Sometimes it feels like the world is swimming in bad writing. It’s everywhere – press releases, email, corporate memos, academic journals, scientific papers, lawsuits, government documents, textbooks, text messages, and on and on.

So it’s comforting to know that the average reader is just as fed up with it as writers and editors are.

I know this because after the New York Times Magazine published a piece by Hugo Lindgren on corporate jargon and other forms of bad language titled Words We Don’t Say editors there asked people to share their own examples of words they never want to read again. They were inundated. You can see the entire list in Words You Don’t Say.

Many of the submitted words are the same ones I cringe at in press releases and delete from manuscripts I edit, words like “actionable,” “deliverables” and “dollarize,” and phrases such as “at the end of the day,” “it is important to note” and “new beginning.”

If you’ve ever worked as a business or technology reporter or editor, you’ve run up against what feels like an unceasing tide of buzzwords, new iterations replacing old ones in lockstep with technological advances (then “world wide web,” now “cloud computing.”)

As Henry David Thoreau said, “Simplify, simplify.”

A few simple tricks: Avoid using the same word more than once in a sentence. Use active voice – your writing will be livelier, and you’ll need fewer words. You can see other suggestions for tightening up your writing in a post called When it comes to writing, economize.

Here’s the other great writing I’ve been reading this week:

• What I Learned in Joplin (New York Times) – The next time you hear a writer say “I don’t understand why I have to be on Twitter” show them this. Stelter, normally a Times media reporter, jumped on a plane to Joplin, Missouri, to cover the aftermath of the tornadoes there, and due to spotty cell phone service and other technical difficulties, ended up doing most of his most significant reporting via Twitter.
• 5 things I learned from Social Media Weekend (DNAInfo.com) – Columbia U. professor and digital news expert Sree Sreenivasan shares his usual adroit observations. Check out the graphic that shows the expected bump in engagement (buzzword alert!) when blog posts (or tweets) contain references to heart-warming stories, scores for major sporting events, etc. Good to know.
• Why I’m starting to pay for guest posts on my blog (Make a Living Writing)
• What we can learn from U.S. sports journalists (Nieman Labs)

1. Spelling and grammar – Use spell check, but don’t rely on it, read each paragraph over yourself.

2. Sources – Double check spellings, titles, ages and locations. If they’re not correct you’ll hear about it.

3. Headline, deck and subheads – The publication you’re writing for may not require these, but do it anyway, especially if you have a clever idea.

4. Bio – Better to describe yourself as you want than some harried editor.

5. Source list – Some publications want a source list for fact checking purposes. Even if they don’t, it’s not a bad idea to pull sources’ contact information out of your notes to plug into Outlook or so you can send a LinkedIn invitation to someone you want to stay in touch with should you want to interview them again.

6. Links – Because these days every story ends up online and you’ll make a friend on the copy desk if you look up relevant URLs for them.

7. Sidebars – If you did one, are you sending it in the same file or as a separate document? If the latter, make it easy on your editor and turn in both documents at the same time. Be sure to refer to both in your cover email.

8. Charts and graphs -See no. 7. Keeping all the elements of a story package together is the best way to prevent an over-worked editor from losing something and then emailing you about it.

9. Art – If you’re responsible for collecting head shots or other file art for a story, attach it to your email. If you’ve already submitted it, indicate as much. Again, it’s all about making life as easy as possible for your editor – they’ll thank you for it, and hopefully, send more work your way because of it.

10. Invoice - If your contract stipulates sending an invoice along with a story by all means take advantage of that – why wait longer than you have to to get paid. If not, fill out an invoice and have it ready to submit as soon as you get your editor’s OK. I keep pending invoices queued up in Outlook’s Drafts folder.

Here’s one more for good measure – When you turn in an assignment, thank the editor for the opportunity and ask if you can pitch something else. Be sure to inquire if there’s a type of story or section of the publication they need pitches for. If you get a positive response send something right away. Use the mutual good feeling that comes with turning in an assignment to your advantage.

What else do you check before turning in an assignment?

Online resources for writers – Help navigating the world of Web-based resources for writers, including top Web 2.0 tools, what writers should know about SEO and how to use LinkedIn.

Blogging basics for writers – Everything you need to know to start a writing blog, including what software to use, what to write, how often to post and how to build a following.

Tips for improving your writing – How to write short articles, conduct interviews, finish stories faster and lots more.

Best blogs for writers – Some of WordCount’s most popular posts include information about blogs for writers and writers who blog.

Career development for freelancers – Information on grants, scholarships, fellowships, plus real-life tips and suggestions from freelancers on how to successfully weather the bad economy.

Today’s topic: Tips For Improving Your Writing

25 tips for better freelance writing – Never go into an interview cold. Don’t be afraid to ask dumb questions. Show, don’t tell. Use active verbs. Read the whole story for more.

Asking the hard question: top 10 interview tips – Don’t back down from asking hard questions. Here’s how.

A few words on writing short – 500 words on why every writer needs to master the 500-word story, and suggestions how to do it.

How to write fast – The faster you write, the higher your hourly rate and the better your earnings potential. Read how the pros do it.

To keep business, tech writing fresh avoid cliches – Like the plague. Ha ha.

How to handle rewrites without wanting to kill yourself – Nobody likes rewrites, but they’re a fact of freelance life. The best way to handle rewrites is to just do it.

Later this week:

Tomorrow: Best blogs for writers

Friday: Career development for freelancers