{"id":116975,"date":"2023-11-05T17:45:19","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T21:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=116975"},"modified":"2023-11-05T17:45:20","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T21:45:20","slug":"writers-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Writers’ Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How can you keep your readers from missing your message? How can you get nearly anyone interested in an essay about prairie grasses?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you’re writing an email or a novel, you want to compel your readers and get your message across. The following writers’ exercises will help you achieve unity in your writing, infuse your writing with humanity, find your own Paris (inspired by Ernest Hemingway), and practice using the pyramid structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to dive into these exercises and strengthen your writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Writers’ Exercises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We’ve put together four writers’ exercises based on the concepts in books by William Zinsser, Ernest Hemingway, and Barbara Minto. These are exercises you can return to time and time again to improve your writing skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise 1: Achieve Unity in Your Writing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In On Writing Well<\/a><\/em>, William Zinsser discusses the concept of unity, which you achieve when certain key elements stay the same throughout your writing, even as your idea develops. For example, tone is one key element to keep consistent in a piece of writing. Zinsser believes unity eliminates unwanted confusion because your reader won\u2019t have to keep up with unnecessary changes in your writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zinsser explains that, while you can take some artistic liberty with your writing, you have to stick with whatever decisions you make. As you write, you can change your mind, but make sure that change is reflected throughout the rest of your writing. For example, you may start writing a piece in third person, only to decide midway through that you think first person would work better. It\u2019s okay to change your mind, but be sure to go back and change the parts you\u2019ve already written in third person to first person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zinsser says that, to achieve unity in your writing, you should answer four guiding questions about your main idea, point of view, tense, and tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Think of your current writing project. It could be an essay, travel guide, or letter\u2014any kind of writing. What\u2019s the main idea of this piece of writing? What\u2019s the one thing you want your reader to take away from your writing?<\/li>
  2. How will you address the reader? What point of view is most appropriate for this piece of writing, and why?<\/li>
  3. What tense will you use? Why will this work best?<\/li>
  4. What tone will you use? What is your attitude\u2014as the writer\u2014to the piece? For example, if you\u2019re writing an article about a political protest, your tone might be more serious than if you wrote a more conversational review of a new movie.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Exercise 2: Infuse Your Writing With Humanity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    For unique and engaging writing, Zinsser believes that you must find humanity<\/em>, or the part of your writing that your reader will connect with. Humanity speaks to some shared experience or deeper truth about being human. For example, in Educated<\/em><\/a>, Tara Westover speaks to the experience of overcoming family limitations and the importance of education. These are deeper truths a reader can relate to, even if he didn\u2019t grow up in a survivalist Mormon family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Zinsser believes humanity is why we read stories about niche topics such as fly-fishing or rock climbing. It\u2019s not because we all have a specific interest or knowledge of these things but because we can relate to the people who do have a passion or interest in something. We resonate with someone\u2019s resilience through hardship or search for meaning<\/a> because most of us have had similar experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Consider what deeper truth your story speaks to. Incorporating humanity, or some truth about being human, will make your writing more engaging. In this writers’ exercise, identify some underlying truths in your writing so you can craft more compelling stories in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Think of a story you\u2019re currently writing, would like to write, or wrote in the past. What was the story about? Give a brief description of the piece.<\/li>
    2. Now dig a little deeper. What was your writing really<\/em> about? What kind of truth did it speak to? Perhaps your company memo was really about the desire to improve your sales performance or your profile on a local baker was about the preservation of family values and customs.\u00a0<\/li>
    3. Finally, think about what truths you<\/em> value most, such as family or loyalty. If nothing immediately comes to mind, consider what kind of stories you gravitate toward. Maybe you like murder mysteries and the search for justice or knowledge, or maybe you like biographies of entrepreneurs and their ability to overcome obstacles<\/a> and solve important problems. Describe what truths you\u2019d enjoy exploring.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Exercise 3: Find Your Own Paris<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Ernest Hemingway\u2019s A Moveable Feast<\/a> <\/em>is a collection of vignettes about his time in Paris between 1921 and 1926. He tells the story of his interactions with some of the most famous artists of his generation. Amid vivid descriptions of going hungry and walking the streets of a city in flux during the interwar period, Hemingway describes literary greats like Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and others who influenced his development as a writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Paris seemed bleak when the winter rains came, and the small shops selling newspapers or herbs closed their doors. Hemingway lived in the hotel where French poet Paul Verlaine died, and it got cold in his apartment, which was somewhere between six and eight stories up, when the rains began. Hemingway often walked around the city, down the Boulevard St.-Michel and the Boulevard St.-Germain, past the Cluny Museum, and found a caf\u00e9 on the Place St.-Michel where he would write. When the rains dissipated and the weather turned cold and clear, Paris became a different, more energized city. The bare trees in the Luxembourg Garden looked like sculptures. Even the stairs up to his apartment in the hotel didn\u2019t feel so bothersome.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In this writers’ exercise, think about an important place in your own life in the same way Hemingway thought about Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. If you are older than 25, remember where you spent your early 20s. If you are younger than 25, think about your childhood. If you were writing a memoir, what places would you be sure to include? Why?<\/li>
