What Do You Wish Someone Would Say to You About Your Writing? by Meggin McIntosh, PhD

Recently, I asked a group of writers what they wish someone would say to them about their writing.  As you read some of their responses, think about what you wish someone would say to YOU about YOUR writing.  I’ll have another thought about that at the end of this list of ten, so read on…

1. Your writing is clear, concise, engaging, valuable content, easy to read, and I want more! (shared by Clare Rice Dreyer)
2. For a compliment, I wish someone would say my writing is persuasive.  For constructive feedback, I wish someone would remind me that less is more.  I need to remember to get the point across in fewer words if I hope to grab and keep my reader’s attention.  (shared by Jill Brown)
3. I would love someone say that my writing made them smile. That would mean to me that I evoked a feeling or memory that resonated with them. (shared by Lisa Evans)
4. I would like for readers to say that my writing was worth the read, that they continued to think about the ideas after the last sentence. (shared by Sandra Acosta)
5. This is what I wish I would hear:  “I cited your article in one that I wrote.”  (shared by Beth Bonham)
6. I would like to have others say that my writing made them pause in a busy day to think and access their view of the world around them and their place in it. (shared by Margaret Burch)
7. How happy it would make me to hear, “Her writing touches my soul and makes me feel things that I can’t really put into words.  Reading her work is more of an experience versus an analytical activity.” (shared by Rhonda LaFountaine)
8. I would like for someone to say that my writing truly captures his or her thoughts and feelings and that my words made that person process my information and now he or she is ready to take some steps towards change.  Also, I would like him/her to say, “I can’t wait to hear what else she has to say.”  (shared by Carla L. Shipman)
9. The thing I love most — and it doesn’t happen often, but it did happen yesterday! — is when someone reports they found my writing useful. Since most of what I write (and others read) is about how to do something, it is quite satisfying when a student who isn’t in one of my classes but is using my material finds that it helped, solved a problem, got them through a writing assignment.  (shared by Mickey Schafer)
10. “I would publish that in a heartbeat,” or “We’re sending you the contract by express mail.” (shared by Beverly Delidow)

You may have read some of these and thought, ‘Oh, yes!  That’s what I want to hear, too.’  Here’s why I’m sharing these in the Top Ten Productivity Tips for Writers:

Because when you write with the hope and dream of hearing what some of these authors shared – and what you can “hear” in your own head that someone could say to you, then it gives you both the impetus and encouragement to keep writing.  You know that if you write and get your writing out there, someone is going to be touched.  Please don’t hold back.

© Meggin McIntosh, PhD (also known as “The PhD of Productivity”®). One of the ways that you can learn from Meggin about productive writing is through her 30 Articles in Just 30 Days program (www.30ArticlesinJust30Days.com).

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