Writing tips

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=9641

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=13061

There are lots of good writing tips in these links. Some of my favorites:

1) Read your work out loud.

2) Highlight periods to spot the pattern of short and long sentences. When you have longer sentences, you are more likely to get into grammatical problems. Simplify as needed.

3) Turn negatives into positives when possible and appropriate. It means avoid writing about what is not there or didn't happen, but instead write about what did happen and was there.

4) Show, don't tell ... always.

5) Don't trust adjectives.

6) Consider point of view. Do you take the point of view of the government body or that of the public?

7) Tell the story in one word. Keep that focus in mind as you write.