Are You a Serious Writer? How Can You Know for Sure?

Ever wondered what sets serious writers apart from all the others? Kelton Reid offers five fundamental things.

Are These Really Grammar Rules?

Ever been told not to end a sentence with a preposition? Who told you that? Why did they tell you that?

In her article, GRAMMAR PURITY IS ONE BIG PONZI SCHEME, June Casagrande (author of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies and Mortal Syntax) explains that despite what the grammar 'experts' say, some things are merely stylistic choices.

My path to becoming a better writer

Reading this article by Duncan Riach entitled How to Become World-Class at Anything made me think about my journey to becoming a paid, professional writer.

My path to writing for a living took twists and turns. In the article he talks about regular practice without focusing on the result (in my case I don't focus on the result until it's time to share the work with my clients).

Years of this type of practice freed me up to write better.

I've been writing professionally for 5 years. At the beginning, I was a solid writer who could do research, assimilate ideas and construct sentences without errors. I created coherent articles. Yay for me!

Yet if I compare my writing from 5 years ago to my writing now, there's a significant difference. I've refined my process, found a style and discovered a voice all while improving my mechanics.

One of the best resources, which I've featured here a few times, is Elements if Style. The book contains immensely helpful advice like Omit Unneccesary Words and Focus on the Unit.

More than any advice, method or how-to, my improvement as a writer largely came the old-fashioned way - through practice, repetition and hard work. I've spent many many hours stringing together words. I've spent many more hours reading books with a critical eye towards things like sentence structure, phrasing, word choice, punctuation and many more things.

I love writing, but love isn't enough. Like any relationship, I want my partner, in this case my writing, to be as great as it can possibly be. That's why I continue to practice and consider my writing skills a work in progress.

One Step to Becoming a Better Writer

Want to become a better writer? Joe Bunting offers one piece of really fantastic advice. Read his post here - http://thewritepractice.com/become-a-better-writer/

A Truly Fantastic Guide to Screenplay Writing (and story structure)

I came across this really helpful slideshow which distills storytelling down to its basic elements. While it focuses mainly on writing a screenplay, the info is applicable to any type of storytelling. Great resource!

Stay Active! (echewing the passive voice)

We’ve previously looked at advice from William Strunk Jr.’s Elements of Style. In this post, we review Section 10 in which he advises writers to Use the active voice.

More Direct, More Vigorous
Strunk’s first reason to write actively is that, “The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive.” Compare the following:

    I shall always remember my first visit to Boston.

   My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.

The first sentence is much better and more direct while the second which is less direct, less bold, and less concise. Removing "by me" makes the second sentence more concise -

    My first visit to Boston will always be remembered,

- but the action is less defined. Is the writer, some person undisclosed or the world remembering this visit? It isn’t clear.

Lively and Emphatic Writing
According to Strunk, “The habitual use of the active voice makes for forcible writing. This is true not only in narrative principally concerned with action, but in writing of any kind. Many a tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by substituting a verb in the active voice for some such perfunctory expression as ‘there is’, or ‘could be heard’.”

    There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground.

    Dead leaves covered the ground.

    The sound of a guitar somewhere in the house could be heard.

    Somewhere in the house a guitar hummed sleepily.

Taking Away a Verb’s Function
In the following examples, the noun expresses the entire action. The verb then has no other job except to complete the sentence.

    A survey of this region was made in 1900.

    This region was surveyed in 1900.

A Passive Dependent on Another Passive
Strunk warns against making one passive verb dependent on another passive verb:

    Gold was not allowed to be exported.

    It was forbidden to export gold (The export of gold was prohibited).
 
Before the correction, the word that is related to the second passive verb is the subject of the first.

Don’t Abandon it Completely
However, Strunk does not advise writers to eliminate the passive voice completely. Using it is convenient and sometimes necessary, as these examples show:

    The dramatists of the Restoration are little esteemed to-day.

    Modern readers have little esteem for the dramatists of the Restoration.

The first sentence focuses on the dramatists of the Restoration while the second focuses on the tastes of modern readers. In these examples the subject of the sentence determines which voice is used.

Keep it Active
Taking Strunk’s advice, we should always try to use the active voice over the passive voice whenever possible.

Focus on the Unit (one paragraph per topic)

We’ve already reviewed a couple of pieces of advice from William Strunk Jr.’s Elements of Style, Section 13: Omit needless words and Section 12: Use definite, specific, concrete language.

This month we explore Section 8 of Elements, where Strunk Jr. advises writers to Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.

When exploring a subject, it is helpful to subdivide it into topics. Each of these topics should be a unique paragraph. Sometimes, these subdivisions can be divided further. The root of the idea is that each paragraph should contain one topic or idea. When that topic or subtopic has been explored, a new paragraph begins.

As Strunk says, “Ordinarily...a subject requires subdivision into topics, each of which should be made the subject of a paragraph...to aid the reader. The beginning of each paragraph is a signal to him [or her] that a new step in the development of the subject has been reached.”

