Everyone wants to be Batman.

He’s cool and edgy, but has benevolent intentions—and the man gets results.

Luckily for you, it’s easy to adopt Batman’s intriguing qualities to perfect your writing and make others believe that you rock as hard as the Caped Crusader.

Whether you’re writing for yourself (a blog, a novel, a business document, etc.) or a client, mistakes aren’t going to cut it. Your text has to be poignant, useful, and error-free.

Here are three aspects of the Batman persona that you can apply to your proofreading habits.

Costume – The importance of writing drafts

When speaking in front of an audience, it is said that the crowd forms 70% of their opinions on how you look, 20% on how you sound, and only 10% on what you say. When you apply the theory to written text, the 70% of “how you look” reflects the content and structure of your writing.

How your writing “looks” involves its appeal to the reader, and proofreading enhances appeal. Text that a writer initially believes to be straightforward may actually be vague, unclear, or forgettable.

While the design of your document can certainly play a role in your visual presentation, you perfect your composition’s “look” by not only fixing typos, spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes, but also checking for consistency, clarity, and cohesiveness (among other factors, which may or may not be words that begin with the letter “c”). Readers are more receptive to your ideas when they can easily comprehend your writing. A document full of blemishes will not hold the reader’s interest.

You often know what you want to say, but your concept is not always translated to the reader. It’s essential to review your document as if you were not the person who wrote it. If you casually proofread your own text, you may skip reading every word in a sentence, but it will likely still make sense—it won’t necessarily to someone else.

Schedule an editing session after you take a break from writing. Spending time away from your ideas and the words on the page helps you decipher how can you improve the quality of your work.

No one gets it right on the first try. Take advantage of drafts.

Writing is as much a process as drawing, painting, or sculpting. A project needs to be carefully crafted. Each step contributes to the next action, whether it’s cleaning your paintbrushes, sketching a mock-up of your vision, or writing the seedlings of your ideas down in a rough draft.

Each draft is a costume. Batman had to experiment with different versions of the “bat suit” until it was the ideal combination of aesthetics and functionality—an outfit that communicates that you don’t want to mess with Batman.

Change costumes by proofreading until you get it right. When complete, you’ll have a suit that tells a powerful story.

Gadgets – When to use resources to improve your weaknesses

Crime fighting is Batman’s goal. Communicating a clear message is yours. Stay as focused on your goal as Batman by genuinely connecting with your audience. Work with what you know, and do the appropriate research when you discuss unfamiliar topics.

Seems impossible to swiftly travel from the ground to the top of a tall building? Didn’t stop Batman. He uses resources to overcome obstacles, invent complementary gadgets, and enhance his ability to stifle bad guys.

If you forgot a punctuation rule, look it up. If a sentence is incomplete, elaborate. If a paragraph is convoluted, simplify. Thorough proofreading examines each word and kicks it to the curb if it can be replaced with a more effective option.

Don’t take any aspect of your text for granted. Everyone knows that grammar mistakes make your writing look sloppy, but fixing them isn’t always a writer’s priority.

It reminds me of a Chinese story about the monk, Birdsnest, who lived in a tree and gave the most profound advice in China. When the governor of the land visited Birdsnest, the guidance that the monk told the officer was simple, “Don’t do bad things. Always do good things.”

Feeling cheated by this obvious statement, the governor exclaimed, “I knew that when I was three years old!”

“Ah, yes,” Birdsnest replied. “The three-year-old knows it, but the eighty-year-old still finds it difficult to do.”

Tone – The benefits of writing and editing with confidence

The sound of Bruce Wayne’s voice changes when he becomes Batman. The deeper, firm tone of the winged vigilante is not a frivolous characteristic; it is an intentional display of confidence.

Batman doesn’t worry about pleasing everyone. Unapologetically write from your point of view, but don’t be sloppy or careless.

After writing a draft, confidently make changes to weak sections. To proofread meticulously, you don’t merely spot glaring errors, you recognize the message that the text intends to convey and ensure that each word in the document contributes to that purpose.

Batman doesn’t ask for permission; he’s in a class of his own.

No matter what you do, be Batman. It’s about doing what no one else does.

It wasn’t a radioactive spider bite, non-Earthling birth status, or mutated genetics that bestowed Bruce Wayne with the talent to be a superhero. He’s a guy that decided to kick ass no matter what.

Batman reminds us:

Don’t quit your night job.

