[stylist] 25 ways to improve your writing

Thu Dec 29 17:09:44 UTC 2011

Chris,
Thanks so much for posting this. Which Writers' Digest is it from? There are
some real goodies that I think would make wonderful cores for articles on
writing, and if I actually get to it, I'd like to credit the authors.

I particularly like the one which talks about daydreams and the one with the
axiom that went something like, "if you think in pictures, write; if you
think in words, paint."
Donna
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From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Chris Kuell
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 10:46 AM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Cc: Susan Bedwell
Subject: [stylist] 25 ways to improve your writing

This is From Writers Digest.

1. Flow
A piece of writing is a living thing. Our goal should be to serve it and do
what it wants, to be its instrument. The flow of words from our mind to the
page is impeded in two main ways-if we try to make the story do something
that it doesn't want to do, or if something in us isn't ready to face the
full implications of the work's theme and emotions.

Avoiding those blocks requires developing a relationship with the piece
we're working on, as if it were a person. At the start of each writing
session, especially if you're having trouble moving forward, literally ask
your work-in-progress, "What do you want to do? Where do you want me to go
with you? Why are you stalling?" This is a psychological trick that almost
always creates an imagined response, along the lines of, "This scene is
boring. Why are you making me do it?" Or, "This section is full of gimmicks.
Why aren't you being true to the subject?" The device takes only one minute,
not 30, and over the years, it's saved me from writing a lot of passages
that would have been either unnecessary or else dishonest. 
-David Morrell

2. Precision
In the study of traditional Chinese painting, the term hua long dian
jingspeaks to the need for precision. It translates roughly to mean, "Dot
the dragon's eye, and it comes to life." In other words, your subject
remains inert until you add the precise detail that brings it, in the
reader's mind, to life. Often when we finish a draft, we feel the piece
somehow isn't working. Our writing group says they found it dull in places,
or just "didn't get it." The culprit is often a lack of precision-the key,
specific details that bring the world of the piece alive.

Develop the habit of dedicating time to reviewing your work with precision
in mind. How would that scene change if you add a sweet tang of honeysuckle
to the breeze? How might this character change if you fasten the top button
of his shirt? Henry James told us that writers are people "on whom nothing
is lost." The key to successfully creating or conveying worlds for our
readers is painstakingly observing those worlds, and then scribbling down
the precise details that tell the story. 
-Jack Heffron

3. Voice
Your voice is how you write, the way you handle language, your style-if you
have one. Do I? I write like I think. I like spontaneity. I push and pull,
change speed and rhythm, balance short and long sentences. I compare it to
jazz riffs and drumrolls. I'm economical with words, but I won't interrupt a
nice solo.
I never have to think about this. It's me.

But does it rise to the level of "voice"-and does it even matter? I've known
excellent writers who don't have a recognizable voice, but have earned
awards and attracted readers through their work. Your voice, ultimately,
will be what comes out of you. And you're entitled to it. But how you use it
will also depend upon the audience at which it's aimed and/or the market to
which it's sold.

The desire to develop a voice of your own may make you wish you could write
like some others you've read. Feel no guilt; all artists stand on the
shoulders of those they admire. Thus, for 30 minutes: Rewrite a page of your
writing in the style of someone you admire. Don't worry about losing
yourself in the process-you'll be doing just the opposite.
-Art Spikol

4. Originality
It is perhaps ironic that the exercise I consider most useful to spur
originality is one I borrowed from another writer (William S. Burroughs).
Then again, the best advice I ever received on writing in general was Oakley
Hall's two-word bromide: Steal Wisely.

In truth, originality is like voice, an elusive quality that cannot be
created; it exists or it doesn't, all you can do is hone it. But we can also
strive to look at our own world and work in a fresh way. If you're in a rut,
change something in your routine. Write in a different place; write
longhand; dictate into a recorder; switch point of view; remove every
modifier in your text and start over-something.

