pointed.
← All lessons
LESSON 1 OF 7 · 6 MINUTES

Find your voice before you write anything

Your voice is a set of rules you already follow. Write them down, with the sentence each one came from.

Read three things you wrote and were proud of. A launch email, a long reply to a customer, a post that got real answers. You will notice the same habits in all three.

Those habits are your voice. Not "friendly" or "professional": those describe everyone. A voice is specific. You open with what happened. You use numbers instead of adjectives. You never end on a question.

Why it comes first

Every draft you approve later is checked against these rules. Without them, a draft can only be judged on whether it sounds fine, and fine is how every other company sounds.

What a good rule looks like

  • It is something you could break. "Be clear" is not a rule. "One idea per paragraph" is.
  • It quotes a sentence you actually wrote, so you can check it against your own work.
  • It comes with the words you never use. Every writer has a list.
EASIEST WAY

The voice profile reads your writing and proposes rules, each quoting the sentence it came from. You keep the ones that are true and delete the rest. Drafts are written to them, and preflight blocks the words you never use.

Open your voice profile

Or run a draft through the free AI-tell checker

DO IT YOURSELF

Paste three pieces of your writing into one document. Underline every habit that shows up twice. Write each one as a rule, with the sentence beside it. Then list ten words you would never use. It takes about an hour, and you will use it for years.

Do it now

  1. Pick three pieces of writing you are proud of.
  2. Underline the habits that repeat.
  3. Write five rules, each with its sentence.
  4. List the words you never use.

Quick answers

How many rules is enough?

Five to eight. More than that and nobody, including you, will remember them.

What if my writing is inconsistent?

Pick the pieces that sound most like you on a good day. The voice is the one you want to keep.