• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wylie's Writing Tips

Improve your communications with our training, consulting, and writing services

  • Home
  • Writing training
    • Webinars | Mini Master Classes
    • Workshops | Master Classes
      • Past writing workshops
    • Writing coaching
    • Writing guidelines
    • Editing services
    • Memberships
    • Writing training clients
  • Writing tips
    • Content writing
      • Relevant content writing
        • Relevant content writing resources
        • Relevant content writing quotes
      • Creative content writing
      • Structure for content
      • Readability for content
        • Resources on blog post length
        • Quotes on blog post length
      • Scannable web copy
      • Content writing resources
      • Content writing quotes
    • Email writing
      • Why email writing?
      • Subject lines
        • Resources on subject lines
        • Quotes on subject lines
      • Target your email
        • Quotes on targeted email
      • Feature story structure
      • Short, readable emails
        • Quotes on readable emails
      • Scannable emails
        • Quotes on how to write scannable email
      • Resources on email writing
      • Quotes on email writing
    • Microcontent
      • Skimming, scanning, reading
        • Resources on skimming, scanning, reading
        • Quotes on skimming, scanning, reading
      • Bulleted lists
        • Quotes on bullets lists
      • Callouts, pull quotes
        • Quotes on pull quotes and callouts
      • Captions, cutlines
        • Quotes on captions
      • Decks, summary blurbs
      • Headlines
        • Benefit headlines
        • Feature headlines
        • Web headlines
          • Quotes on web headlines
        • Quotes on headlines
      • Links, buttons
        • Quotes on links
      • Subheads
        • Quotes on how to do subheadings
      • Resources on display copy
      • Quotes on display copy
    • Persuasive writing
      • What’s in it for me?
        • Quotes on WIIFMs
      • Write about benefits
        • Quotes on verbs
        • Quotes on benefits
      • Write to, about You
        • Quotes on ‘you’ writing
      • Quotes about persuasive writing
    • Public relations writing
      • Target readers with PR writing
        • Relevant releases quotes
      • Organize PR writing
        • Leads for releases
          • Press release first paragraph
          • Quotes on press release leads
      • Quotations
        • Quotes about public relations quotes
      • Readability for PR
        • Quotes on ideal press release length
      • Headlines, display copy for PR
        • Headlines for releases
      • Resources on press releases
      • Quotes on press releases
    • Readability
      • Why readability?
        • Information overload
          • Information overload quotes
      • Message length
        • Why short content
        • Measure A.R.T.
        • Tighten your story angle
        • Resources on writing short content
        • Quotes on writing short content
      • Paragraph length
        • Quotes on paragraph length
      • Writing with statistics
        • Quotes on writing with statistics
      • Sentence length
        • Resources on short sentences
        • Quotes on good sentence length
        • Quotes on how to write a simple sentence
      • Passive voice
        • Quotes on the passive voice
      • Word length
        • Quotes on short words
      • Jargon
        • Quotes on jargon
      • Adjectives & adverbs
        • Quotes on adjectives & adverbs
      • Readable
        • Resources on readability
        • Quotes on readability
      • Conversational copy
        • Quotes on conversational business writing
    • Storytelling and creative writing
      • Concrete details
        • Why concrete details?
        • Types of concrete detail
        • Quotes on concrete details
      • Description
        • Quotes on scent
      • Human interest
        • Quotes on human interest
      • Metaphor
        • Why use metaphor?
        • Complex copy
        • Creative comparisons
        • Simplify stats
        • Cut clichés
        • Metaphor writing
        • Resources on metaphor
        • Quotes on metaphor
      • Storytelling
        • Why is storytelling important?
        • Find stories
        • Storytelling research
        • Elements of storytelling
        • Storytelling structure
        • Resources on storytelling
        • Quotes on storytelling
      • Wordplay
        • Alliteration
          • Resources on alliteration
        • Balance
        • Coin a word
          • Resources on coin a word
          • Quotes on coin a word
        • Quotes on the etymology of words
        • Rhyme
        • Rhythm
          • Quotes on using rhythm in writing
        • Twist of phrase
        • Quotes on how to use wordplay
      • Resources on creative copy
      • Quotes on creative copy
      • Quotes on boring copy
    • Web writing
      • Why writing for the web?
        • Quotes on why writing for the web
      • Above the fold
        • Quotes on above-the-fold content
      • Tight web copy
        • Quotes on tight web copy
      • Scannable web copy
        • Quotes on scannable web copy
      • SEO for writers
        • Quotes on SEO
        • Quotes on SEO for releases
      • Quotes on crafting good web writing
      • Writing for mobile quotes
    • Writing
    • Writing process
      • Creative process
        • Quotes on creative process
      • Read like a writer
        • Resources on how to become a better writer
        • Quotes on how to become a better writer
      • Writing process
        • Prewriting
          • Research your story
            • Research quotes
          • Develop your story angle
          • Organize your piece
          • Quotes on prewriting stage of writing
      • Writing templates
        • Quotes on writing templates
    • Writing structure
      • Feature story structure
        • Why features structure?
          • Why feature structure?
        • Feature structure examples
        • Feature leads
        • Nut graph
          • Quotes on nut graph
        • Background section
          • Quotes on the background section
        • Body
          • Quotes on the body
        • Conclusion
          • Quotes on how to write good endings
        • Transitions
          • Quotes on transitions
      • Other story structures
      • Quotes on story structure
  • Writing newsletter
    • Current issue
    • What others say
    • Archives
  • Blog
  • Why us?
    • About the trainer
    • Contact Ann

