Most people would rather have root canal than write an article or a report. Getting through to today's distracted, media-drenched audiences is getting harder and harder, especially for someone who doesn't make her living by the keyboard.

Assuming you have something valid to say and are simply having trouble getting going, turn to quotations. If you analyze articles written by wonderful writers, you will often find that their bricks and mortar are quotes. A really engaging writer can quote or paraphrase sources as diverse as Norman Douglas, Yogi Berra, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Pope John XXIII and fold them into the same piece so beautifully they don't seem intrusive.

Here's how:

• Use quotes when they clearly and cleverly state an idea you want to express.


• Use an actual quote when it has just the thought you want and when the person who said it lends authority. Otherwise, feel free to paraphrase.


• Attribute a quote any time it seems right to give a source.


• Use phrases which help blend quotes into the rhythm of a talk, such as: a famous historian once said; it has often been said; to use a familiar phrase; a wise man once said, etc.

Keep this up, and pretty soon your prose will be flowing and you'll find yourself being quoted.