      2. What events would you need to include to paint a detailed picture of this time in your life? Why would you need to include them?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Exercise 4: Use the Pyramid Structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        In The Pyramid Principle<\/a><\/em>, writing expert Barbara Minto argues that the secret to clear, effective prose writing is beginning<\/em> with your conclusions. She envisions strong writing to be structured like a pyramid, with conclusions at the peak and supporting evidence branching out beneath. Minto claims that strong writers brainstorm and organize their ideas into a pyramid structure before<\/em> they begin writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Practice this now with this writers’ exercise. Pick something to write, brainstorm your conclusions and supporting ideas, and draft your introduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. Think about something you plan to write. It could be informative (such as a report summarizing your company\u2019s progress), expressive (such as a thank-you letter to a friend), or persuasive (such as a message persuading your social media followers to contribute to a fundraiser). Then, describe your writing piece\u2019s topic, question, and answer (or Peak Conclusion). (For example, your topic may be an upcoming fundraising effort for hurricane relief victims. A reader may wonder, \u201cWhy should I donate?\u201d Your answer may be that their donation will save lives and restore victims\u2019 hope.)<\/li>
        2. Now, use Minto\u2019s top-down approach to generate ideas that support your Peak Conclusion. Start by imagining what question a skeptical reader would ask in response to your answer (your Peak Conclusion). Then, write your Tier 1 conclusions. (For instance, a skeptical reader may wonder, \u201cHow will my donation save lives and restore hope?\u201d This could lead you to generate the following two conclusions: \u201cYour donation will provide hurricane victims with emergency supplies such as medicine, food, and water\u201d and \u201cYour donation will provide hurricane victims with hope and reassurance that their community is here to support them.\u201d)\u00a0<\/li>
        3. Continue using this question-and-answer technique to generate your next row of supporting ideas. (For instance, a reader might wonder how<\/em> their donation will provide medicine, food, and water to hurricane victims. You could explain which organizations will be using their donation and what type of relief each organization will provide for families.)<\/li>
        4. Finally, draft an introduction that includes a beginning (which establishes the \u201cwhere\u201d and \u201cwhen\u201d of your topic), a middle (which raises the question or problem), and an end (which shares your Peak Conclusion and Tier 1 conclusions). (For example: \u201cA local charity is raising funds to support hurricane survivors. Why should you <\/em>donate? Because doing so will provide hope to those who\u2019ve suffered great loss and save lives by providing food and water.\u201d)<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          How can you keep your readers from missing your message? How can you get nearly anyone interested in an essay about prairie grasses? Whether you’re writing an email or a novel, you want to compel your readers and get your message across. The following writers’ exercises will help you achieve unity in your writing, infuse your writing with humanity, find your own Paris (inspired by Ernest Hemingway), and practice using the pyramid structure. Continue reading to dive into these exercises and strengthen your writing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[849],"class_list":["post-116975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication","tag-general","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\n4 Writers' Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Improve your skills with four writers' exercises based on concepts from William Zinsser, Ernest Hemingway, and Barbara Minto. Take a look.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 Writers' Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Improve your skills with four writers' exercises based on concepts from William Zinsser, Ernest Hemingway, and Barbara Minto. Take a look.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-05T21:45:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-05T21:45:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/woman-thinking-and-writing.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"4 Writers’ Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-05T21:45:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-05T21:45:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/\"},\"wordCount\":1465,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"General\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Communication\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/\",\"name\":\"4 Writers' Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-05T21:45:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-05T21:45:20+00:00\",\"description\":\"Improve your skills with four writers' exercises based on concepts from William Zinsser, Ernest Hemingway, and Barbara Minto. Take a look.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"4 Writers’ Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"4 Writers' Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing - Shortform Books","description":"Improve your skills with four writers' exercises based on concepts from William Zinsser, Ernest Hemingway, and Barbara Minto. Take a look.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"4 Writers' Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing","og_description":"Improve your skills with four writers' exercises based on concepts from William Zinsser, Ernest Hemingway, and Barbara Minto. Take a look.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2023-11-05T21:45:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-05T21:45:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/woman-thinking-and-writing.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"4 Writers’ Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing","datePublished":"2023-11-05T21:45:19+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-05T21:45:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/"},"wordCount":1465,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["General"],"articleSection":["Communication"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/","name":"4 Writers' Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-11-05T21:45:19+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-05T21:45:20+00:00","description":"Improve your skills with four writers' exercises based on concepts from William Zinsser, Ernest Hemingway, and Barbara Minto. Take a look.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/writers-exercises\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"4 Writers’ Exercises to Spark Ideas & Strengthen Your Writing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116975"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117001,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116975\/revisions\/117001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}