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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
Challenging Conventional Wisdom
Conventional wisdom tells us much about what constitutes "good," or "quality" writing. But, is conventional wisdom always right?
The Conventional Principles of Good Writing
The following principles are, according to conventional wisdom, virtually indispensable to all good writing. I present them here, along with my own thoughts about each.
Brevity Equals Clarity
Principle 1: Avoid wordiness at all costs. Simplicity and brevity are always best. Use short sentences and few words to convey your ideas more clearly.
My Response: An overly concise writing style sacrifices literary smoothness and sophistication. Even in business writing, it's critically important to maintain an intelligent, professional, and authoritative tone, which is rarely accomplished by over-simplicity or excessive brevity.
I would, in fact, contend that the problem of unclear writing isn't at all caused by wordiness, per se, but rather by a lack of facility in the effective use of language to convey thought. When a writer makes every word count, crafting each sentence, clause, and phrase with care, words become the source of a richness and breadth of self-expression that would be impossible to achieve with fewer words and less-complex sentence structure.
Such writing unquestionably requires greater concentration and mental processing on the part of the reader. Yet that effort is rewarded by the pleasure of partaking in the gourmet literary fare the writer has created just for the reader's enjoyment. As writers, our job is not to spoon feed our readers miniscule servings of pablum, but to provide a fabulous spread of grand ideas beautifully garnished with well-chosen words and phrases.
Simple language has its place, to be sure. Yet, when we limit ourselves to its exclusive use, we deprive our readers of the transcendent power of language to raise our consciousness above the mundane, the everyday, the commonplace. We ground their imaginations, preventing them from reaching the heights of thought to which they are capable. And that is not what great writing is about.
As for sentence length, variation is the ideal. Breaking up more complex sentences by varying them with shorter ones can give the reader a much-needed breather, clearing the way for the next great idea. And just as too many complex sentences in a row without a break can cause mental "exhaustion" in a reader, so also can too many short sentences in a row have the opposite effect, creating an unpleasant, choppy, uncoordinated feel that leaves the reader bored and dissatisfied. Short sentences can deliver ideas with impact--but only when they are the exception and not the rule.
Passive Voice is Passe
Principle 2: Avoid passive voice (like the plague). Active voice is always best.
My Response: Passive voice has its place and can be used quite effectively to achieve a more detached, clinical, authoritative, or exalted tone. Voice is entirely dependent on the writer's purpose for a piece, and passive voice is simply one writing technique that can improve a piece of writing when properly used--and when not overused. Passive voice can provide a refreshing variation from active voice when used periodically to make a piece more interesting. Passive voice can also be used to create a less forward, challenging, or accusatory tone.
Don't fear passive voice; rather, use it with wisdom, discretion, and intention--or don't. The choice is entirely up to you. You certainly aren't required to use it; but don't feel as if you mustn't, either.* Passive voice, like any other writing technique, is simply one tool in the writer's arsenal--perhaps one of the more specialized tools, which are used less often than the standard ones--but, nevertheless, one which is there to be used when needed. In writing, as in everything else, we always want to use the right tool for the right job.
Adjectives Are Out
Principle 3: Use adjectives sparingly; in fact, remove as many of them as possible from your writing.
My Response: I've received many a chuckle from this rule, as I've studied the paragraphs in which various writers have expounded the rule, mentally removing all the adjectives that hadn't been removed by them (note the non-accusatory passive voice here), only to find that, alas, the paragraphs that remained made little sense. I fear that most of us are unaware of the importance of the much-maligned adjective.
In my view, there's absolutely nothing wrong with adjectives. They're wonderful creations, which, when properly used, can add much to our writing. There's little doubt that the adjective is sometimes overused and that it often causes laziness in our choice of nouns by allowing us the luxury of using less-colorful, less-descriptive, or less-precise nouns. But my personal belief is that it's far more important to remove adverbs from our writing than adjectives, because removing adverbs forces us to use livelier verbs, which energizes our writing.
Adjectives should never be used simply to avoid the work involved in mining our vocabularies for the right noun to express our thought. But, neither should we fear the well-placed adjective, which adds substance to a sentence and builds descriptive power into our writing.
Those are my personal thoughts on a few of the rules of conventional writing wisdom.
What do you think?
Jeanne
* This sentence illustrates the happy marriage of passive and active voice. The first clause is passive, the second active. (This entire paragraph in fact represents the friendly give and take between active and passive voice. As you can see by the unforced variation between them, the two can indeed peacefully coexist.)
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Are there any rules of conventional writing wisdom with which you disagree? We'd love to hear about them!
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Do You Need to Liven Up Your Prose?
