General rules:

• Don’t try to tell the whole story
• Be specific and use concrete terms
• Focus on one thing at a time
• Write conversational English
• Write factually and accurately
• Write in the active voice
• Write a beginning, a middle and an end
• Start strong
• Simplify

Do

• Tell stories in a LOGICAL order.
• Write as you talk and talk as you write. (Keep sentences short. If you have a long sentence, follow it up with a short one)
• One thought per sentence. Just one!
• Use the PRESENT tense.
• Use the ACTIVE voice.
• Paint pictures with your words. (Let the viewer make the conclusion – you tell/describe what’s going on.)
• Describe people, don’t label them. (Tell exactly what they do as opposed to using their official title.)
• Use verbs as adjectives. (eg. If you say “he struts or saunters…” you’re giving a picture without using an adjective.)
• Treasure small words.

Don't

• Make freight trains. (Don’t pile up adjectives)
• Use acronyms.
• Stop at danger words like “who” and ‘which”.
• Say what you don’t need. Be direct.
• Use clichés.
• Use jargon.
• Use vague language. Be specific.
• Use synonyms or elegant variations.
• Use numbers. If you have to use them, write them out in your script and round them off.