Or, try this: Print out a page of your writing, cut it into quarters and
rearrange them. Retype the text in this quasi-jumbled state. Where before
your logical brain laid things out in an orderly fashion, you'll now see
them in jump cuts and inexplicable juxtapositions. Return to your work and
revise with the best of these angularities intact, to the point they serve
the piece, without reordering them back into comfortable reasonableness.
Honor the deeper, inherent logic of your work by allowing its quirks and
hard edges to show.
-David Corbett

5. Imagery
A successful image can plug right into your reader's nervous system at times
when explanation falls flat. Consider, "Donna felt weak," versus, "Donna was
unable to bring the spoon to her mouth." Which one makes you want to know
what happens next?

To see how images give your writing a boost, rewrite each of the following
statements in a way that shows instead of explains:

  a.. Her hair was a mess. 
  b.. The garden was ready for picking. 
  c.. I hate broccoli. 
  d.. You always change your mind. 
  e.. The moon is full.
Now, revisit a draft of your writing. Try making vague moments more vivid by
replacing explanation with imagery. This won't always be an appropriate
solution-sometimes a simple, unembellished statement will be the most
powerful choice. But you won't know until you try.
-Sage Cohen

6. Pace
Much of screenwriter William Goldman's wonderful Adventures in the Screen
Trade can be applied to other types of writing. Goldman advises getting into
each scene as late as possible, and out of it as early as possible. Faulty
pacing in almost any work can be corrected with this advice.

There's no need to begin scenes by laboriously explaining how characters
arrived there, or to open an article or essay with excessive setup or
introduction. If you find you've done this, chances are a more interesting
way to begin follows just after what you've written. Similarly, many writers
put an empty paragraph at the end of a scene or section. When revising my
novels, I experiment by cutting the first and last paragraph of each scene.
Suddenly, a sequence that dragged can become   speedy. Arrive late in a
scene and leave early. The reader will fill the gaps.
-Morrell

7. Unity
One method for creating a sense of unity in a piece of writing is the use of
selective repetition. A detail or remark or even just a unique word
mentioned early in your piece can be echoed later, creating a sense of
wholeness through the reader's recognition of the previous mention. That
recognition also imbues the repeated element with a resonance, not unlike a
coda in a musical composition. The reader enjoys a satisfying sense of
progression, of having moved from one literary moment to another.

Reread a piece you're working on with an eye toward finding that element you
could repeat in a subtle way, and then look for a place later in the piece
where you could drop it in. If you're unsure which one would be most
affective, experiment by trying several. Ask yourself: If you had to cut all
the details or images and retain only one, which one would you keep? That's
the one you want.
-Heffron

8. Sentence Structure
Well. I don't know that any writer in the 21st century worries about
subjects and predicates. Or believes that one shouldn't begin a sentence
with and or but or or. Or thinks contractions are slang. So I don't have
much to say on this matter.

But this is important.

Generally, I don't like rules for writers. The First Amendment doesn't,
either. But the English language is democracy in action. It responds to its
users. If it didn't, we'd still be saying "prithee" and calling taxis
"hacks." Hence, my 30-minute recommendation is to sit down and write
whatever moves you, following only one rule:
Don't bore anybody.
-Spikol

9. Word Choice
The poet Frank O'Hara is rumored to have given this advice: "If you think in
pictures, write. If you think in words, paint."

This turns out to provide some guidance on word choice. If you're stuck on a
word, sketch what it is you're trying to describe. It doesn't matter how
good you are at drawing. What matters is the employment of a different skill
set, a portion of the brain distinct from the one that has been searching
for the mot juste.

Or consider a soundtrack for the scene. Let the scene play out in time along
with the music, or read it aloud with the music as background. When you
employ a different depictive medium than mere words, different associative
threads (or synaptic connections) can be brought to bear on the task.
-Corbett

10. Rhythm is the subliminal soundtrack in writing. To explore options for
moving a reader along, choose a dramatic passage from a published piece you
admire. How do you feel when you read it? (Notice your breathing, heart
rate, posture and emotions.) How did the writer provoke this response? How
do word pairings and sentence and paragraph structures contribute to its
momentum? How do these rhythmic choices serve the piece's meaning?

