If you want people to read what you’ve written, it’s got to be engaging, clear, and simple. I love making this happen.
Here are some examples:
Adding drama and emotion
A doctor had written a powerful article on handling in-flight medical emergencies and wanted it reworked into a blog post. Here’s what I did to get it ‘web-ready’:
- I shortened the sentences, used simpler words, and added headings to break the text up into more readable chunks
- I added action and suspense to make the writing more compelling
- I used bullet points to highlight important points
- Check out the essay, before and after editing.
Bringing out a client’s personality
An architect was working on his statement of purpose for a Master of Architecture course in Germany. He asked me to help him tweak it, so:
- I added a descriptive title
- I reworked the essay’s structure and style
- I used the passion with which he described his work, in our telephone conversations
- Here’s a sample ‘before/after’ from the statement of purpose
Keeping things simple
I’m a compulsive editor and regularly re-work text just for the pleasure of making it better. So when I got a poorly worded email from the income tax office, I couldn’t resist doing the following:
- I simplified the sentences a lot. The originals were stuffy and WAY too long.
- I made all the key steps into subheadings. Much easier to skim through.
- I used bullet points and a table to organize the writing better.
- Check out the huge difference before and after editing.