Almost everyone could profit from enhancing their writing skills. From writing more crisp meta-tags ? which search engine bots find quite sexy ? to turbo-charging your blog readership by writing with punch, a skilled pen can propel any online effort in the right direction. But who has the time, money or know-how to tackle this daunting task, right? On the contrary, I have just the free and powerful writing clinic for you. We have named it "Writing With Power." And did I mention it's free?
Here, we ? my friends and I ? aim to lend a boost to your writing skills fast. We do this for people all the time by showing them how to use George Orwell's oh-so-practical principles of good writing. Today, I will offer five of them, and show you how to use them with ease. But first I must introduce you to an odd sort of person, whom I call, "Homo Graphicus," and he stars in a very popular fib dubbed the "Myth of the Great Writer."
What does he do? He sits far back in the recesses of your mind, whittling away at another masterpiece. For, you see, he flawlessly crafts only the finest specimens of the literary art, and he does so day-in and day-out. No piles of crumpled paper wads litter his desk or the floor, and he doesn't DO erasers. He simply presses the "insight" button, absorbs the inspired notion, and, with a flick of the wrist, returns to churning out his next scripted champion.
Now, the good news for those of us with all the creative flare of peet moss is this: this man does not exist. There are no great writers. The world knows only great rewriters. The way to produce a fine piece of writing comes by outlining briefly what you wish to say, filling out the floor plan with a few data from your research, and then by sifting carefully through the first draft many times ? systematically. Just follow the rules, step-by-step.
So where's the love? It comes by filtering the unruly items from your draft (with our rules), and replacing them with the beloved features of good writing. Here, you take your very rough draft ? and some will prove rougher than others ? and purge from it all the dross in a step-by-step fashion, with rules simple enough for clever pets to follow. Even Cocoa could do this.
Our first rule, we shall say this way: prefer concrete nouns to the abstract. By "concrete" I mean to suggest that you should employ the kinds of nouns we can all see, taste, smell, hear and see. This would include peanut butter, cars, frying pans, and DVD's. Abstract nouns, on the other hand, insist on playing hide-and-seek from our five senses. Most of the badly overused ones end in "-tion." These include words like marginalization, utilization, and transportation. Good rewriters will make every effort to paint pictures, so to speak, in the minds of their readers. Do not simply tell them, SHOW them. Now be assured that no one has the foggiest idea what "marginalization" looks like, but we all know a marshmallow when we see one. Paint vivid, lustrous ? even golden ? pictures in your readers' minds. Use images that drip honey. So replace the do-nothing abstract nouns in your draft with smoldering wicks, chandeliers of fiery brass, and shimmering scarlet wine (preferably California Cabernets).
Moving on to rule number two, we encourage good rewriters to supplant verb forms of "to be" (e.g. was, were, are, am, will be) with active verbs. Adorn your draft with highly-caffeinated words that careen, thunder, swoop, roar, derail and dance. Comatose words like "is" barely manage to register a heartbeat as verbs. They portray nothing at all. Some politicians, it is rumored, do not even know what the meaning of "is" really is. Yet, who can blame them for wanting to defrock such a flimsy and haggard word? As a good rewriter, you must convict and impeach these lackluster, worthless, and dull-witted imposters ? meaning, of course, lazy verbs ? not the politicians.
Under the rubric of rule three, good rewriting will insist that you vary your word choices. Do not employ the same words too often. This means you must scan the draft to spy out the repeat offenders, so you can give their space to an underemployed synonym. You can plunder any good thesaurus to get these. Variety remains THE spice central to good writing, so spice it up.
Rule number four for good rewriting warns us to keep it short and snappy. Take a step back form your paper for a moment to clean it up now. Go ahead and give your draft a clean shave, and take a little off the top. Trimming from your draft excess words, phrases, and perhaps even sentences, will ensure clear writing that gets right to the point. If your sentence says it in twenty words, find a way to say it in, maybe, fifteen. But watch out for nicks and cuts. Never toss out any important ideas or words essential to your writing task. Yet, when it doubt, throw it out ? or at the least ? give it a fair snipping to keep it lean.
