Why do we dread obituary writing? And why are obituaries so gloomy and colorless? Toss the templates. Write a fresh, original tribute, not a résumé and not an old-fashioned print obituary, or “death notice,” as a newspaper would call it. To learn how to write a unique, modern obituary without a template download my free Quick-Start Guide to Writing an Online Obituary. If you want more advice, ideas, and examples, try these ideas: