editing | Writing with Clarity

Gathering Quality Information Requires Good Questions

Jun 3, 2019 | Communication, Effective Writing

Interviewing skills are not the domain only of reporters, police officers, or job recruiters. The ability to ask good questions is important for all business professionals, because the quality of the answers will depend on the questions. We ask questions every day...

The First Draft is Just That: a Draft

Jul 24, 2017 | Editing

Instead of straining to write the first version of a communication, just relax and write; that’s what a draft is for. If you ever moved into a house or an apartment, you know that your initial concern is simply getting the boxes and furniture into the new...

Think Like a Writer AND an Editor

Jan 27, 2016 | Editing, Effective Writing

The writing craft requires that you think like both a writer and an editor because at the end of the drafting process, the two tasks are intertwined. Writing has three phases: drafting, revising, where you make changes and rewrite, and then editing. Many people think...

Making the Most of the Revising Phase

Feb 15, 2013 | Effective Writing

Avoid sitting in in front of the screen in anguish, reading and rereading the draft and hoping that it will rewrite itself. As you immerse yourself in the revising phase of the writing process, shaving words, repositioning information, and making other alterations,...

Revising: the Essential Step in the Writing Process

Feb 13, 2013 | Effective Writing

Good writing is created in steps, and the most important one often is neglected because hurried writers want to make the first draft the final draft. The writing process involves organizing ideas, drafting, revising, and editing, and it is in the revising phase that...