Writing Tips: Fast and Easy Ways to Polish Your Writing
When you were a beginning writer, you may have written essays or term papers in high school and college. If you went to graduate school, you may have written a thesis. However, unless you wrote for a school paper or other publication, your experience writing nonfiction may be limited.
Stories engage your readers and encourage them to read on, whether that is a blog post, a social media post, or an email. Here’s how to avoid common writing errors when telling stories.
“It was,” while good to avoid in its own right, also illustrates the dangers of beginning a story with any passive verb form. Consider the difference between
“She was bored.”
And
“She considered whether she would be less bored if she murdered her husband.”
Many readers won’t read beyond the first page if they don’t like it, and some may drop out after the first sentence. You don’t want dropouts, so work that opening.
Bring In All the Senses
Those dusty Oklahoma fields can even smell dusty. The farmer could sneeze. Nearby cattle might breathe asthmatically. You can taste the dust coating your tongue. The dry heat might make your skin feel as if it’s shrinking.
Think of all the subtle sensory ways you can bring your reader into your story. This, too, increases identification and involvement.
Stay Out of the Story—Unless It’s Your Story
If you are writing a memoir or autobiography, the above does not apply. A story about medical fraud, though, or a nursing home scandal, or vice at the highest levels of government will only have you as a central character if you were involved in those events.
In this vein, if you have interview material to use in your article or book, consider carefully whether you must include your questions. You might find that necessary, but you don’t need to do so verbatim.
“Senator Parsons, what do you consider to be the most important medical reform?” (followed by an answer) is less effective than “My top priority is to address reforming the medical billing system,” Senator Parsons said.
It’s your story because you’re writing it. It will have your name on the cover. Move your authorial voice to the background to avoid one of these common nonfiction errors.
Start with a dynamic beginning, give the reader an idea of what is coming, and engage all the senses, and your writing will be compelling.
12 More Tips:
- Use Common Vocabulary
- Avoid Redundancy
- Aim for Precise Language
- Keep Sentences Short and Simple
- Keep Paragraphs Short
- Start with the Main Idea
- Guide the Reader
- Use Active Voice
- Break up Text with Headings and Subheadings
- Use Bullet Points and Lists
- Let Each Idea Breathe
- Use White Space
If you liked this post, you’ll love 52 Writing Tips: Fast and Easy Ways to Polish Your Writing. Whether you’re a beginning writer, want to polish your skills, or need the determination and inspiration to finish a project, this book will help you.
It covers a range of subjects, from grammar to skillfully editing your work, the essentials of blogging, and how to capture and keep a reader’s attention. 52 Writing Tips: Fast and Easy Ways to Polish Your Writing is the guide you’ve been waiting for.
The book includes several chapters on how to polish your writing skills!
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Pat Iyer is president of The Pat Iyer Group, which develops resources to assist LNCs in obtaining more clients, making more money, and achieving their business goals and dreams.
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