Finally, rule number five bids good rewriters juggle their sentence lengths. Mix it up. If your first sentence spans only a few words, follow this with a lengthier one. Then chase that one with a mid-length sentence. This creates an almost enchanting, writing "flow"? where your readers wonder what will come next. This subtle variety in your writing style draws the reader in, and keeps her coming back. And we know that keeping readers interested remains the best way to keep them.
Now these rules work very well and can improve your writing immensely almost at once, but only if you put them to use. On such topics as these, of course, I have much more to say. And I hasten to do so at: http://scriberight.blogspot.com, giving examples, tips and great resources along the way. Remember, you will need to rely heavily on a fairly comprehensive thesaurus. Don't be afraid to invest a little in this venture.
All the best efforts of the academic world have not managed to prevent the current shortage of good rewriters. Most folks still cling to the "Myth of the Great Writer," and this hinders them from jumping straightway into the river of personal advancement. Don't let a literary fiction keep you from securing your own set of extremely marketable and valuable skills with a little effort and practice. Start today, and come on in ? the water is fine. And did I mention that it's free?
Carson Day has written approximately 1.3 gazillion articles and essays, many with very insightful, if alternative, viewpoints. He presently writes for Ophir Gold Corporation, and specialized in the history of ideas in college. He has been quoted in the past as saying "What box?" and remains at large despite the best efforts of the civil authorities.
You can visit the Ophir Gold Corporation blogsites at http://scriberight.blogspot.com (Writing With Power), http://scriberight.blogspot.com (OGC's Free Web Traffic), or http://scriberight.blogspot.com (Church and State 101)
cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareSo you want to be a writer, except you don't... Read More
It is satisfying to be a part of such a... Read More
Lately I've been noticing an odd trend amongst the freelance... Read More
These 8 tips on using characters in your stories will... Read More
Riding on the fumes of potential, you take pen to... Read More
As a previous article ("Making Better Word Choices ? 4... Read More
Peter Abrahams is the author of thirteen novels, including "The... Read More
Finding the time to write a novel is one of... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?I have said above that if a... Read More
1. Become an EavesdropperListen carefully to the way people REALLY... Read More
Summer's here and the time is write for dancing in... Read More
Not long ago, I took stock of my unrealized desire... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?Your theme has to be something you... Read More
Are you ready to abandon your short stories? Before you... Read More
Writer's block! Even columnist Dave Berry has it. He admits... Read More
Among the various foolproof methods used to boost traffic to... Read More
If you're getting rejections from your submissions, please don't quit... Read More
For many authors just starting out, it can be a... Read More
Writing for the web is very different from writing for... Read More
Agents and publishing houses have their best interests at heart,... Read More
Every part of your book can be a sales tool.... Read More
ACCEPT, EXCEPT Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who... Read More
Open up your favorite calendar and circle today's date.Why? Because... Read More
Traditionally, business writing uses the "one thing after another" format,... Read More
It was reported that the great American author Sinclair Lewis... Read More
limo O'Hare Glen Ellyn ..The big question. Do you submit directly to the publishers,... Read More
Whether you're interviewing for a new job, trying to woo... Read More
ACCEPT, EXCEPT Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who... Read More
You've finished your story, and you're pretty happy with it.... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?You are plotting the story. You write... Read More
Mix a martini, don't forget the olives, or pour yourself... Read More
As an International language, English has been used widely in... Read More
A few months ago, I wrote a guide entitled: 101... Read More
When I asked new ezine subscribers, "What is your Number... Read More
I started writing as a way of keeping safe memories... Read More
Hundreds of writing contests tempt screenwriters with the lure of... Read More
One day in the mid-1970's a young man stumbled into... Read More
Choosing the wrong words can have a poor effect on... Read More
If you want happy customers to use your service or... Read More
Despite the widespread use of e-mail in commerce today, traditional... Read More
As an editorial professional, I'm sure you're aware of the... Read More
Rudolph Flesch, a pioneering advocate of readability, put great stock... Read More
It's important to have a space set aside in your... Read More
Productivity begins by recognizing and valuing your brilliance, time, and... Read More
1 - Join a reading or writing group. Ask members... Read More
Many writers write for the experience. Others dream of having... Read More
(Skip directly to ten for the fastest shortcut!)Like any field,... Read More
If you think proofreading equals editing, then you're wrong! Editing... Read More
Human beings seem to be born with a gene for... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?By now you should have an idea... Read More
Writing |