Two short requests before I start:
I got feedback that more concise emails would better, so I am writing shorter and more topical emails from now on. I would love more feedback, so please reply with your opinion about anything! :)
Besides the feedback, I would love to help you with specific real-life writing challenges. An email, a cover letter, a Pull Request description. If you can send me the real text, allowing me to edit it and suggest changes, much better!
This is a small newsletter, I would like it to be more of a conversation than lectures. Just hit reply.
Now back to the post.
The last email was about Miirror, the acronym I created to help you remember a simple process to follow for effective writing. A reminder:
First, think about the Message - which is formed by Information and Intention.
Then think about the Reader - which requires Rapport and Order.
Then Rewrite it.
This is the first of a series of 7 emails detailing each of those topics. Today I am writing about the Message.
Message - the first thing
When we say Message, we are talking about Meaning. Those two can be different when discussing it from the realm of semiotics, but for our purposes, they are one and the same. The message you want to transmit is the meaning you want the reader to assimilate from your writing.
I will write in more detail about what composes the message in the next two emails about Information and Intention. But for now, I want you to understand why it is important to think about the message before starting to write anything.
Communication is not sharing our thoughts. Our thoughts are messy, non-linear, dissociated, wandering. Stream-of-consciousness writing is as incomprehensible as fiction writers intended it to be. Not something you want in your professional communication.
Communication is about translating our thoughts into something others can understand.
A prioritized list of bullet points that will guide your writing is a good method to not get lost in your own thoughts. As an example, for this email I wrote down my message as this:
Thinking about the message must come before starting to write - the information
Make it short(er) - the intention
The message also comes first in the process of writing because it is the most important thing.
You will face trade-offs between message and style, message and length of the text, message and empathy with the reader, message and familiarity. Remember: the message always win.
If you have to write an important text, think hard about what exactly do you want to communicate while you are still facing the blank screen.
This is an exercise that will not only help you with the writing you are about to start, but it will also help you to better understand the topic yourself. It is when you find some blind spots, some hidden doubts, some flaws in your mental process. Like when you are writing a code review and realize you got it all wrong midway. Spend a minute considering what you are going to comment and you minimize the risk of hitting "send" with an embarrassingly mistaken review.
Next week, I will write about the Information bit of the Miirror framework.
Thanks for reading and remember to hit reply and send me your feedback and ask for specific help!