Stay away from idioms!
Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2025 9:16 am
Don’t lose readers and lose readers
It's bad if you lose readers because you don't know your craft. Because you make embarrassing spelling mistakes or just write as boringly as a school principal at a prom.
But it's okay if you lose readers because of your beliefs. If readers don't agree with you, don't share your worldview, or simply disagree with you, then you shouldn't try to win those readers over. You can't do that.
Let such readers go.
You don't have to please everyone - just the right people.
10) Avoid pancakes
Wolf Schneider says it again and again. William Zinsser says it. And I say it too:
“Peace, joy, pancakes.”
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“The search was feverish.”
These are all worn-out phrases estonia telegram screening that have one main effect: the reader's brain switches off. It gets bored because it knows exactly what's coming next.
So away with the pancake.
The only exception: If you write short stories for people with dementia …
11) Read your own text out loud
Then you realize what nonsense you have written.
Rhythm and sound are important not only when making music, but also when writing.
But we only notice how a sentence sounds in the reader’s head when we read it out loud ourselves.
It's bad if you lose readers because you don't know your craft. Because you make embarrassing spelling mistakes or just write as boringly as a school principal at a prom.
But it's okay if you lose readers because of your beliefs. If readers don't agree with you, don't share your worldview, or simply disagree with you, then you shouldn't try to win those readers over. You can't do that.
Let such readers go.
You don't have to please everyone - just the right people.
10) Avoid pancakes
Wolf Schneider says it again and again. William Zinsser says it. And I say it too:
“Peace, joy, pancakes.”
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“The search was feverish.”
These are all worn-out phrases estonia telegram screening that have one main effect: the reader's brain switches off. It gets bored because it knows exactly what's coming next.
So away with the pancake.
The only exception: If you write short stories for people with dementia …
11) Read your own text out loud
Then you realize what nonsense you have written.
Rhythm and sound are important not only when making music, but also when writing.
But we only notice how a sentence sounds in the reader’s head when we read it out loud ourselves.