Bruce Wayne may be a necessary part of life, but listen to your Batman-calling to be something extraordinary.

Stefanie Flaxman is the founder of Revision Fairy. Check out a free sample of her grammar ebook, and follow Stefanie on Twitter.

By Mary Jaksch

Yes, I’m declaring open season on adverbs. What is an adverb exactly? Erm… it’s the word I just used: exactly. So I’ll cull it and write instead ‘What is an adverb?’

An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or a phrase. It answers questions such as ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘where’, or ‘how much’. Such details may be important, but we need to understand the dynamics of information versus pace.

Information versus pace

‘Pace’ identifies the speed at which readers can devour your text. Long sentences and detailed descriptions slow down the pace. Lean sentences and short paragraphs speed it up.

The more detailed information you give, the slower the pace. If you use words that are redundant, the reader may start to skip and even leave.

What does redundancy mean in terms of writing? Test the two definitions I found on the Internet. Which one slows your reading down?

1. Redundancy means words that are superfluous.
2. Redundancy means the superfluity of a linguistic feature due to its predictability within the overall structure.

Just imagine reading a whole article in the style of the second example. I bet you couldn’t click away fast enough!

Now that we’ve got that redundancy thing cleared up, let’s take a look at the implications.

The redundancy test

How do you know when a word is superfluous? It’s simple. If the meaning stays the same without the word, then you’re faced with a ‘superfluity of a linguistic feature’.

He hurriedly scribbled the number down on a pad

In this case the adverb ‘hurriedly’ is superfluous because the word scribbling already implies writing fast. The sentence ‘He scribbled the number down on a pad’ is leaner and stronger.

John got up and walked restlessly to the window.

Here, the word ‘restlessly’ is redundant because the restlessness is already shown in the action.

Some writers like to use not only one, but two adverbs. For example: She really, truly cared for him. In this case, consider culling one of the adverbs, or even both. Here, you would end up with: She cared for him.

In a recent guest post pitch I found this sentence: As writers it’s normal to jump both mentally and actually from one project to another.

That’s a very athletic sentence … which would benefit from some brutal editing.

Should we let some adverbs live?

According to Master Editor Sol Stein in his book Stein on Writing there are two rules for letting adverbs live:

1. Keep an adverb that supplies necessary information. Example: He tried running faster and fell. If he’s already running, you must keep ‘faster’. If you remove the adverb the sentence means that he fell as soon as he started running.
2. Keep and adverb that helps the reader visualize the precise image you want to project. Example: She drove crazily, frightening the oncoming traffic.

Pace is better than pretty

Many writers try to improve their writing by making it ‘pretty’. They try to stuff their text full of colorful adverbs and adjectives. Wrong! Lean sentences that heighten the pace keep readers from falling off the page.

Improve your writing now

A simple way to improve your writing is to take a piece you’ve written and highlight all adverbs. Then try to delete as many as possible. Your readers will thank you.

Have YOU got examples of how killing an adverb strengthens writing? Please share them with us in the comments.

Mary Jaksch is the Chief Editor of Write to Done. Enjoy more of her stuff on Goodlife Zen. And check out the A-List Blogger Club that Leo Babauta and Mary run jointly.

Ok, folks – we’re back to writing school. An important piece of advice that many writing tutors give is to ’show not tell’. But how exactly do you do that?

What’s the trick? What’s the secret?

Because, it’s the bits that show and don’t tell that stick like burrs. Months later, you still can’t get the darn things out of  your mind. Here’s an example:

A while ago I asked on the A-list Blogger Club forum for help with a particular task. I got this response from Jean Sarauer of Virgin Blogger Notes:

I’ve already got one foot on a banana peel and the other one in Meltdown City, so I’ll have to pass. Dang it.

Her response was definitely memorable. (Check out Jean’s related post How to Get Off the Meltdown City Express.)

Ok, then – how to show and not tell?

I’ve been reading a novel by Meg Gardiner, a new rising star of the suspense genre – which is what I tend to read when I’m trying to get off that Meltdown City Express. I tried reading Meg’s The Memory Collector while lolling in the bath. But in the middle of the first page I lurched to my feet – sloshing water all over the floor – and hollered for help: “Bring me a pen, quick!” Her writing is so exciting, I was desperate to scrawl all over the page and highlight the best bits for you.

