I write for a living. To do my job, I put strings of words together to grab your attention and get you to continue reading on. For some, this comes easy. For others, it’s like pulling teeth. Why do some people love to write while others hate it? All matters of talent aside, it might just come down to having a good understanding of rhythm. Allow me to elaborate.

Writing is like putting together a puzzle. Some sentences work in certain places while others just don’t. You’ve got big pieces. You’ve got small pieces. You’ve got pieces that only work in one context, and you’ve got pieces that hit the mark every time.

Your one and only job, as a writer, is to know your pieces well. When you put your pieces together and everything fits, your writing will have rhythm. If you haven’t solved the puzzle yet, your writing won’t be very readable. It’s really as simple as that.

Don’t Just Look For Grammatical Errors. Ask Yourself If Your Copy Sounds Good.

Everybody proofreads their work. Unfortunately, most people only look for misspelled words and grammatically incorrect phrasing. They don’t stop to think about rhythm.

Do you think the person who wrote this even wondered if it sounds good?

“We offer high quality reliable research copywriting and editing services through qualified professionals from a wide variety of industries and apply strict quality assurance processes to ensure we produce written words that are well-researched, portray the right image and effectively communicate a clear and concise message.”

Yes, very concise…

Would you believe I found this gem posted as my competitor’s bid for an Elance project? If you’re wondering why some people aren’t successful on that site, here’s your answer. Nobody is convincing their prospects that they can actually write.

Don’t Be Afraid To Delete Large Swaths Of Your Work

I often delete entire paragraphs because they just don’t work. This is perfectly acceptable. In fact, it should be a part of your writing process too. Sometimes the best way to solve the puzzle is to see it in a different light. When something doesn’t work, give it the chop and start again.

You will be surprised at how liberating this can be. I might go so far as to say it’s a cure for writer’s block. So many of us get caught up on one idea. We bang our heads against a wall trying to get it to work, but nothing happens. Deleting clumsy paragraphs and sentences will clear your mind and allow you to come up with something that works better. I suggest you give it a try.

Keep Simplifying Everything You Write

Some people say you should proofread your articles once to make sure they’re grammatically correct. Just once? Are you frickin’ kidding me? I read everything I write at least 10 times, if not 20 times, in the course of writing it. I’m always looking for new ways to simplify my content. You should too.

No matter what you write, there is always a simpler way to express it. It’s really easy to write a nice long article like this one. You have breathing room. The real challenge comes when your client wants to you to jam an entire biography into 50 words. If you don’t know your puzzle pieces, you won’t create an arrangement that works.

Try this out. Write a 500 word biographical piece on yourself. Once you’ve done that, write the same thing but restrict it to 250 words. Next, go to 100. After that, try 50. I believe you will notice something. It’s really hard to write concisely. When you have less wiggle room, you have to get rid of the big puzzle pieces and replace them with the smaller ones that say the same thing.

The most effective writers have no romantic notions about the process. They see it as a mechanical sort of discipline, complete with words and phrases that function like cogs in some great machine. I am not an artist. I get paid to play Tetris with words. As soon as you realize that creating good content isn’t about being clever, you’ll get more people to care about what you’re saying.

Really. It’s as simple as that.