How to write in a concise and irresistible manner which hooks the reader

Magnetic writing enemy: boredomMagnetic writing enemy: boredom

April 14, 2014| Idrees Patel| 11:48 PM

The epidemic of boredom has attacked nearly everything.

All the new things are boring these days. Innovation in all fields is now at record low levels. New scientific and technological devices may be impressive on a technical perspective, but for the average unimpressed consumer, they’re just more marketing nonsense.

They’ve even managed to make smartphones boring these days. The latest phones from Samsung, HTC, Apple, Nokia, LG, etc. may have new features and sky-high prices, but they offer astonishingly little in terms of actual benefits over older, cheaper handsets.

But what does this have to with magnetic writing, you ask? It’s because writing, by default, is boring. It’s not interactive like a video. It’s not even as interactive as audio. It’s the oldest and safest method of communication, but writing isn’t enough these days.

You could end up writing something which is useful for your readers, but most of them won’t even bother to fully read it.

Why? They’re bored. They need help to turn the page even because there is so much they can do, so many things demanding their attention. Market saturation? Yes. But we can still defeat boredom.

We can still make our writing magnetic by ensuring it isn’t boring first. To change the default condition of a piece of writing from boring to compelling, here are the things you should keep in mind for transformation:

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What is good writing?What is good writing?

April 13, 2014| Idrees Patel| 8:45 PM

Good writing. More precisely, a piece of writing or multiple pieces of writing which have been labelled with the quality of goodness. Everyone strives to have their writing become, through hard work, good writing. Good writing is a great thing, a thing to strive for.

But what is it, really?

Why is that we don’t have a single complete definition of what exactly good writing means?

Is it because good writing is subjective? After all, for one person, a piece of writing may be good. But that same piece of writing could be pathetic for a different reader. There lies the problem. Any definition of good writing won’t hold water for a second if it’s based on the writer’s own opinion. One could say, “good writing is writing which contains so-and-so”, and then a reader with different likes / dislikes will say: “What? Those qualities worsen a piece of writing instead of the other way around…”

How can anyone define good writing when people are not really thinking of good writing as such but good writing for them (a substantial difference) and when people are thinking of effective writing and not good writing?

Takeaway: let’s forget “good writing” for a moment. Consider a different concept, effective writing. Why? Because that can be measured. And the measurement leads to comparison in terms of degrees. The most effective writing turns out to be irresistible writing. Irresistible writing, in the proper context, leads to magnetic, award-winning, profit-making and productive writing.

With that in mind, let’s move on to the qualities of good writing — ahem, I mean effective writing…

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Warning: Do You Know that Your Paragraphs are Not Good Enough?Warning: Do You Know that Your Paragraphs are Not Good Enough?

February 4, 2013| Idrees Patel| 4:41 PM

Have you ever wondered why your writing was not good enough?

We’ve all done it.

You write and you write. You stress over your choice of words and your sentence structure. You’ve got the headlines and the subheads perfected. Your content is fantastic, something that deserves to get viral, deserves to be read by people. It’s helpful, informative and funny as well. It’s brilliant according to you, and yet no one bothers to read it (even if you market it like crazy).

So where’s the problem here? If there were one more sentence before the 2nd and 3rd sentences in the last paragraph, a sentence like this… “You write superb paragraphs.” Then it would explain the problem. Why, though?

It’s like this: a bricklayer can do his work brilliantly, but if his fundamental blocks – the bricks – are of poor quality, then how is his work and the result going to be perfect?

If the fundamental building blocks are of low quality, then how can the overall result be a masterpiece?

And what are the fundamental building blocks in writing? … Paragraphs.

So how do we get these paragraphs right so that we can speed on our way to other important things that matter? In short, how can we master the art of writing awesome paragraphs?

That’s what we’re here for. So let’s begin, class is in session!
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How to Master Clarity in WritingHow to Master Clarity in Writing

September 6, 2011| Idrees Patel| 9:10 PM

Hey everyone, I’m back. At least, for some time. I’m sorry for not writing for so long, but the thing is, these examinations never really leave you in peace. I have to study for the SSC (Secondary School Certificate) Examinations which are going to happen in March 2012; and as you might imagine, there is a lot to study, which is why I couldn’t update this site up till now. In an ideal world, I would update it every week, now even every month isn’t looking too sure.

Still, I will definitely update whenever I get some time. And after all, quality is more important than quantity, right? So therefore you can still await those superb articles filled to the brim with writing tips (all right, all right, enough bragging).

I actually lost the draft of this post before, due to Human Error and a false trust on Windows Live Writer (seriously, Microsoft). And everyone knows it’s quite difficult to write again once you’ve lost your writing, and the flair is not there. Still I will be trying my best. (Windows Live Writer was deprecated with the launch of Windows 8, a year after this article was originally published).

Now, on with the show!

Clarity is a hot topic in writing. As you can imagine, nearly every writer and blogger out there is saying his piece on what is, and what isn’t clarity. How to attain it, how to use it. And why it’s just so important.

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Top Ten Tips to Fight and Defeat Writers’ BlockTop Ten Tips to Fight and Defeat Writers’ Block

February 27, 2011| Idrees Patel| 2:02 PM

Writers’ block is common. In fact, it’s so common that there have been countless posts on how to avoid it, and how to cure it if it’s there already.

Some people say there is no such thing as writers’ block. It’s just an excuse for procrastination. After all, these people say, how many other professions are there in which one can say he can’t work because he has a block? Is there a bricklayers’ block or something? Are we missing something?

I think we can all safely say that there is a thing called writers’ block. It’s not the same for everyone. Some people may be so talented or get extremely lucky to the point that they don’t get writers’ block, ever. That’s a good thing. But the vast majority of writers have had to face writers’ block at least once in their career. At least once, they were attacked by it. But they managed to fight it, and defeat it well too. Can we do the same?

What a silly question. Yes, you heard it right: the answer is a loud “Yes!”.

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Be Aware of the Reading Level of Your AudienceBe Aware of the Reading Level of Your Audience

February 22, 2011| Idrees Patel| 10:46 PM

What you think is easy to grasp may not be easy to grasp.

What you think is easy to understand may not be easy to understand for other people.

What they think is easy could be hard for others, and vice versa.

You write at a level comfortable for you. For you, it is good. For you, it is suitable as well as satisfactory. You don’t want to make any changes to it.

But what if you discovered that some of your readers may not be understanding your content (or, maybe they found it too simple on the other hand)? What if they may be confused with it? And worse, what if, as a result, they would leave your content?

It’s all related with clarity. If your writing can’t be understood, it won’t be read further. It won’t be appreciated and it won’t be remembered. Would you, the writer of an amazing piece, like that?

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