Tip #1 Use familiar words in a weird context

Let’s take the word ‘unfriendly’. As a practice run, write down five sentences that include the word ‘unfriendly’. Now check how you used the word. Most likely you will have used it to describe human interactions. In contrast, here’s how Meg Gardiner uses it:

The garage was cold and the bare bulb gave off unfriendly light. Vance jittered in a circle around them.
‘Are we screwed?’

That single work ‘unfriendly’ creates atmosphere. You know immediately that these are bad guys and something ugly is going to happen. Soon.

Tip #2: Put characters into a weird context

Whether you’re writing a novel or non-fiction, try putting the people you talk about in a weird context. Here’s Meg Gardiner again:

Ginrich’s girlfriend, Clare, was thin and nervous. So were the three Chihuahuas jumping around her feet like grease in a frying pan.

With those three doglets jumping around here feet, Clare’s character comes to life.

Tip #3: Use weird metaphors

If you connect two disparate ideas, the brain jangles. That’s why using ‘weird’ metaphors makes your writing memorable. Here’s Meg Gardiner again:

The man grabbed him. This guy was square with a gray buzz cut like a concrete brick.

You know immediately that this is an ugly character. Definitely not the kind of person you’d like to encounter in a park after dark…

I think these three examples show how potent the ‘weird’ trick is.

How about we all get together and collect more examples?

You could write something and use the ‘weird context’ trick. Or maybe you can find some great examples in the stuff that you read.

Please share your treasures in the comments below, friends. Feel free to link to your own stuff :-)

Mary Jaksch is the Chief Editor of Write to Done. Enjoy more of her posts on her blog Goodlife ZEN and join Leo Babauta and Mary in the A-List Blogger Club (we’re accepting new members right now).

A guest post by Katie Tallo of Momentum Gathering.

The royal road to a man’s heart is to talk to him about the things he treasures most. ~ Dale Carnegie

Every blogger searches for that royal road. We want to touch the real lives of our readers – that’s why we talk about their children, their food, their homes, their hobbies, their businesses, and their beliefs. That royal road shines brightly when we infuse our blogs with our real lives, but it shines brightest when our blogs reflect, ignite and enhance the lives of our readers.

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. ~ Dale Carnegie

But how do we win friends and influence readers if a lot of readers love apples and we write about oranges? We can’t be everything to all readers.

Or can we?

We can if we join forces, pool our resources, help each other and engage in communities.

1. Join an aggregate blog.

By pooling a bunch of unique, engaging and diverse blogs, an aggregate blog gives readers everything they need in one roadside oasis. The Daily Brainstorm is a new aggregate blog that launched this week. It is a blogazine featuring some of the best bloggers on the planet, along with promising up-and-comers. It reaches into the hearts of readers and talks to them about their health, food, writing, exercise, diet, news, homes, gardens, travel, hobbies, money, blogs, careers, science, technology, politics, entertainment, simplicity, productivity and relationships. All the apples and oranges of life and more. By joining an aggregate blog, you’ll stand side-by-side with other bloggers, you’ll engage with more readers, and you’ll extend your influence by association.

2. Find a community of bloggers.

There are forums, clubs and communities of like-minded bloggers across the web. The support, guidance, expertise, camaraderie, laughs, resources, opportunities, lessons, networking, and friendship is priceless. I joined Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch’s A-List Blogger Club three months ago. Since that time, I have picked up bucket loads of friends, readers, experience and momentum that I could not have gathered alone.

3. Guest post and mention your friends everywhere.

By guest posting, you step outside your blogging comfort zone, blend your blog with another and push yourself beyond the boundaries of your niche. You’ll end up creating orangapples that might appeal to a whole new reader. Tweet about your friends and mention their blogs in your posts. Their success will become yours.

And on that note, here are some of the friends I am now collaborating with at The Daily Brainstorm and first met in the A-List Blogger Club. They are definitely worth checking out:

• Mary is the passionate, fun-loving blogger behind Goodlife Zen and Write to Done.
• Leo is an inspiring, genuine, thoughtful blogger of Zen Habits, Mnmlist and Write to Done.
• Barrie is the bold and insightful life coach extraordinaire of Live Bold and Bloom.
• Jean is the gregarious, motivational force behind Virgin Blogger Notes.
• Arvind is the authentic and kind voice behind the blog Make It Happen.
• Angela is the wise soul and gentle presence at Powered by Intuition.
• Manal is the heartfelt and honest voice of One with Now.
• Alison is the friendly and sincere blogger of Loving Nature’s Garden.
• Lisa is the lovely and engaging blogger of Privilege.
• Leah is the vibrant and profound blogger from Peaceful Planet.
• Farnoosh is the wonderfully real and powerful voice behind Prolific Life.
• Jeffrey is the thoughtful and philosophical presence behind The Art of Great Things.
• Linda is the reflective and truthful blogger of Thought Medicine.
• Doug is the clever and warmhearted blogger behind The New Wealth Paradigm.
• Tammy is the sassy simple living blogger at Rowdy Kittens.

