mindless rewrites. The
human brain is wired to hear the words that the eyes are reading. Read each
sentence aloud until everything sounds right.
如果你的目標是藉由你的寫作說服，你必須重複寫作。第一次的草稿總是一團亂，一篇文章的可讀性是經過一定程度的改寫反覆研究使其恰好均衡易讀。
但不承諾盲目重寫。人類的大腦會對眼睛所閱讀的字有反應。大聲朗讀閱讀每個句子，直到一切聽起來是正確的。
但不承諾盲目重寫。人類的大腦會對眼睛所閱讀的字有反應。大聲朗讀閱讀每個句子，直到一切聽起來是正確的。
Zinsser advocates using techniques like
rhythm and alliteration to make your writing more ear-friendly. If you want an
(over the top) example, this one from "V for Vendetta" should do:
Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian
veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of
Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi,
now vacant, vanished.
Zinsser主張使用像節奏和押韻的技術，使你的寫作被樂於接受。如果你想要一個（在上面）的例子，這從“V字世仇隊”可供範例：
瞧！看看那謙虛的雜耍老手代為拋擲遇難者和壞人命運的變化。這樣貌，不只是鑲飾的外表，是人民呼聲的遺跡，現在已茫然，消失。
However, this valorous visitation of a
bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and
virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and
voracious violation of volition!
然而，這勇猛的探視過往的煩惱讓你保持清醒並發誓要戰勝這些貪贓枉法和帶頭邪惡的寄生蟲和賜予激烈殞落和吞噬違背的意志！
The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta
held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day
vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.
唯一的裁決是報復; 仇殺就像舉辦了一種祈求奉獻，沒有白費，這樣的價值和真實性，將終有一天證明警惕和良性。
Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers
most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you
and you may call me "V."
誠然，措詞的濃湯改變大部分的冗長，所以讓我簡單地添加，這是我的榮幸能見到你，你可以叫我“V”
7. Think in paragraphs.
7. 思想段落。
According to Zinsser, paragraphs are not
simply blocks of text; they must convey a single, logical thought. If a
paragraph seems to contain more than a single idea, it needs to be broken up.
Although paragraphs can be as long as
needed to get the message across, he lobbies for short paragraphs. This point
is crucial, especially when you are writing for the Web; long blocks of text
scare away readers just as a fireworks display scares household pets.
White space is your faithful friend online.
據Zinsser(瑟)所載，段落不是簡單的文本，他們必須傳達一個單一的，邏輯思維。如果一個段落似乎包含超過一種想法，它需要被打破既有規範。
雖然段落可以像需得到完整訊息而變得冗長，他還是遊說簡潔的段落。這一點是至關重要的，尤其是當你是為Web而寫，大段文字會嚇跑讀者，就像煙花表演會嚇壞家庭寵物。
為您忠實的在線朋友預留空餘時間。
8. Cut out adjectives and adverbs.
8. 安排形容詞和副詞。
When it comes to nonfiction, Zinsser hates
redundant adjectives and adverbs just as a little kid hates boiled vegetables.
He is dead set against using adverbs when all they do is take up space:
blare loudly, clench tightly, grin widely.
In the same vein, he would give probably
give an F if he saw phrases such as yellow daffodils, lacyspider
webs, precipitous cliffs, and tall skyscrapers. Readers
don't need the adjectives to describe such nouns; cliffs are invariably
precipitous, and there are no two-story skyscrapers.
You are cool if you write gray skies and
black clouds, though.
當涉及到紀實，Zinsser(瑟)討厭多餘的形容詞和副詞，就像小孩子討厭水煮蔬菜。他是死心塌地反對使用副詞時只是佔用空間：刺耳的聲響，緊緊地握緊，豪放的眉開眼笑等等。
在同樣的心境，他將可能給一個F，如果他看到的短語，如黃水仙，花邊蜘蛛網，陡峭的懸崖，和高大的摩天大樓。讀者並不需要的形容詞來形容這樣的名詞
; 懸崖都不約而同地險峻，沒有兩層的摩天大樓。
隨然即使你描寫的是灰色的天空和烏雲，你仍是冷靜的。
9. Don't beat around the bush.
9。不要拐彎抹角。
Most of us use a number of expressions in
our writing that weaken the impact of our overall message. I am looking at
"decidedly" and "arguably," and at "a bit,"
"a little," "too," "sort of," "kind
of," "rather," "quite," "very," "pretty
much," and "in a sense."
我們大多數人在我們的寫作裡使用一些表達，削弱了我們整體消息的影響。我注視著“果斷的”和“雄辯的，”以及“有點”，“一點點”，“太”，“s有那麼點兒”，“有點兒”，“相當, 頗, 有點兒”，“相當”，“非常” “相當多”和“在一定意義上。”
Repeatedly using such qualifiers reminds
readers of a spiel by a shifty salesman. They don't let you develop
any emotional connection with your audience; worse, they make you sound
doubtful about what you are selling.
The rule is not that you should dump them
altogether. These qualifiers might sometimes be useful in the interest of
accuracy, but don't use them as you would use "a," "an,"
and "the."
Boldness wins.
一個機智的推銷員反复使用修飾語提醒高談闊論的讀者。他們不會讓你開發任何與您的受眾的情感聯繫;更糟的是，他們讓你聽起來像是懷疑你是賣什麼的。
規則不是你應該將它們通通傾倒一起。這些修飾語，有時可能是有用在準確性利益，但不是像使用“a”“an”和“the”那樣去使用它們。
氣魄出勝。
10. Vary sentence length.
10。變化句子長度。
Have you ever struggled to stay attentive
when listening to a person who speaks in a monotone? If you don't vary the
length of your sentences, you are inflicting the same torture on your readers.
Zinsser has one rule about sentence length:
Unless you are a literary genius, the period can't come soon enough. Writing
long sentences increases the chances of your making a mistake.
Besides, short sentences deliver a punch.
你有沒有掙扎於細心傾聽一個人持續單調的說個不停嗎？如果你不改變你的句子的長度，您將造成對你的讀者同樣的酷刑。
Zinsser(瑟)有關句子的長度有一個規則：除非你是一個文學天才，期間迫不及待。寫長句增加你犯錯誤的機會。
此外，簡短的句子直擊中拳。
Bhaskar
Sarmais a B2B content marketer
and copywriter at Pixels and Clicks. He works in the enterprise IT
niche and creates content that is shareable, informative and tells the
interesting stories behind dry and technical products. A version of this
article first appeared in the Pixels
and Clicks blog.
巴斯卡爾薩爾馬 是在Pixels and Clicks作為一個 B2B內容營銷和撰稿人，他在企業從事IT專長工作並創建共享內容，並告訴有益的事務和技術產品背後的有趣故事。這篇文章首次出現在
像素，點擊博客的一個版本
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