Would you like to put more color, zip, and style into your writing, while adding clarity at the same time? If so, you'll definitely want to check out the following resources, which are loaded with gems of wisdom on the subject. Some are single articles, while others are entire lists of articles and other materials that can help you say what you want to say and say it well. Whether you write e-books, news, scholarly essays, business reports, how-to articles, or fiction, you'll find something of value here.
A Varied Collection of Articles, a Verb List, and a Rubric
Aside from the varied collection of articles, designed to help with almost any aspect of the writing craft, I've also included among these resources a list of 500 verbs that can help you hold your reader's interest by constructing more intriguing sentences, through eliminating the tired, worn, and overused verbs we often tend to gravitate toward when writing. I've also added a rubric against which you can judge your own work. Though the rubric is aimed at teachers for use in evaluating their students' writing, it can also be a great means for you to measure the degree to which you are meeting your goal of producing well-written material for your readers.
Some Resources that Can Help You Write With Color, Clarity, and Style :
Verbs With Verve
A Glossary of 500 Multiple-Syllable Verbs
Writer’s Resources Website: Articles Page
Accepted.Com (a business, medical, law, and college writing website)
Better Verbs (complete with several other writing-related articles)
Suggestions for Writers (more tips for scholars, though most are widely applicable)
Power of Description
Style and Clarity
Word Choice Rubric
Stock Language (writing tips for journalists)
Writing Resources (article list for better journalism)
Writing Strategies
Is It Good Writing? (focus is on journalism, but still some good advice for all writers)
These should keep you busy for a while!
Enjoy!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
The following article on effective writing is reprinted here with permission, in the hope that its timely tips will help you more precisely convey the points you desire to get across to your readers--whether in a magazine or journal article, on your blog, in an ad for your product or service, in a sales letter, or in your essay, report, poem, short story, novel, or non-fiction book.
This article is Copyright 2003 by Cathy Stucker, IdeaLady.com.
Words That Work
Do you sometimes agonize over choosing just the right word for your letter, brochure, ad or other written materials? Words have meaning, and choosing the right words is important.
Headlines and titles are especially important. You want to use words that will grab the attention of readers and encourage them to read more.
As they read more, you want to persuade them. This is true whether you are writing a sales letter or brochure, a how-to book, or a novel. Writing (good writing, anyway) is designed to convince the readers of something. You may be trying to sell them something, teach them something, or get them to believe in your story. In any case, the words you choose will directly affect your success.
First of all, be precise. Is it bi-monthly or semi-monthly? You may think they are the same thing, but they're not. Bi-monthly means every two months. Semi-monthly means twice a month. There is a big difference. Make sure your words have meanings that express what you mean.
To find just the right word, use a thesaurus. I like to use the thesaurus in my word processor, because I can quickly jump from one word to another.
When using a thesaurus, however, remember that the words you see listed will be similar in meaning to your original but not identical in meaning. Make sure you fully understand the meaning of any word you might use. Back when I was working in personnel, I received a resume that referred to the applicant's "promiscuous" experience. I don't think that's exactly what
they hoped to convey (at least, I hope that's not what they meant).
There is a wonderful book called, "Words That Sell" by Richard Bayan. It is like a thesaurus for marketing copywriters. For example, if you look up "Results" you get suggestions including fast-acting, never lets you down, performs, does the job, and many others. There are categories for many types of marketing messages.
Choose words which produce the emotional response you want. Words that get attention include new, secret, free, unknown, cash, insider, etc. These words give the impression that you are letting the reader in on something special.
Use alliteration. That means words that begin with the same sound. For example, Peter's Perfect Plan or Secrets of Super Success. Hard sounds (such as p, k or t) and the s sound are especially good. Say your line out loud to see how it sounds.
Watch for hidden meanings. Words may have acquired new meanings, and those new meanings may alter the effect of your sentence. Be aware of new slang usage. Your dictionary may not be current enough to help you. (Borrow a teenager for the most up-to-date information!)
Avoid jargon (most of the time). Don't assume your readers will understand what you mean when you use a technical term or bit of jargon. Use clearly understood language. If you must use jargon, explain it. One time you can use jargon is when you know your audience will understand it, and your use of jargon will mark you as one of "them". Jargon can identify you as someone who knows an industry.
Ask for input. Ask friends and potential customers to read what you've written. What do readers think of when they read or hear your words? Do they come across as friendly or abrupt? Do they seem believable? Do they properly convey your message? If so, congratulations! If not, keep working at it.
No matter how good your writing is, it can always be improved. So, keep reading, keep writing, keep testing and revising to make your writing as good as it can be.
You'll find lots of great information on growing your business and more at http://www.freearticles.biz/. Most articles may be freely reproduced at your web site or in your print or online newsletter.
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Hope this article will prove valuable to you in your quest to make your writing all that you'd like it to be!
Happy writing!
Jeanne
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