Those are some of my friends and some of my favourite places to hang out with them. I hope you’ll visit, get involved, join aggregates, find clubs and, in the process, win friends and influence readers. When we enrich our virtual lives with collaboration, connection and friendship, we enrich the real lives of our readers. We become the royal road, a pathway to their hearts.

Your turn: Do you have some friends, clubs, communities, or aggregates that you’d like to mention? Join in the conversation and tell us about them.

Katie Tallo is a Contributing Writer for Write to Done, a Managing Editor for The Daily Brainstorm as well as a director, motivator, runner, vegetarian and mother who writes a blog called Momentum Gathering where she encourages simple, positive actions for joyful and vibrant life change.

By Kelly Diels of Cleavage

Newbie authors and big deal bloggers Chris Guillebeau, Leo Babauta and Erin Doland accidentally and accidentally-on-purpose hacked their way through the publishing jungle with their brain children/addictions – Art of Non-Conformity, Zen Habits and The Unclutterer – firmly in tow.

If Chris Guillebeau was forced to identify his favourite child, he’d waffle: “I really love them both.”

But I’m going to kill them both if you don’t choose.

“I guess if I had to choose, I’d choose the blog since it allows me to reach more people…”.

Even so, Guillebeau started his blog with a book deal in mind. “It was one of the primary goals of starting my blog,” he says, “I felt like I had a message to share and wanted to write a book.” He knew that it would be “hard to break into the publishing world without a strong online presence” and so along came “the blog and everything else I did online for nearly a full year prior to getting the book deal.”

Guillebeau has now signed a deal worth more than a handful of m&m’s but less than $100K, and “in terms of the time commitment, probably reflective of minimum wage.” What the hell, Chris? “That’s OK with me, though – I feel very grateful that I can do what I love to do”. Well, okay then. You’ve got a book deal and we don’t. Thanks for rubbing it in.

Guillebeau is probably writing that book right now – likely while sitting in a plane or an airport terminal, poor baby – and expects his book The Art of Non-Conformity to be in stores September 2010.

Like Chris Guillebeau, Leo Babauta also loves his first-born best. His blog “is my baby, and will always hold a special place deep within my heart” but publishing a book was “a fantasy come true,” thanks to his blog:

As my blog took off, publishers and agents approached me. My blog had 26,000 subscribers within the first year, so it was obvious my writing was connecting with a lot of people — people who responded enthusiastically…

It was essential that I built up my audience with my blog before I tried to sell the book. Publishers get a million requests per second (about the same as the number of Google searches done per second), and you need to stand out. If you have a successful blog that has shown your potential as a writer and marketer, you have a good shot at least. If you don’t, you’d better have an AMAZING proposal.

Leo Babauta knows what he’s talking about. He has to. He has six kids to feed which is why I’m so glad his publisher advanced him $80,000 for his 2008 book,  The Power of Less.

I digress.

Unlike Guillebeau and Babauta, Erin Doland doesn’t talk about her blog and her book in parental terms, but that is because she has a problem. She is “obsessed with reading and writing books the way druggies pursue their next high.”

In fact, before Doland signed her book deal, she would lie in bed at night and “stare at the ceiling and feel like I had failed to achieve one of my purposes in life.” And then, during the day, she’d bitch about it. “I wasn’t quiet about this failure…Everyone I know was well aware of my feelings of inadequacy over not yet having written a book.”

Thank goodness for her wildly popular blog, The Unclutterer, because “if it weren’t for my posts on Unclutterer.com there wouldn’t be a bock. My agent and editor both were fans of my writing on the website, and they wouldn’t have had a clue whom I was if it weren’t for the site.”

But they did and they do and Unclutter Your Life in One Week came out November 3, 2009. Bulging garages and strung-out attics everywhere are detoxing as we speak.