Today I’m going to solve two problems that are huge in business writing—overwriting (or rambling or just not knowing where to stop) and underwriting (or running out of puff too early).
Interestingly, both problems are actually caused by the same issue—a lack of structure and planning from the outset.
Structure is a godsend for readers
We learn in school that structure is the foundation of the document—the big picture. Creating structure for a piece before you write can help you stick to a word limit so you won’t go off tangent, spend too much time on one point or run out of things to write about.
And every piece of writing, no matter how small, must have a structure to it—even an email. So why is it so hard to write to one?
The answer is that many busy business writers don’t plan out what they’re going to write. They just start writing and then make up the structure as they go along. They think it will naturally fall into place or can be edited later. Much of the time, the reason is the impending (ridiculously tight or even arbitrary!) deadline.
The problem is that this writing has no clear logic, making it harder to read and follow. It makes sense to you because you’re the author and it’s in your head—but it won’t to someone reading it for the first time.
How to get it done
So how do you create structure quickly on a deadline? Easy. Before you put pen to paper, answer these questions:
- What is my document’s total word length going to be?
- In one sentence, what is the single message of this document?
- What and how many points will I need to achieve my purpose (usually 3–5)?
- Approximately how many words will I spend on each point?
Here is an example using this article here:
- Approximately 500–550 words.
- Structuring and planning your writing upfront is the solution to overwriting and underwriting, and makes things easier on the reader.
- An introduction and conclusion of 50–80 words each and 3 main points at about 120–150 words each:
- Why structure makes the writing task easier
- How to create structure quickly
- Why that process works
No, stucture won’t sap your creativity
To people who like to write freely, such as blog writers, this mathematical approach to writing may seem very clinical. But it actually creates better writing by keeping you laser-focused on your goal. You don’t lose yourself in your own content and risk losing your reader.
When you’re passionate about your message, this can happen easily. You think you’ve succeeded in communicating but your reader is actually quite lost in your mental maze!
Of course, this will still just be a first draft. But, as a business writer on a deadline, you don’t have time to let the writing breathe in a drawer and return to it later with fresh eyes, as experts are always telling us to do. This piece needs to be written to a high quality in a short time—and doing this will help.
Ultimately, determining a structure gives you a clear picture of the communication you’re going to produce, ensuring that it fulfils its purpose. Before you pick up a pen, you can clarify what your main message is and exactly how you’re going to prove it.
Never again will you just start writing and not stop until you run out of thoughts. Exhausted editors call that literary diarrhoea. And nobody wants to read that!
Hope you got something out of this article that you can use. I look forward to writing more for you. Have a great day!