8 tips to improve your writing for 2020

Here’s to better writing in the New Year

My favorite writing quote? Ever?

Tips to improve your writing
Cheers! Here are some of my favorite quotes on writing. What new writing techniques can you pick up from these masters?
“For 40-odd years in this noble profession,
I’ve harbored a guilt and my conscience is smitten.
So here is my slightly embarrassed confession —
I don’t like to write, but I love to have written.”
— Michael Kanin, screenwriter of “Woman of the Year” and other movies

I like it so much, I had it engraved on my iPad.

Here are eight other favorite quotes about writing. May they spur you on to greater writing success in the New Year.

1. And there’s a great big I in TwItter. Don’t let your social media efforts become one big selfie stick. Instead, focus on your friends, fans and followers. There’s a reason You is the most retweeted word in the English language. Learn all of Ann’s tricks for engaging readers with relevant content marketing pieces.

2. The more you say, the less they read. The more you say, the less they buy. The more you say, the worse decisions they make. Stop the data dumping. Don’t tell people everything you know: Tell them exactly what they need to know. Get Ann’s system for reaching more readers with short, clear copy.

3. People spend, on average, 11 seconds on an email blast. So how long should your email be? Your email newsletter? Your subject line? Your links? Get all of Ann’s research on email length targets.

4. Humans are wired for story. Storytelling is “the most powerful form of human communication,” according to Peg C. Neuhauser, author of Corporate Legends and Lore. So … how do your storytelling superpowers stack up? Add more tools to your storytelling toolkit.

5. Me, too, Mr. Liebling. What tricks do you have to help you write better, easier and faster? Learn Ann’s 6-step system for knocking out brilliant messages with less time and effort.

6. Journalists rank PR quotes as the least valuable thing in a release — below the boilerplate and dateline. So how can you transform lame-ass quotes into snappy sound bites? Get all of Ann’s tricks for writing quotable quotes.

7. Want to grab people’s attention and move them to act?The secret of persuasive writing is to position your information in the readers’ best interest. Instead of yammering on about Us and our stuff, focus on the reader’s needs. Get all of Ann’s tricks for writing persuasively.

8. More than half of your visitors look at your webpages on their smartphones, not their laptops. Problem is, it’s 48% harder to understand information on mobile. People read more slowly, spend less time on, and click less often on the small screen. So … how do you get your message across? Learn all of Ann’s tricks for writing for mobile.

Happy New Year!

Hope these tricks help you build your writing skills in 2020.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Primary Sidebar

Jan. 31, 2025

  • Write about the impactWrite about the impact: Not about the event
  •  
3 ways to Think Like a Reporter 3 ways to Think Like a Reporter: Put the audience first and more
  • 3 more writing resolutions for 20253 more writing resolutions for 2025: Build a bridge, not a wall — and more
Archives

Wylie Communications, Inc. logo
    Training
  • Webinars | Mini Master Classes
  • Workshops | Master Classes
    Tools
  • Wylie's Writing Labs
  • Free writing tips
Subscribe to our newsletter

© Copyright 2025 · Ann Wylie · All Rights Reserved
May not be duplicated and shared without author's permission. Contact us.