7 more tips for writing during the pandemic
Here are 7 more tips on writing during the Covid-19 pandemic — or any crisis.
1. Try a selfie photo essay.
How do you produce a photo essay when everyone — including the photographer — is in lockdown?
Steal a trick from The New York Times: Create compelling photo essays by asking remote workers and others to take selfies and fill out a form with a few provocative questions.
That’s what the Times did for “In Harm’s Way,” a photo essay about front-line health care workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The piece includes compelling quotes like:
“I’m right by the patient’s airway, often inches away, as I place the breathing tube.”
“It kills me when I hear, ‘Well, that’s what they signed up for.’ I never took a pandemic nursing class.”
“I don’t know what happened to her. The next day, I was afraid to ask.”
How did they get those amazing quotes? By asking amazing questions. Times reporters asked health care workers to fill out a form with provocative questions like these:
- What is the hardest thing about doing your job these days?
- What are you most worried about now and in the future?
- Tell us about the most intense experience you have had fighting Covid-19.
- How has the coronavirus outbreak affected you, i.e., what sacrifices have you had to make to do your job?
Not leaving anything to chance, Times art directors offered these suggestions for getting great selfies:
Take a photo of yourself as you get ready for a new day or a picture of yourself at the end of your shift. To see examples, browse these other selfies from medical workers.
When taking your photo, please:
- Dress how you dress for your job.
- Position yourself in front of a window or outside, so that sunlight falls onto your face.
- If there are bright lights on behind you, please turn them off.
- Look into the lens.
- Tap your face on the phone so the camera will focus and expose correctly for your face.
- Photos should be head-and-shoulders or waist-up portraits.
- If possible, or helpful, ask someone to hold the camera for you.
Want to find, craft and illustrate awe-inspiring human-interest stories that move people to act? Learn how at our Master the Art of the Storyteller Master Class.
2. Stop ing-ing.
Barney Kilgore, the legendary editor of The Wall Street Journal, once wrote: “If I see ‘upcoming’ slip in[to] the paper again, I’ll be downcoming and someone will be outgoing.”
I’m with Kilgore: Stop ing-ing.
Adding –ing to a verb turns it into a present participle: I am writing. Verbs are stronger: I write.
Plus, verbs often focus on the benefits to readers: what you’ll be able to do differently because of our product, service, program or idea. Present participles too often focus on the organization and its stuff: what we’re doing. And that’s selfish, not compassionate, communication.
Take this example from Verizon Wireless. Watch how I turn present participles into powerful verbs to transform this organization-centric piece into a reader-centric piece:
Checking back in with our Valued Customers
Can’t pay your Verizon bill because of Covid-19?
Our commitment to you has never been stronger
Let us help …
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) reality evolves and forces changes in all of our lives in ways we could never have imagined, I’m reaching out to update you on our response, and how we continue to support you through this period.
At this time of disruption, distancing and uncertainty, staying connected has never been more important. Whether for a hospital, a scientist, first responder, teacher, family or a small business — staying connected will be a key part of seeing our country to the other side of this crisis.
At this time of disruption, distancing and uncertainty, staying connected has never been more important. Here are some ways we’re helping you stay connected until we get to the other side of the Covid-19 crisis:
More relief for our customers, for society, and those who give the most
With that in mind, we’re pleased to extend our commitment through June 30th to waive late fees and to not terminate service for those consumers and small businesses who are unable to pay due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Customers who notify us will also be automatically enrolled in a program to help manage payments.
- Can’t pay your wireless bill because of Covid-19? Just let us know. We’ll waive late fees and continue your service without interruption if you can’t pay because of the pandemic. We’ve extended this program through June 30.
We’re also:
- Automatically adding an additional 15GB of 4G LTE data for you to use from May 1st through May 31st to learn, work or keep connected during this challenging time;
- Learn, work or just keep connected during this challenging time with an additional 15GB of 4G LTE data to use in May — on us.
- Giving you free access to learning tools to help with ongoing engagement during our new normal;
- Keep the kids (and yourself) from bouncing off the walls with free access to our library of books, educational tools, quizzes and games — through June 22.
- Continuing our low-income internet option for new Fios Internet customers and waiving router charges for two months;
- Don’t pay for a router for two months if you’re a new, low-income Fios Internet customer.
- Extending our “Those who serve” discounts now, and moving forward, to include nurses and teachers, in addition to first responders, veterans, and active-duty military who already benefit from our best pricing for Verizon Wireless and Fios Internet Many of our heroes already rely on America’s most reliable networks to keep them connected and this is a way for us to thank them for everything they do during this challenging time, and always.