Now, write a passage that echoes the patterns you've discovered. If the
first sentence is three short words, yours should be, too. Where a
descriptive image blossoms for a paragraph, let yours do the same.
Communicate emotion through your rhythm. You might let rage stutter through
the syncopation of words and halting punctuation, or stream through run-on
sentences. Notice how these choices support or squelch the surrounding
narrative. Just as a musician practices scales until they become second
nature, your attention to the mechanics of rhythm will help you improvise
over time.
-Cohen

11. Inspiration
In my writing classes, I devote a session to daydreams, which are
spontaneous messages from our subconscious. After one of my presentations, a
puzzled member of the audience raised his hand and asked what a daydream
was. Others were surprised, but I wasn't. Not everyone has a
daydream-friendly mind. In fact, some people have been taught to repress
daydreams as mere distractions.

As writers, however, we should not only welcome daydreams, but train
ourselves to be aware of them. In fact, the cores of most of my novels have
come from daydreams. Daydreams are our primal storyteller at work, sending
us scenes and topics that our imagination or subconscious wants us to
investigate. Each day, we should devote time (I usually do this before
sleeping) to reviewing our daydreams and determining which of them insists
on being turned into a story. Don't push away those daydreams that make you
uncomfortable: The more shocking the daydream, the more truthful about us it
is. Embrace that truth.
-Morrell

12. Balance
Creating a sense of balance in your piece is similar to creating unity (see
the opposite page), but the repeated element is even more obviously
connected to its earlier use. A classic example: In The Great Gatsby, as F.
Scott Fitzgerald introduces us to the Buchanans in early summer, he
emphasizes the breeze blowing through the room, billowing the curtains and
the women's dresses. Later, the same characters seated in the same place are
shown in the heat of summer as weighted down, dispirited, languid. The
connection between these descriptions creates balance and gives the reader a
keen (if not necessarily conscious) sense of progression. It also implies
that the characters are no longer free and airy, but encumbered by the
circumstances that have arisen.

Set aside 30 minutes to reread your work, looking for a description, scene
or metaphor that you can repeat later with some aspect changed to serve as a
counterweight to the first usage.
-Heffron

13. Clarity
You have to lead your audience through a tapestry of facts, ideas and
events. No matter what you're trying to get across, you have to get it
across, so keep it simple-unless complexity improves it.
In 30 minutes, examine your work for the following:

  a.. A Stake in the Action: Readers need one. Drop the first shoe early to
get them listening for the second, and give them something to care about. 
  b.. Logic: It's the most important element of clarity. If you've written
something that doesn't quite connect, try saying, out loud, "What I'm really
trying to say is ." and then finish the thought. Sounds crazy, but it
usually works. 
  c.. Bumps in the Road: Check your work for brilliant phrases that you'd
love to use somewhere, anywhere-but that interrupt the momentum. I used to
cut and paste my elegant gems into a "futures" file; it rightfully became a
cemetery. 
  d.. Verbosity: Avoid longish, meandering quotations by paraphrasing. Save
the quotation marks for particularly revealing or quotable statements. 
  e.. Jargon: Save it for cocktail parties-unless it's the everyday language
of your audience. 
-Spikol

14. Effective Details
The key to effective description is to realize the importance of
contradictions. The telling detail is almost always one that at first glance
doesn't seem to fit, but by its being there creates the unique whole that
the object or action or person represents.

Go to a good people-watching spot or a place you want to describe. What's
the thing that doesn't quite belong? Pair one or two more typical attributes
of the thing/person/scene with this anomaly, and judge the impression. If it
differs from what you meant to describe, figure out what's missing. Add as
few details as possible.

A related point: Often, we read a description and think, If this is there,
then that has to be there as well. Many writers then think that both details
must be included, but usually the opposite is true. Provide the stronger,
more typical of the two, and the other is implied; the reader's mind
supplies it automatically.
-Corbett

15. Creativity
Creativity is the secret sauce of the writing life. Its ingredients are
different for everyone, and may change over time, which can make it
difficult to keep the cupboards stocked. When you get stuck, take 30 minutes
and try one of these:

  a.. Switch genres. Write a poem before diving into a narrative piece. 
  b.. Review incomplete writing for a scrap of idea or language; let it lead
you in. 
  c.. Burn kindling. Keep a file of art, poems, quotes, pressed
flowers-whatever ignites your imagination. Sift through it when you need a
spark. 
  d.. Grow your own list of triggers. Repeat what works until it doesn't;
then try something new.
-Cohen

16. Simplicity
The great film director Billy Wilder was once asked if he liked subtlety in
a story. He answered along the lines of, "Yes. Subtlety is good-as long as
it's obvious." The same can be said about complexity and simplicity. Some
stories are so complex that it's frustratingly impossible to understand
them. But others (like Wuthering Heightsor Bleak House) are complex in a way
that we don't find difficult to understand, and actually find enjoyable
because of the complexity. Conversely, Hemingway's famous simple style is in
fact very complex.

