If you want your book or article to stand out, it’s a good idea to keep five rules in mind. They are the hallmark of excellent writing.

• Just do it readable
• Just do itmemorable
• Just do itsparkles
• Just do it staff
• make sure you have unity, consistency and originality

What do I mean by readability? Any book can be read, but not all books are easy and enjoyable to read, and this is something you definitely want and should strive for. In addition to readability, your reader usually wants to learn something (in the case of non-fiction books), so you’ll need to cater to that as well. How do you make your book readable? First of all, make sure you write simply and directly, and that all sentences are clear and understandable after just one reading. Second, give your reader variety; too much of the same and he (or she) will soon fall asleep. This means variety in sentence length, short sentences mixed with long ones, and variety in sentence structure. Third, avoid complex words; if you can replace any word with a simpler one, do so. And finally, avoid clichés and worn phrases.

It’s also important to make your book as memorable as possible. He wants his readers to think of him after they’ve read him, and perhaps recommend him to some of his friends. The best way to do this is to write about people and their problems. “But my article is about the history of refrigeration,” you say. Don’t worry; you can still talk about people; Tell your reader about the people who made the refrigeration improvements. In particular. Talk about your struggles, setbacks, frustrations, and successes. In essence, this means that you should include as many anecdotes and stories as possible. They are the things that keep the reader intrigued (as they say, they are the “icing on the cake”).

Third on our list is: make it shine. You may have never heard of this one before. How to make an article shine? What I mean by this is that you need to add a little “punch” to your article. In other words, you should add things that will make your reader perk up from time to time and maybe chuckle or even laugh out loud. Some of the ways to do it are:

• By using exclamations and commands from time to time
• Asking questions and answering them
• using humor
• Using incomplete sentences from time to time.

However, it’s important to note that you shouldn’t overdo any of these (except perhaps the humor part). If you do, the effect will quickly wear off.

Some other things that are useful are:

• Use strong verbs and avoid passive verbs.
• Repeat words and phrases from time to time for emphasis
• Use metaphors and similes, but be careful that they are appropriate.

Fourth, we have “Be personal.” By this I mean: be kind; write conversationally and, most importantly, be yourself. Use a friendly tone, but don’t be afraid to let your hair down and show your feelings. If you have something on your mind, say so.

Finally, unity, coherence and originality are essential. Make sure your article or book is unified; this means that it must be unified in subject (do not deviate from the main theme), tone, time, inclination, etc. Any sudden change will likely annoy the reader. And I don’t think I need to say much about originality; I admit that sometimes it’s hard to come up with something original (particularly when you’re writing about popular topics like health, relationships, and fitness) and the best way to avoid that is to put a new “slant” on it.

If you incorporate these five things into your next book or article, I’m sure you’ll be surprised how much better it will be. For more information on these topics, see my book I Should Write a Book.