Why are you writing this?

Get ready.

Broccoli Has Lots of

Vitamins vs

3 Vegetables Packed With

Nutrition

BE

HONEST!

this flowchart

Find common ground

Hold that thought...

They don’t want to

talk about broccoli, but they care a lot about

nutrition. Think about all the

ways your topic does matter to them. Select

the strongest to set the tone of your content.

Whoot! You have an easy

assignment because your reader is already interested

before you’ve even started writing. Let’s

make sure you meet their expectations. If the

reader already is interested, reinforce but

don’t over do it! Recognize your readers values, but don’t

fall into preaching to the choir.

Teach them something new about a topic they care about.

Sharing an anecdote,

such as how a land-owner made a novel use of a practice, can help soften

a technical document and help you connect with the reader.

Think about math class:

some folks like equations, others excel with story

problems.

Very few topics are going to fall into this

on their own. Things like financials can be included

with more interesting content like an annual

newsletter.

Get some help if you are still stuck. If you’re both left scratching your heads, this

is probably a topic (or goal) that needs to be

discussed with managers/board about how to engage and educate

your readers.

You have the piece’s goals and a list of your audiences’ values that

relate. Gather everything you need to write now.

If you can’t find the images

or graphics and/or don’t have the resources available to create your own, leverage your SWCDs and partner organizations! Ask

Photographers if you can use their work if they are credited.

Creative Commons (CC BY-?? ) is a nifty license. There

are a few variations on how the work can be used and credited, but it’s spelled out

for you in the license name! Example: CC BY-NC Creative Commons free

for non-commercialWikipedia is a great site to learn

more about it.When you are linking or

referring to a resource, say why it’s great. Example: “Generic

Watershed Council made this great tool for figuring out how big your rain

garden needs to be: <link>”

But what about length?

Or media?!There are lots of resources out there tailored to fit the special needs of each media. If you aren’t sure, add it to your research list!

If you are going to re-use this piece

across multiple outlets, start with the longest. It’s easier to cut text

than add it later.

This isn’t to say you’re finished gathering, but it should

help minimize your down time.

This is rare

or a limitation of the publishing

media.Most

of the time image hunting and research go hand in hand. Viva la multitasking!

Reduce your content idea to its very core points

or message.

Yes No

Focus on clarity with the technical prose. If you are encouraging a behavior or practice

change, be sure to appeal to their values.

NoYes

Does your reader care about

this topic?

TASK #1 GOALS Write down what you want to accomplish with this piece and the medium(s) where it will be published.

Brainstorm related topics that do appeal to

your reader or their values. How are those topics

related? Try again from the beginning.

Yes No

Is this a technical or reference

document?

Nestle it somewhere

unobtrusive to satisfy your legal

obligations but not turn your readers away with boring content they don’t

want to read.

Make one then!

Yes No

Would the data be more useful as

some sort of table or infographic?

TASK #2 VALUES Write all the keepers from your brain storming session with your goals. Save them somewhere handy so you can look at them when you feel stuck and to test what you’ve written against your defined goals.

Focus on how your topic reinforces or builds upon those values.

*VALUES For the purposes of this flowchart “values” are

things that matter to your reader and/or things they

place value in.

Some examples:Health, Privacy,Saving Money,Larger Yields,

DIY, Independence,Family, Safety

Yes No

Can/Does this topic appeal to your

reader’s values*?

Is this content required

by law?

TASK #3 MAKE AN OUTLINE! Use the goals and values to help construct an outline. Be sure to include subtopics needed to get your message across and arrange it in a logical order.

Hunt and gather stuff before you start to write.

Have necessary citations/methods clear. Every one is different.

Does this content need photos

or graphics to make it understandable?

Yes No

Would images improve reader

engagement or provide an alternative way to learn

about your topic?

Yes No

Do you need to research, cite other’s

work, or provide additional resources?

Yes No

Brainstorm a list of values so you can refer

to it often!

STOP

STOP

Goals Values Outline Supporting Images Research & Resources

Time to write!

Review, revise, repeat.

Draft.

braindump

Sorry, tricked you.

