Successful Writing Ethics For Writing Success

There are many assumed ethics in writing and blogging. Both writing and blogging have its own writing techniques for success.

Some people tend to ask questions such as: what is ethical writing? What is the code of ethics for successful writing? How can I write an ethics paper?

There are many “this” and “that” ethics in existence. From eating ethics – running ethics and basketball ethics.

Freelance writers are in search for freelance writer’s code of ethics. Footballers – for football ethics; and then the singers – singing ethics.

Before we go into the discussion of today I would like you to have at least a good knowledge of the word – ethics.

Ethics are moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.

In other words, writing ethics are moral principles that govern a person’s writing.

That is the simple meaning.

At its simplest, writing ethics is a system of moral principles that guide you as you journey through your writing career.

These principles can affect how you make decisions and lead your life.

Writing ethics is a natural way can be referred to as Moral Writing Philosophy.

On research of ethics and the uses, I noticed that the term ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos which can mean custom, habit, character or disposition.

Hence, the writing ethics you follow as a writer influences many activities in your life. From the way you choose to do things it becomes a habit, and then it turns to a character.

It exposes you to a wide range of ways to live a good life as a writer; teaching you the ways writing enrich your life.

You get to learn more about your writing rights and responsibilities; the right and, wrong language to use in writing – knowing when, where and why you should use the language.

Writing Ethics For A Successful Writing Career

I have proved these writing ethics before I decided to share it. These are writing ethics for writers for maximum writing career success. Good info-graphics will be made available as well.

You will need to take these words to hear. And, practice.

The practice could last for some months, even years.

It can take some writers several years to develop the appropriate writing style and, even when they master it, still find writing to be a huge task.

Recently, I wrote an article for an International Magazine Company and it is no doubt that writing scientific journal articles can be demanding.

Your writings are expected to be not only technically sound but should have clear and concise meanings.

Apart from the basics: grammar rules, punctuation, spelling, and sentence construction, there are no rules for writing a book.

Start With A Story

What is “storytelling”? Telling stories, of course!

There are so many diverse, wonderful, and sometimes overwhelming ways to do this.

Whether it sounds good or bad all of us tell stories.

The story of your day, and your life, or the horrors on the news.

As humans our brains are hard-wired to think and express in terms of a beginning, middle and end. It’s how we understand the world.

There are so many benefits of writing fiction. Speaking of stories, all writing needs to have a beginning, middle and an end.

Think of using a story as an introduction, the main information, and conclusion of your writing.

Stories show us that there are things which are worth holding onto and fighting for in this world.

Stories make a difference, and so do the people who write them.

Some people tell stories to engage their content with their audience from their practical life experiences.

When some people tell their life story you pity them and wish you were never in such shoes.

One thing I believe is that writing is not always about the story but how you tell it – the way you present it.

If you think you haven’t suffered enough or didn’t struggle to get off the poverty threshold for you to be able to tell your readers stories to inspire them that is fine.

Don’t tell harsh lies, especially boasting about what you never had just to get people’s attention. There are many benefits to start a sentence with a piece of a story.

We discussed storytelling in the previous article on how to catch the attention of your readers.

To read it, click here.

Writing Your Book? 12 Top Tips For Beginners

Tips by Self Publishing Advice Centre

1. Try to avoid irrelevant story lines, although if a few sneak in a good editor will highlight them.

2. In real life, you get to know the people you meet gradually, so think of introducing your characters in the same way.

A mistake I made was naming too many characters in the opening pages of my book.

A lot of these characters turned out to be quite minor, and my poor readers wasted time trying to remember them all.

No character, not even the lead character, benefits from a huge introduction on page one. It will leave your readers’ heads whirling, and they’ll forget most of the details.

If your protagonist is in her twenties, pretty and called Jane, that’s all you need to say to begin with.

Her outgoing personality, horse riding expertise and dedication to Chelsea Football Club (or whatever) will become apparent as the story progresses.

3. Only you can discover whether your natural writing style is to plot each stage of the story carefully or see how it pans out. I am a pantser, but I have edited excellent work by plotters.

Whichever style suits you is the correct style, and don’t let anyone tell you it’s not!

