Rhythm: Rhythms often leads us to believe our writing feels flat, even when grammar is impeccable. Prose has a heartbeat, and it’s found in sentences. When all beats sounds the same, the reader hears a machine reading off a list. To avoid falling into statement mode and vary one’s rhythm enough to hold a reader, […]

Counter is an auxiliary verb counter. Before helping verbs becomes a habit in your writing, Counter shows them to you. At first, one or two be-verbs or modals is barely noticeable; they simply help the sentence along. You only take notice when there’s a stack of them in a paragraph, that’s when the prose sags. […]

Here’s one example: You’re creating step-by-step instructions for a new piece of software. Ten sentences in, seven begin with a verb. Click here. Read this next. Don’t skip ahead. This pattern continues. You feel satisfied when your directions is easy to understand. A beta tester calls and says the writing sounds aggressive. It sounds like […]

Conditional clauses distinguishes the possible from the fact. They split straightforward sentences, making multiple options available. The problem is that excessive conditions can clutter a document, such a manuscript or policy could feel burdensome. Conditional density offer a way to measure readability and assess probability of an idea landing with readers. This can be valuable […]