Take a break champ!

Don’t worry about the

format!Do take breaks!

Do give yourself

enough time.Do go to another section if you’re

stumped.Don’t start editing! Mark things that need work

and move on.

Do what works for you.

The order doesn’t matter.

Starting can be the hardest part.

Luckily, you already have.

Great job! Don’t sweat the details (yet).

You can’t fully

edit your own work. You know what you

meant when you wrote it and you brain will fill in missing words. If you absolutely can’t

get anyone else to review your work, take a day or two (or more) to put it aside and gain a fresh

perspective.

Remember it’s all about the piece and the readers, not the

writer and the reviewers. Don’t get discouraged!

Don’t waste your reviewer’s time with

typos!Spellcheck is great, but it doesn’t catch everything. Read it

backwards. Seriously.MS Word has a grammar checker too,

but don’t rely on it. Refer to a style guide. “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for

Better Writing” by Mignon Fogarty is great or go to her website for

most of the common stuff: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.comTake a break after every few pages

to keep your eyes sharp.

What’s appropriate? This can be tricky.Make sure you understand the review’s suggestion. Ask clarifying questions.Does the suggestion reinforce the

goal of the piece?Is it a style criticism? Does the piece

match your organization’s style and the media’s best practices? It should.

Try it out. Still stuck? Get a second opinion but don’t reveal your

preference.

Almost there...

Z Z Z Z Z Z

If you have the luxury of having more

than one reviewer, try to get one from the office that knows the topic and one from outside the office that isn’t familiar with it.

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PUBLISH!Congratulations. You did it!

Goals Values Outline Write Review

Once your draft conveys the info as you understand it, have an

expert look at it before you spend time editing. It can be a huge

time saver! Ask the reviewer to focus on the technical stuff

so they don’t spend time on formatting or other things you’ll

get to later.

Review your goals and values then give it a quick read. Mark any hiccups, wordy, or barren spots - only the big stuff.

Print it (and turn off your monitor). Working from a hard copy isn’t necessary but it can be really helpful for ‘occasional’ writers to focus and see things that need changed.

Is this a topic you are familiar with

or have had reviewed by an expert?

Yes No

Save the good stuff that doesn’t quite work somewhere handy - the end of the draft is a great place. It might come in

handy later during editing or be a great caption or call-out.

TASK #4 TYPE THINGS! Let it come. You don’t need to start at the beginning and end at the end. Paste your outline into your new document and jump between sections as ideas spring up. Also called writing...

CLEAR YOUR HEAD AND WORKSPACE. This goes with removing distractions but is far sneakier at pulling you away from composing. File the files and put away those other projects - you know, all those things you’d rather be doing.

TAKE A BREAK. Mentally shift gears by stepping away from your desk from a few minutes when switching projects, but don’t let it extend into procrastination.

REMEMBER: YOU’RE HUMAN. Have you eaten? Have water? Need a rest stop? Handle your biological needs so they don’t interrupt you when you get on a roll.

REMOVE DISTRACTIONS. Close your door, forward calls to voice mail or a co-worker for a

couple hours, and close your email!

GET INSIDE YOUR READER’S HEAD. Time to give your imagination an workout.

START HERE

Read through your work and do a ROUGH edit.

Make sure the order makes sense and fill in any missing info or numbers if

you have it handy. Send out emails to the folks that have the data you need.

Remember to share your deadline!

Any major issues?

Yes No

Read it again slowly with a red pen. Be vicious. Trim fluff. Remove jargon.

Does every sentence make sense? Does it fit your organization’s style?

Open it back up on the computer and fix the issues. Refer to your saved, unused content.

Incorporate your changes.

Are there any structural

changes or many minor changes?

Yes No

Repeat as needed. Take breaks between revising and reading.

Proofread! • Spelling • Grammar • Style

Read it aloud. You’ll hear if you missed a comma or word and catch awkward sentences.

Proofread again! • Spelling • Grammar • Style

If you don’t revise, there’s no point asking for reviews.

Make appropriate changes.

TASK #5 REVIEW Now show it to someone else. Be sure they know the goals.