Writing that attracts and enchants

Bringing magnetism to your writing

Extraordinary writing

I read books by two award-wining Australian authors this week. Question 7 is by Richard Flanagan. Bright Shining: How grace changes everything is by Julia Baird.
Both books are deeply personal.

Question 7 tackles themes of death, war, science, PTSD, atomic bombs, and love. Flanagan’s father was on the Death Railway in Thailand during WW11, as was my uncle. He writes in a beautiful flow of insights into pain, accountability, and survival. With a great love for his home state of Tasmania.

Bright Shining examines the role of grace in the author’s life and the lives of strangers. She writes about illness and trauma, forgiveness, and hurt.

I recommend both of these authors for the elegance and beauty of their language. And for their courage in tackling deep, often dark, topics without sentimentality.

Skilled writers like these teach me about rhythm in sentences. And big topics need the slow development, storytelling, and depth that only a book can give.

3 tips for quality writing

1. The clearer you are with the intention of your writing, the easier it is for readers to connect, respond, or buy something from you.

   Action step: Work on your simplest “elevator pitch” for:

   • who you are

   • how you help someone

   • what you want someone to do

Being clear helps filter out anyone who’s not a good match, so you both can move on.

2. Reread your work and strike out any words that AI commonly uses.

   For example:

   • “It’s about…”

   • “shed light on”
   • “let’s embark on this journey”
   

   Yes, these are tired, weaselly words and phrases that we’re all sick of hearing. Being more careful with word choices is how we’ll stand out as ChatGPT writing floods the written world.
   

3. One sentence is sometimes the best choice.

A question for you

This week I wrote a post on X that struck a chord with many in my community.

Here it is in case you missed it:

The Words We're Thirsty For

The writing that satisfies me often contains words like:

Love

Meaning

Grace

Awe

Curiosity

Courage

Connection

What are your magnet-words?

After posting it, I realized I could have added many more.

Light would be one. True another. Free a third.

I am interested in what your magnet-words are.

Feel free to post in the comments.