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How to write good. A comical look at potential blog writing skills.

Reblogger Kathy Schowe
Real Estate Agent with California Lifestyle Realty DRE# 1780607

I loved this post about writing... and want to pass it along.  If you are thinking about blogging, writing, or sharing your thoughts with the world... this is a good reminder not to take yourself too seriously!  Enjoy!

Original content by Melissa Marro

When I was taking a real estate class recently, I had a conversation about blog writing with the instructor. The next day he handed me an amusing article by Frank L. Visco. I get a good chuckle whenever I look at it. The truth is that if you follow this advice, it might nake you a better blog writer. For me, I'm not sure there is really help, but maybe for you there might be. 

How to write good by Frank L. Visco

My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:

  1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
  2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 
  3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
  4. Employ the vernacular.
  5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. 
  6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
  7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
  8. Contractions aren't necessary.
  9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
  10. One should never generalize.
  11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
  12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
  13. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
  14. Profanity sucks.
  15. Be more or less specific.
  16. Understatement is always best.
  17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
  18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
  19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
  20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
  21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
  22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
  23. Who needs rhetorical questions?
Right. I know I am guilty of several of these (particularly ending in a preposition and writing parenthetical comments. Case in point.) Still, I found it quite humorous and thought you might too.

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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocate and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry.  In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance.  With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. Selling her successful home staging company in January 2012, Marro is now a full time speaker and instructor for Staging And Resign and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.

For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.619.1593 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com

 

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Kathy Schowe   760.333.8886  California LifestyleRealty  California Lifestyle RealtySchowe Properties                                           

        

                  
                                   

Jane Peters
Home Jane Realty - Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles real estate concierge services

Very cute, Kathy.  Thanks for reblogging this.  I love this kind of humor.

Jul 19, 2012 06:04 AM
Melissa Marro
Keller Williams First Coast Realty - The Marro Team - Orange Park, FL
Jacksonville Real Estate and Home Staging
Thank you for the reblog! Thanks to all of the reblogs, it was featured and that snowballed into a great week. Check out my latest post to see how!
Jul 20, 2012 12:09 PM