Dan O’Keeffe, Founder & CEO

July 24 2019

The O’Keeffe Writing Playlist

Ask any writer what they write to, and you’re more than likely to get a very specific answer. From jazz to techno to classics of the 1960’s, all of us have that specific playlist that helps us write. In honor of all of the writers out there, we’re sharing a few writing tips as well as our team writing playlist that help us create that perfect piece of content.

Writing Tips

Don’t be afraid to exercise the madness of your methods.

Whether it’s earplugs, a specific huddle room, or a coffee ritual, lean into the method that helps you write your best content. Often a change of environment can reignite your writing voice, and the O’Keeffe tribe is fond of shifting to a local coffee shop or bar with strong wifi to finish a day. Pro tip: if you’re an open office like we are, over the ear headphones paired with earplugs can be your saving grace. You may look crazy, but at least you’ll be productive.

Read it aloud to edit.

This one harks back to my writing center days (shout out to the Xavier University Writing Center!). Reading your content out loud helps you catch missing words, awkward phrasing, or other strange constructions that your brain misses when you’re just reading.

Discover your writing style.

There are two primary methods of attacking a writing project: creating an outline or diving straight in. Often in a business context, you’re going to lean into the outline method because of the depth of the topic, but sometimes the best blogs come from a keyword and some dedicated creating writing time.

Find an editor.

No writer can edit their own work. It’s nearly impossible to gain the kind of distance from a piece of content that’s needed in order to effectively edit it. Even a nonwriter is better than no editor at all, and I’ve found that often someone who isn’t close to a project is more able to spot confusing sections or incomplete information.

Writing Playlist

Our writing playlist reflects music that we all write to, but it also reflects who we are as a tribe. Dan added some jazz standards, Lisa offered techno, Jocelyn gave us a grab bag, Rob had a mix of rock classics, Dale offered the country, and I included the jazz classics. We’re a bit of a mix ourselves, but somehow it works to form a strong collective. Hopefully you’ll find some new favorites, but please don’t judge us. We make no claims about how it works as a playlist overall.

Listened to our music selections and want to learn more about the people behind the tribe? Let’s connect!