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How to Write Your Own Health Articles |
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Writer's Guide |
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Omit needless words.
If you find yourself
saying the same thing to everybody, then write it down. It is
intimidating to sit down to "write a book." It is a lot
easier to sit down to write a page. Of course, if you write enough
pages, you will pretty much have a book eventually. I've authored books
both ways, and I greatly prefer to go an article at a time. So, my first rule is to try
to limit your idea to just one page. There is no speech, sermon
or writing that would not benefit from being shorter. President Calvin
Coolidge is remembered not for his presidency but for his brevity. I
lived in My second rule is, then,
to really have something to say. Always address subjects
you know well. If you don't know, then don't. Keep it short; have
something to say. Tastes great, less filling. As with comic Father
Guido Sarduchi's " That, alone, is not quite
enough. You have to sell it with style. If you do not yet have a
literary style, good. Just keep it short and to the point. That
alone is good style. When Will Rogers began his career as a columnist, his
terrible spelling and grammar "became" his style. He was also
brief and to the point. A president delivered his Gettysburg Address in
three minutes; the speaker before him spoke for two hours. Which
speaker's name do you remember? Health is certainly a big
subject, so do not even attempt to cover it all. Who could? There
is no need to reinvent the wheel, or to rewrite Gray's Anatomy.
But patients need simplification and clarification. Don't YOU
appreciate short meetings and short commercials? Next rule: never
use a big five-dollar word when a short word will do. There is
a hidden benefit here. The shorter your word, and the shorter your
sentences, the less education the reader has to have to understand you (Fry
Readability Graph, Journal of Reading, December 1977, p. 249).
Using this principle, I deliberately wrote my masters thesis at the fourth
grade reading level. There are over 30 million functionally illiterate
Americans out there, and some will be patients of yours. You have noticed the use
of some examples and anecdotes to illustrate my points in this
article. I've been writing and speaking for a living for 20 years, and
it seems to help. My students of all ages, literally from first grade
to post-doctoral, have told me that they appreciate my stories. Try to
keep your illustrations on the subject, or at least promptly return to the
subject if you digress. Don't be afraid of
simplification. Any idiot can take a plain idea and make it
complicated; just look at Congress. It takes real talent to take a
complex idea and make it simple. It is a gift for the writer, and a
relief to the reader. Always go for the bottom line. When in
doubt, summarize. Behaviorist B.F. Skinner
said that all learning is the mastery of a very large number of very small
steps. Professor John I. Mosher, whom I studied with for over two
decades, reminded me a long time ago to put myself in the student's seat and
deliver the kind of presentation that I myself would want to listen to.
When you write your articles, put yourself in the reader's position
and keep asking yourself what is most important. Then put that down on
paper. References and quotes add
to your credibility as an author. Dr. Mosher described this in terms of
baboons. Sometimes a potential rival challenges the leadership of the
troop's dominant male. The issue is generally decided by a form of
majority vote. If more of the baboons stand behind the challenger, he
takes over. If most stand behind the current leader, he remains in
charge. Dr. Mosher said it is about the same with bibliographical
references: try to get as many baboons as you can to back you up. Proof read and edit
your work.
Oh, how I love word processors. In the old days, we had to white
out, cut and paste, or redo entire pages. Now that corrections are so
easy on a computer, they are all the more essential. Re-read your work
for style and flow, not just for typos. Have your family read your
articles. Go out of your way to have your kids read your
articles. If they get the point, you made your point. Try to shorten your
article wherever possible. You may never know just how many
words and phrases I deleted editing the very article that you are reading
now. You may well see where I could have done better. So try it! Surgery
residents have often been taught, "watch one, do one, teach
one." Now its your turn.
Taken in part from the
book FIRE YOUR DOCTOR, copyright 2005 and previous years Andrew W.
Saul. Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE
YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at
http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html
) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html
) For ordering information, Click Here .
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AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This page is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision. Neither the author nor the webmaster has authorized the use of their names or the use of any material contained within in connection with the sale, promotion or advertising of any product or apparatus. Single-copy reproduction for individual, non-commercial use is permitted providing no alterations of content are made, and credit is given. |
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