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The post talks about how a page minimum had the effect of rewarding useless verbiage. I've found that page maximums in proposal writing have helped me to sharp
by mturmon 14y ago
The post talks about how a page minimum had the effect of rewarding useless verbiage. I've found that page maximums in proposal writing have helped me to sharpen my writing considerably. I had to write a 5 page proposal for $100k in a very competitive program earlier this year, and it was really a challenge to get all the ideas in.
Another thing I learned along the way is inverted storytelling. Tell it once in a sentence at a high level, again in a paragraph later on, and then again at greater length in the body of the document. Put the key stuff first and the supporting details later, even if (because?) the supporting details are technical, intricate, and show off your mastery. If you can't put the idea in a sentence, you're doing something wrong.
- reubenswartz 14y agoGreat points. And unlike your high school papers, which hopefully your teacher at least read through until the end, your prospect may not even read through the whole proposal if you don't start with something compelling. (I wrote a whole other post about this: http://www.mimiran.com/proposals/why-your-prospect-doesnt-want-to-read-your-proposals/. http://www.mimiran.com/proposals/why-your-prospect-doesnt-wa...) Keep it short, sweet, and interesting. (If you've ever been on the other side, having to read some of this crap, you can really appreciate it.) ;-)
- mturmon 14y agoYep, being on the other side is the best way to prepare for actually writing a proposal. It's easier to write a document when you know the mindset of the person reading it.
- _delirium 14y agoInterestingly enough, that's also the same length as a typical high-school essay assignment (5 pages). I think the critical difference might be that high-school students don't actually have much to say, so struggle to fill that, while when you have something to say, it's actually quite a challengingly short length.