What really matters is whether or not something is clear. Each day, as you
revise the pages from your prior writing session, take a few minutes to ask
yourself, "Is this clear? Will the reader understand it?" If you're not
sure, revise until the answer is yes. Don't be afraid to deal with a complex
topic in a complex way, but always keep in mind that clarity will make you
the reader's friend.
-Morrell

17. Avoiding Clichés
Everyone "gets" clichés. That's why they show up virtually everywhere.
Clichés may be thought of as overused and predictable, but few people
complain about movie car chases. For every person who doesn't want "same
old," hundreds continue to enjoy stereotypical hard-boiled dicks helping
dames in distress. Depending on your audience, a well-placed cliché can be
more effective than an explanation.

Nevertheless, we need folks like you to buck the trend. So here are some
ways to spend a half-hour:

  1.. Create a cliché-free protagonist: you. Choose a career you once
contemplated. Change your age, gender, race. Investigate something that
intrigues you. Invent a situation that boosts your heart rate. Send your
character to a place you'd like to visit. Now write. 
  2.. Remove from a work unnecessary parts of speech-such as replacements
for the perfectly acceptable said, and words like angrily to reveal how
someone slams a door. Say no more than readers need to know; let their
imaginations work. 
  3.. I've intentionally loaded my five contributions to this article with
more than my usual share of clichés. Circle them. Do it now. The early bird
gets the worm.
-Spikol

18. Communication
Good writing connects with readers. For each piece you write, ask yourself:

  1.. Who is my audience? Imagine the people you'd most like to reach. 
  2.. What do I want the experience and result of this piece to be? What do
I want readers to know or believe? How do I want them to feel? What do I
want them to do when they're finished reading? 
  3.. How will I measure my ability to deliver on these goals? Workshop it
in a writing group? Post it on my blog? Submit it to a publication?
Pay attention to feedback. You'll start to see the types of people and
publications that are attracted to what you write, how you're meeting their
needs (or not), and opportunities for becoming more effective.
-Cohen

19. Tension
Tension results from two factors: resistance and ambiguity. In nearly every
piece of narrative writing, fiction or otherwise, someone is trying to
achieve something. Tension results from external or internal opposition to
achievement of the goal (resistance), or uncertainty as to the narrator or
character's understanding of the situation in which she finds herself
(ambiguity), specifically its perils (psychological, emotional, physical).
Tension is essential because it keeps readers reading. Thus, in every scene
you write, strive to heighten tension by doing one of two things: Enhancing
the forces impeding achievement of the goal, or confusing/complicating the
narrator or character's understanding of the situation.

At the end of every writing session, take time to find and stress those
elements within the narrative that serve these purposes. Trim away elements
that do not, unless they add necessary color.
-Corbett

20. Evoking Emotion
Hemingway spoke of a story's "sequence of motion and fact." James M. Cain
discussed "the algebra of storytelling: a + b + c + d = x." What they meant
was a sequence of incidents in a story that, if arranged correctly and
dramatized vividly, will create a stimulus that compels the reader to feel
the emotion the author is trying to create. Talking about emotions won't
compel a reader to feel them. "He felt sad" won't make a reader feel sad.
Instead, the reader must be made to feel the situations in the story, to
experience what the characters experience; as a result, just as a sequence
creates emotion in the characters, it will do the same in the reader. This
is a case of stimulus-response.

