Do we really need a style guide like those used by major publishers, companies, newspapers, and news agencies? Perhaps: we write more these days than ever before. Emails, messages, posts, reviews, comments, resumes, presentations. Our written words precede us and are crucial for standing out and being heard. That's why it's important to write well and consciously. Conscious writing means making choices: prioritizing the reader's perspective over our own, choosing expressions that resonate with them instead of clichés, words that evoke images and imagination, using examples and metaphors to guide the reader from what they know to what they don't, choosing a title that both informs and arouses curiosity, and developing strategies to say more with fewer words. Pay careful attention to all words, even the smallest ones like articles and pronouns.