BETTER WRITINGTen things every writer should know, but many

don't

Index

And forgetting

some, too

Keeping the lessons you were

taught

What we were taught as children…

Loading your paragraphs with detail is the key to good writing.

That you must always do your very best.

That proper spelling is everything.

Endless vocabulary lists.

Proper sentence structure.

The basics of grammar.

All the books, from the classics to everything else you read.

Assessing literature, which hopefully you did a lot of.

What to forget What to remember

Click on the arrows to proceed to the slide on each

lesson.

A kitchen is a kitchen.

Starting probably around the sixth grade, you were (probably) told that description is what makes writing good. To show, and not to tell.

While showing and not telling is, and always will be a primary trait to good writing –heaping on endless amounts of detail actually is not.

Eventually, stretching out the description of something gets dull. Your goal as a writer is to avoid lulls.

Which is better?

“John entered the kitchen, and instantly was bathed in an ocean of sounds and smells, each new wave bringing a flurry of excitement. (or)

John entered the kitchen, it‟s walls were tiled in deep browns and speckled white, in the center was an enormous with a deep stone basin for washing the expensive patterned china housed in a hutch nearby.

Neither of these are bad in the least, however the second example forms a paragraph worth of description, description that could have been better suited (and would have turned out more exciting) if spread out over a page of exploration of the kitchen. One makes a good opener to a new setting, one makes for a dull but very explanatory description of it.

Description is a name-your-own-game business, certain times call for different types. Be aware that long drawn out descriptions, while they may hit on every detail – they give you less freedom to describe selectively and in spurts. Short and sweet is better than long yet covering.

Use your own discretion!

Click to return

Work our way

there!

Doing your best

The consensus is that „doing your best‟ means pushing yourself to the very limits of your abilities. Doing your best needs clarification. Doing your best is pushing yourself to

the very edge of your limits, and anything beyond that is going above expectation.

Your expectation of yourself should be to do your best as a writer. This isn‟t the same as being J.R.R Tolkien, this is being the best you can be.

Write on a level you already have a mastery over, and slowly increase your knowledge of writing to go „up a level‟. The worst writers are the ones who try to write on a level they cannot yet

do well on.

Push yourself to achieve new things, but don‟t try to be something you aren‟t yet.

Everything needs time, and you‟ll have less writing to be ashamed of if you just try your best in what you know you can do well, and move up from there!

Foundations are everything, don‟t ever forget that. It‟s just the base on which

we

Click to return

Don‟t slave over the useless

things.

While spelling is important just in general, it‟s not a

necessity the second you write.

Really, spelling is my vassal to the real topic, and

that‟s…

Don‟t sweat the little things now, wait for later.

Let‟s face it, we all like to wile away our time on making

our papers looks pretty. Getting the margins right, putting in fancy drop caps, finding perfect fonts, and

messing with margins.

Simply put, these are all things that could be done later – and

right now your using them to avoid writing.

And since writing often will undoubtedly be the main goal

expressed in this presentation, I have to discourage against

That‟s what editing is

for.

Click to return

Vocabulary is good.

Defining your audience is one of the first steps to preparing to write. Ask yourself…

Would my audience be expected to know this word? If yes…

Am I positive I know what this word means? If yes…

Is this word really necessary? If yes…

Would any majority need to pull out a dictionary, even just to be sure? If no…

Did you craft the sentence specifically so you could showoff that you know the word? (Be honest!) If no…

It‟s okay to use the word. Let‟s face it, people love to use those big words. Simply

enough, sometimes sticking in the “one dollar” words is just irritating for a reader.

Always write on a vocabulary both you and your reader should be able to understand, while retaining your ability to be invigorating.

Never, ever craft sentences around words. Make them around lots of things, but not specifically so you can use „ostentatiously‟.

As a note, „ostentatiously‟ means in a show off type manner, and really isn‟t that hard of a word, but it‟s all I could think of.

Words that nobody has ever heard aren‟t.

Click to return

Fragments aren‟t sins.

I need to find a new roommate. Because the one I have now isn't working out too well. If you can identify why the underline is a fragment, then you do not need

this section.

Learn to combine and you will be fine. I need to find a new roommate because the one I have now isn't working

out too well. This combines the two above sentences into one, much better sentence.

A fragment sentence isn‟t a bad thing. It‟s just a technique that you need to use sparingly.

Understand the natural flow of a good sentence, the „read once‟ to understand factor of good sentences. Nhamo felt chilled by her wet dress cloth

This sentence only had to be read once to be understood, Nhamo was cold because her clothes were wet. Were as “The wet dress cloth that chilled Nhamo was unpleasant” is easily perceived as „backwards‟

As a general rule, giving the subject first and then the description of is usually more effective than vice versa. Not always, but, often enough this is better.

But still, use them sparingly!

Click to return

A period, a comma, a question

mark.

In the endless amounts of critique I have offered both online and offline, the number one most caught issue I find has always been grammar.

No educated person has the right to forget periods, or question marks.

The average joe can sometimes be confused about commas, and thus this is forgiveable.

I do not teach lessons in grammar, as most simple rules you should have learned in elementary English classes.

I can however, out of the kindness of my heart, provide you with a lesson. http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/guide-to-grammar-and-writing.html

Just as a note, I don’t agree with all of the thoughts presented on that site – but it is a very complete guide to many facets of grammar.

Click to return

Are you sure this is a

question

By reading, you can write.

Published novelists, as the term „published‟ implies, clearly had something going for them.

Observe and remember books you have read, take note of things you enjoyed about those books – and the styles and themes presented.

Incorporate what you liked from other literature into your own, and from now on take very careful note of how authors construct chapters, paragraphs, and even sentences.

But that‟s like…like plagarism!

No, it‟s learning. Your not taking ideas, your not copy and pasting anything – your noticing structures and imitating them with words that are your own.

Click to returnBecause whether your getting it right or not, somebody

is!

Themes actually are important.

In English, you probably didn‟t care.

But the themes and ideas of your writing are important. All well written literature, from a short story to an 800 page novel should have a theme, and you as the writer should keep that in mind while you write.

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess had a theme, it was to be open minded to new things.

Harry Potter all had a theme, it was the desperation to live forever, and it‟s meaning.

These themes, no matter how subtle, are subconsciously addressed by readers. Whether they recognize them or not, any well written piece will convey themes and meaning.

If you cannot draw a theme from something you have written, it is not written well.

Click to return

And just so unfortunately

versatile.

The Traits of a Good Writer

Like a river

Good writers understand what it is like to read over a sentence, and feel how it flows. Spot where sentences become awkward or blocky, and rectify the problem.

“Maria and John played in the schoolyard then they went back to school and then at the end of the day they came home.”

„and then‟ will always, or almost always destroy the flow of a sentence. It‟s like starting from the beginning of a new sentence each time, but….well, you aren‟t!

“Maria and John played in the schoolyard, the landscape melting into oranges for a long October. As the bell rang, they raced to be the first back to class. After another long day of school ended, a tired John and Maria walked home.

While these sentences aren‟t especially interesting or thought provoking, they give the a good example of the vastly noticeable difference between a very awkward sentence, and a very smooth