Strunk gives two additional rules:

• Single Sentences - As a rule, single sentences should not be paragraphs. Exceptions can be made for transition sentences or in writing such as, “textbooks, guidebooks, and other works in which many topics are treated briefly.”
• Dialogue - When writing dialogue, each ‘spoken’ part should form its own paragraph and new paragraphs begin with each new speaker, even if there is only one word.

As you write, keep this idea in mind and try to limit each paragraph to a topic or some subdivision of topic. Happy writing!

Thoughts on Becoming a Freelancer

'Power of Words' photo by Antonio Litterio; Wikimedia

I've been writing and getting paid for it for over 5 years. At first it was part time. But after doing it for a few years, I landed a full time gig with a local real estate agency where I manage content and social media.

Recently, I cut back from my day job because I've got lots of freelance work to do again, bringing me full circle. My hope is to eventually work myself out of my day job.

When I was still ramping up a couple of years ago, I wrote the following post on HubPages entitled My journey to freelancing. In it, I offer advice for someone who's thinking about trying their hand at freelancing or who may have started, but is feeling discouraged.

"I started writing for money about two and a half years ago. At the time I was a stay-at-home dad with one child in kindergarten and another in preschool. But I also had time on my hands. I have known since I was young that I am a decent writer, so I wondered if I could get paid to do it." READ MORE.

Being Good and Shortcuts

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

I recently read a fantastic blog post from Scott Lynch entitled: Being good can be a shortcut. There is no shortcut to being good.

Give this post a read because he lays out the straight dirt on becoming a better writer. I won't steal his thunder, but, as I said in my previous post, Writing is Hard. But it is so worth it!

Make Every Word Count (omit needless words)

Used for almost a century, William Strunk, Jr.’s The Elements of Style has helped many writers to hone their craft. Over the next few months, I’ll be featuring sections from the book. Today, we look at Section 13: Omit needless words.

In this section, Strunk says, “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that he make every word tell.” 

Common Phrases

Strunk offers suggestions for omitting words in common phrases. A phrase is followed by it's concise replacement:

 the question as to whether → whether (the question whether)

 there is no doubt but that → no doubt (doubtless)

 he is a man who → he

 in a hasty manner → hastily

 this is a subject which → this subject

 His story is a strange one. → His story is strange.

He suggests that, “the expression the fact that should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs,” and gives examples:

 owing to the fact that → since (because)

 in spite of the fact that → though (although)

 call your attention to the fact that → remind you (notify you)

 I was unaware of the fact that → I was unaware that (did not know)

  the fact that I had arrived → my arrival

Strunk also suggests that stock phrases like Who is and which was, “are often superfluous.”

 His brother, who is a member of the same firm  →  His brother, a member of the same firm

 Trafalgar, which was Nelson's last battle  →  Trafalgar, Nelson's last battle 

Single Ideas 

Regarding a passage or paragraph, Strunk says, “A common violation of conciseness is the presentation of a single complex idea, step by step, in a series of sentences or independent clauses which might to advantage be combined into one.” The example below shows how half the words can communicate the same idea without losing meaning: 

Macbeth was very ambitious. This led him to wish to become king of Scotland. The witches told him that this wish of his would come true. The king of Scotland at this time was Duncan. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murdered Duncan. He was thus enabled to succeed Duncan as king. (51 words.) 

Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth achieved his ambition and realized the prediction of the witches by murdering Duncan and becoming king of Scotland in his place. (26 words.) 

Fewer Words = Better Writing 

According to Strunk, omitting words makes your writing tighter, more concise and easier to read. Try omitting words and making every word count. To help you identify fillers and ‘crutches', these sites offer lists of omittable words:

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10_words_to_cut_from_your_writing_15389.aspx

http://dianaurban.com/words-you-should-cut-from-your-writing-immediately

http://thewritepractice.com/better-writer-now/

https://smartblogger.com/weak-writing/

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/five-words-you-can-cut/

Diversions - Dealing with Blank Pages and Writer’s Block

photo courtesy of George Hoda; Public Domain image

“Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it's always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” ― Neil Gaiman

Here’s a realistic scenario. The blank screen stares at me. Ideas come to mind, but I cringe at their inferiority. I write seven or eight words and stop. Fed up, I glare at the screen, willing words to come. When they don’t, I give up and do something else.

Take Breaks
Nine times out of 10, when I take a break from the blank screen, ideas flow. For me, one sure-fire way to get things my mental juices flowing is taking a walk outside.
 

In a real way, the change of environment is like a release valve. The pressure to create dissipates and ideas flow more naturally. As my body moves and I feel the air move around me, my brain unplugs and my thoughts move and turn. Ideas come.

My intentional act of walking outdoors leads to ideas, but they also come incidentally when I am not actively pursuing them. As Agatha Christie said, “The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes.” Things may come to me in the shower, while I’m eating breakfast or even in my dreams.

Something Completely Different
Few things are worse than wanting desperately to write something, but feeling like you can’t. As Neil Gaiman says, from time to time, the paper (or screen) wins the battle. However, when you’re struggling to get the words out, take a break and do (as the Monty Python crew says) something completely different!