[stylist] 25 ways to improve your writing

Thu Dec 29 23:20:04 UTC 2011

often I'll daydream a scene or situation that's the climax of the story.  then it's like solving a puzzle to figure out how to get there, and to the conclusion.  

I also enjoyed that about thinking in pictures.  
jc

At 11:09 AM 12/29/2011, you wrote:
>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
>-----Original Message-----
>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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