4. Prologue – do you really need one? My debut novel’s prologue has regularly been slated as the weakest part of the book; some critics even said they didn’t think they were going to enjoy the book until they got to chapter one.

Everything introduced in the prologue became apparent as the story progressed anyway. Lesson learned. Book number two will be prologue free.

5. Epilogue – you almost certainly don’t need one.

I originally included an epilogue in my book because, despite the story coming to its natural conclusion in the final chapter, I found it very difficult to let go.

Luckily a friend read the epilogue and hated it, and I’d scrapped it before sending the manuscript to prospective publishers.

I’ve yet to read an epilogue that adds anything to a story, so if you feel inclined to write one please question your reasons for doing so.

6. Try not to be too wordy. Question every adverb and adjective – do they enhance the sentence?

Are you using complicated words when simple ones will do?

Do you have a favorite word or phrase you repeat over and over again?

Your editor should point these out if so but do try to limit them.

One of my favorite phrases was ‘incandescent with rage’. If I’d been given free rein, my book would have been seething (literally!) with furious characters, but thanks to my editor the phrase only appeared once, thus guaranteeing it maximum impact.

7. In dialogue, it soon becomes evident which character is speaking at any one time.

The words spoken often show who is speaking and what mood they’re in so there’s no need to tell the reader, and if you haven’t yet been told it’s better to show rather than tell, you will be!

8. Try not to overuse certain words ‘Just’, ‘only’, ‘again’, ‘back’ and ‘also’ are favorites.

Your editor will help point these out.

9. Only use ‘started to’ or ‘began to’ if the action which follows is not going to reach its natural conclusion.

10. Are you going to write in the UK or American English?

Decide on one and be consistent.

11. Are you going to write in past or present tense?

Ditto previous point.

12. If you’re writing in the first person, beware of suddenly switching to the second person.

For example: ‘I was working in my shop, and it was really busy. You couldn’t stop for a second or the customers would complain you were going too slow’ is a tad confusing.

11 Boring Phrases & What To Use Instead (Infographic) via Grammar Check

 

11 Boring Phrases & What to Use Instead (Infographic)

Build Your Writing Style

Are you busy asking how can I build my writing style? How can I become a storyteller?

You already are a storyteller.

Teachers are storytellers, and storytellers have been teachers for millennia.

In reality, teachers don’t see themselves as storytellers.

Or rather, they see the occasional storyteller and think it’s a theatrical, exaggerated show more akin to acting.

But hang on a minute – being a teacher definitely, involves acting and theatrics.

7 Actionable Tips To Become A Good Storyteller

  1. Read as many different world folktales, fables, myths, and legends as you can.
  2. Watch professional storytellers and take notes about how they do it.
    Every storyteller is different, and you can learn something from them all.
  3. Build your confidence by reading your student’s picture books or chapter books with an interesting voice.
    Stop to ask questions. Make the book reading interactive. It will help you create a shared event with a story.
  4. Pick stories with small numbers of characters and repeating events, as these are easiest to remember.
    Having said that, pick any story you like – no, that you love!
    If it captivates you, it will captivate the younger ones, too.
  5. Write the stories down in a notebook.
    Writing helps you remember a story, and it models the same to the children.
  6. When you start “telling” your story, it’s OK to have the book nearby and to take a look at it if you forget a part.
    Don’t be too hard on yourself. You are a student again.
  7. Get yourself a “prop box” made of old bits of linen, and fill it with hats from charity shops and random objects that children can use imaginatively.

To ease your job of editing, style you can use these simple tools to improve your content writing skills.

30 Filler Words You Can Cut Out of Your Writing (Infographic) via Grammar Check

30 Filler Words You Can Cut Out of Your Writing (Infographic)

Position as an Authority

Writers, what goes into the perfect blog post? Answer by Express Writers.

Before you start assembling the perfect blog post, be sure you have the following ingredients on hand:

  • 1 stellar title
  • 5-10 sentences of compelling introduction
  • 1 heaping spoonful creativity
  • Several outstanding and informative subheaders
  • 2 cups succinct body copy
  • Four handfuls research
  • Six parts formatting
  • 1 part conclusion
  • A sprinkling of enthusiasm
  • Love (for garnish)
  • Once you’ve gathered all your ingredients, follow these steps:

Assemble the Title

The title sets the stage for the rest of the blog post, so it’s important to get it right. If you don’t spend enough time on it, or if you throw it together hastily, the whole post will fall when you pull it out of the oven.