Writers can achieve this effect if they take the sense of sight for granted
and emphasize the other senses, thus crafting multidimensional descriptions
and scenes. Details of sight alone almost always create a flat effect, so
when revising, take a few minutes to make sure that each scene has at least
one other sense detail. In this way, the reader becomes immersed in the
story, feeling it rather than being told about it.
-Morrell

21. Figurative Language
Figurative language can enrich our writing, adding nuance and depth, like
the addition of a harmony line to a melody. The right metaphor can enlarge
our subject and offer our readers new ways of perceiving it. The risk
involved, like adding a heavy sauce to your delicately flavored meal, is
that the language can distract the reader and obscure your meaning rather
than developing it. Figurative language calls attention to itself, can
easily descend to cliché, and asks for the reader's complicity, all of which
could break your reader's focus.
My advice, therefore, is to use figurative language sparingly, strive to
make it fresh, and understand the implications of the comparisons you're
making (directly or indirectly). Make sure it's serving the piece. In
creating an effective metaphor, trust your subconscious, which makes
connections our conscious minds cannot readily make. Don't reach for the
quick, easy one. Instead, take the time to plumb the depths of your
imagination. Risk a reach toward an unlikely comparison rather than a safe
one. You might be surprised at one you find, and your reader will be
delighted.
-Heffron

22. Objectivity
The perils of subjectivity arise largely from overidentifying with a
subject, narrator or character in a narrative, and making it (or him or her)
the vehicle for a thematic point in which the author himself is overly
invested.. The antidote is at least as old as the New Testament,
specifically Matthew 5:43-48, where Christ instructs his followers to love
their enemies. If what I have to say seems old hat, therefore, I'll be
neither disappointed nor surprised.

If you find yourself overidentifying with a topic or character, try to
identify within the sympathetic subject, narrator or even oneself a trait or
belief or habit that is repellent or inexcusable or just plain odd. In doing
so, you'll enhance the psychological or moral distance between yourself and
the object of familiarity
or allegiance.

Another possible strategy is to rewrite the scene or section from the point
of view of someone other than the object of sympathy. This forced disconnect
can achieve a similar effect.
-Corbett

23. Revision
There are two good reasons for revising what you've written: Either you want
to change something, or your editor, agent or client does. If the revision
is your idea, that's good. It means you know what you want, or what you
suspect won't fly. If the revision is by request, remember: The customer may
not always be right, but she has the money and the medium-as well as the
experience of buying for it. (You can fight for what you believe, of course,
but choose your battles carefully. Races are won or lost in the final
minutes.)

I knew a writer who would write a first draft and submit it without even
reading it over. Others, myself included, substitute and trim and pinch and
juggle until the work pours like melted butter.

With that in mind, here's your 30-minute assignment:
Reduce by a third the word count of one of your recent efforts without
losing its essence. (I did this myself, in fact, with my contributions to
this article.) Note: Don't constantly reread what you've written; if you
memorize it, self-editing will be tougher. Put it away for a few days. Then
read it fresh.
-Spikol

24. Language
Think of your writing as a windshield. Ill-suited words can streak and cloud
your reader's view, and just-right language can be as clarifying as a
high-powered carwash. Once you have a solid draft, it's time to consider:

  a.. Could a different word bring even more energy or resonance to a
poignant moment through sound, subtleties of meaning, or syllabic rhythm? 
  b.. Could the setting be conveyed more vividly? Is the natural world
palpable? 
  c.. Is the emotional tone consistently resonant? Are there neutral words
or passages that could be more charged? 
  d.. Does the language powerfully enact the action?
As you polish and prune, each piece of writing will teach you something new
about what is possible. Let yourself be surprised.
-Cohen

25. Style
Writers sometimes speak of style as if it were an ingredient to be added to
their story or poem or memoir. Instead, style is the thing itself. E.B.
White said it best, writing, "Style takes its final shape more from
attitudes of mind than from principles of composition, for, as an elderly
practitioner once remarked, 'Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of
grammar.'" The key, then, to developing one's style is to write, as White
states, "in a way that comes naturally."

Sound easy? It's not. In fact, finding the "way that comes naturally" can
take a lifetime, and the way can change with each piece you begin. One key
to beginning that journey is to think about style not so much as a matter of
addition, but subtraction-casting off feelings of awkwardness and
self-consciousness, affectation and pretension. Focus on presenting your
piece clearly, in a way that connects with readers. For practice, imagine a
single reader sitting across a table from you. Spend a half-hour relating
your piece to that reader, as clearly and honestly as possible. Spend
another half-hour striving to make the piece more clear, more honest, more
affecting. Then spend another half-hour making the piece more clear, more .
-Heffron  

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