- Take advantage of our “Those who serve” discounts if you’re a nurse, teacher, first responder, veteran or active-duty military personnel. You’ll get our best pricing. You already have our thanks for your service!
We’ve now committed over $50 million in contributions and donations to nonprofits, including No Kid Hungry, the American Red Cross, and the CDP COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO. And in partnership with the New York Times, we’re giving 14 million high school students within the U.S. free digital access to NYTimes.com.
Plus, nonprofits like No Kids Hungry, the American Red Cross and the CDP COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO will receive $50 million of cash and services from us to support their work during the pandemic.
And 14 million U.S. high school students will get free digital access to NYTimes.com, thanks to a new partnership between the Times and Verizon.
Our commitment to you
We are committed to helping you stay connected during this difficult time. We’ve expanded our website to include frequent updates on our services and encourage you to check back regularly to see how we’re supporting you during these times.
Keep up with the latest updates.
We can’t predict what the next few weeks will bring, but I have never been more proud prouder to serve you, keep the world connected and help our communities rise up and recover.
Trade in your organization-focused present participles like checking, adding, giving, continuing and extending for strong reader-focused verbs like pay, learn, work, keep and take.
Your readers will thank you for it.
How can you Think Like a Reader to position all of your messages in your readers’ best interest? Find out at our Catch Your Readers Master Class.
3. Find the right voice.
How do you find a tone of voice for these times that’s not to cool, not too warm, but just right?
The voice of the pandemic should be compassionate — warm and caring, but not overwrought and hand-wringing.
Here’s how my writing team accomplished that when creating a website for H&R Block after another tragedy —the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks:
- Define your voice. Start with some descriptors. Do you want your message to be technical or accessible? Formal or casual? Dry and factual or witty and playful? One of my clients, a consultant to scientists, came up with “accessible expertise.” Great descriptor.
- Name your voice. For H&R Block’s site, we used: “Uncle Frank, your favorite uncle, a retired CPA. He sits down with you and says, ‘Honey, let’s get through this. First, write your name at the top of the form.’”
- Use your voice. After all, you don’t want your message to end up sounding like your crazy Uncle Frank, who has a different personality on Thanksgiving than he has on Christmas.
Your voice during the pandemic.
How can you find the right voice for your online presence? Find out at our Reach Readers Online Master Class.
4. How long is your message?
How much time do journalists spend reading news releases? Do employees spend reading executive messages? Do recipients spend reading email newsletters?
Mere seconds. So your messages shouldn’t be very long.
Short messages increase reading, understanding, conversion rates and more.
To beat the clock:
- Measure, monitor, manage and report Average Reading Time.
- Set word counts.
- Tighten your focus.
- Make your message a package, not a single piece.
- Polish your message.
Learn more about writing short content.
And get the metrics on how long is too long — for releases, paragraphs, sentences, words, quotes and headlines — at our PR-writing workshop.
5. Beat writer’s block.
I love to hear writers kvetch about their craft, especially when they’re complaining of writer’s block:
“I got married once — to avoid writing.”
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
“Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.”
Read more quotes about writer’s block.
How can you avoid writer’s block? Master a writing process that works with — not against — your brain at our How to Write Better, Easier & Faster Master Class.
6. Need a lift?
Me, too. Now you can gain award-winning ideas and inspiration from the 2020 Pulitzer Prize winners. Learn how to:
- Write better op-eds by studying the winners of the commentary and editorial writing
- Refresh your features by modeling the feature writing winner.
- Produce better images by looking at the winners of the feature photography and breaking news photography
- Polish your podcast by listening to the audio reporting
- Create better explainers by exploring the winners of the explanatory reporting
7. Check out these Covid-19 communication tools.
Here are more places to score Covid-19 communications resources:
- Covid-19 resources from IABC
- Crisis communications resources from PRSA
- Daily coronavirus updates from PR News
- How to Write During Covid-19. Watch this webinar from PRSA and me free with coupon code WYLIE420.
- How to write during Covid-19. Crisis communication guru Molly McPherson interviews me for her podcast.
- Upskill during your downtime with our online Master Classes.
Please hit reply and let me know your favorite Covid-19 resources.
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What do you need from me during the pandemic? Please hit reply to email me your questions, examples and ideas, I’ll try to address them in the next issue.
See you next week!