With this in mind, be sure to mix the right amount of information, intrigue, and length into the title. Remember titles with numbers taste better to readers, so you may consider sprinkling some in.

For best results, be sure to keep your title under 160 characters, so it doesn’t get cut off.

Lay Out Your Introduction

Next, comes the introduction. Since the intro supports the title, you’ll need it to be nice and firm. Take your time laying it out and be sure to keep it short, sweet, and to-the-point.

Don’t stretch it too thin. Otherwise, it won’t be able to support your nice, hefty title. You should also be careful not to make it too dense since this will drive your readers away.

Once your introduction is the right consistency, let it rise for 4-6 hours before revisiting it again.

Structure Your Subheaders

Your subheaders are the pieces of your perfect blog post that help guide readers through, so you’ll want to ensure they’re well-spaced and informative.

For best results, add a subheader every 300-350 words, so your content doesn’t get too dense. Be sure to use numbers throughout, and keep your subheaders impactful and informative, for best taste.

Mix Together Body Copy

For your body copy, you’ll need to assemble your creativity, research, and formatting in a large bowl and stir until well combined.

If necessary, add more research to reach the right consistency. Citations are critical to great blog posts, so be liberal with yours.

Be sure that the content on your site is fresh and high-quality since this will improve the taste of the entire blog post.

Once you’ve secured your citations, turn your attention to the formatting. Half of the fun of creating a perfect blog post is making it look beautiful.

With this in mind, use bolded subheaders, H1, H2, and H3 tags, bulleted and numbered lists, and plenty of images. The images are extra important since they make your blog post unique and unforgettable.

Be sure to sprinkle them in to taste.

Arrange Your Conclusion

Your conclusion is the last part of your blog post, so you’ll want to pay particular attention to this. As you write your conclusion, be sure it sums up the main points of your blog post and gives your reader a tasty little morsel with which to end the post.

Just like you did with your introduction and body copy, keep it short, succinct, and to-the-point. Any “fluff” should be cut out so as to preserve the taste and you should always use the most high-quality writing possible.

Keep in mind that conclusions read better if they’re allowed to rest before publication, so you’d be smart to let yours sit for 4-6 hours before finishing.

Finish the Post

Once your post has cooled for 4-6 hours, run back through it one more time. Cut out any fluff that has risen to the top, tighten up language, remove unnecessary words, and re-shape the post into a narrative arc the reader would want to interact with.

Edit 2-3 times before publication and consider asking someone else to read the post as well, for posterity’s sake. Once the post is finished, sprinkle it with your enthusiasm and love, for garnish, and publish across your blog channel and favorite social media platforms.

Serve hot with a side of engagement and responsiveness to everyone who reaches out about the post.

Congratulations! You’ve just assembled your perfect blog post!

That wasn’t as hard as you thought, was it? Keep in mind that blog posts are very flexible, so you can repeat this recipe, trying out various lengths, topics, methods, and writing styles.

To keep your posts high-quality, be sure never to rush the recipe, and always allow time for them to rise and cool before you publish them.

Also, don’t forget to decorate liberally with the love and enthusiasm, as this is what sets one blog post apart from another and puts the final beautiful touches on your blog “cake.”

Happy writing, and enjoy that delicious content!

Conclusion

You need to be consistent with your writing. You don’t know how readers discovered your writing or found your blog. You can’t be sure if they arrived straight at your latest post, on your about page or via an archived post.

You can’t know which order people will read your blog post or writing. So every post you write needs to tell the same story about you, your message, your blog and your values.

About The Author

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8 Comments

  1. Donna Merrill
    10/17/2017
    • Prince Akwarandu
      Prince Akwarandu
      10/17/2017
  2. Mehedi Hasan
    10/17/2017
  3. Ryan Biddulph
    Ryan Biddulph
    10/17/2017
    • Prince Akwarandu
      Prince Akwarandu
      10/19/2017
  4. Awogor Matthew
    10/18/2017
    • Prince Akwarandu
      Prince Akwarandu
      10/19/2017

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