Make your writing come alive
Make your writing come alive
A guest post by Marya Zainab of Writing Happiness.
So you have defeated all the noises that play havoc inside your head, and finally put down something on paper – you have written a piece.
First of all, a big congratulations to you. First drafts are often the easiest to write provided you have understood them for what they are; just the first drafts – the initial write up. You will have many of them.
According to Natalie Goldberg of Bird by Bird and Writing Down the Bones, they are almost always shitty and you don’t know what your finished piece looks like – yet. But that’s ok, because now the real work of writing starts.
Gather your draft and start editing. This is where craft and structure begin.
#1 Read Aloud
Read the text aloud to yourself. You will discover many inconsistencies in your writing that you will not be able to discover otherwise.
Sometimes, your writing will feel jittery and you may stumble over words. Make a note of it all. Aim to read it without watching it fall flat.
Read each piece at least once, listening for crazy sentences. Rewrite more by simply saying out loud what you are really trying to say.
#2 Read for Voice
Have you found your voice yet, or are you still working on it? Either way, read your draft to see if it sounds like you.
Can your voice be heard? Does your writing resonate with the sound of your voice? Can your reader guess it might be you who have written the post? If not, rewrite to let your personality shine through.
A strong voice will add authenticity to your work. Choose your words carefully and soulfully. Readers always appreciate this quality in writing.
#3 Keep Your Readers in Mind
Who have you written this piece for? Imagine them when you are reading it again.
Is your language appropriate? Have you confused or patronized them, appeared sexist? Have you said anything that might not sit well with your audience?
You want to be considerate of your audience – neither appearing to be snobbish, nor talking to them like you would to a child. Show your respect for your readers.
Keeping their faces in mind, change any sections that you have doubts about.
#4 Is your Lead Right?
Is your lead like bait that will pull your readers in or something that would repel them?
When you are writing a narrative, you are telling a story. Your beginning needs to pull the reader in. Let your reader know what your piece is about.
Clue them in early so they know exactly what to expect. They need to go through the experience with you. If kept in the dark for long, they might lose interest quickly and drift away. Provide them with details that will invoke their interest in the topic.
#5 Is Your Conclusion Right?
What is the point to your writing?
Through your insights or your take on something, the reader can connect with the experience you write about. The ending needs to bring them some understanding and insight, or lead to a slight shift in awareness. If your writing doesn’t do anything like that, you need to revisit its purpose.
You need a beginning, a middle and an end – its that simple. Pay attention to your ending, you must get it right. If you are not happy with it, rework it.
#6 Smooth Out Changes in Tone
Your tone is your attitude towards the topic, reader and yourself. It is impossible to write without a tone – it is apparent in the selection of your words.
Your voice, tone and structure will emerge as you write. It’s impossible to do that in your head. You have to have a first draft in front of you to begin your critique. Only by writing, you will be able to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
Read again to see if there are any many clashes in tone. Decide on the dominant one and keep it constant throughout. Make sure your writing maintains a consistent tone.
#7 Use Verb Contractions
If your tone allows it, if the rhythm permits it, use contractions to lighten your prose. Instead of saying ‘You were not even listening, say you weren’t even listening to me. Replace I will come with I’ll come and so on.
#8 Look at Paragraphs Again
Does your paragraph have a topic sentence that supports one point for the whole paragraph?
Each paragraph should be a series of sentences exploring one main idea. Every sentence should relate to that main point. New thought? Start another one.
Your paragraphs should connect with each other in a logical, seamless flow. Use transitions to logically connect one paragraph to another.
Vary the length of your paragraphs to make them more interesting.
#9 Vary Length of Sentences
Have you varied the length of your sentences? Give your reader’s mind and eye a rest by doing that. Split long sentences into two to make them reader friendly.
#10 Fix Run-on Sentences
A run-on sentence is not necessarily one that goes on and on. It is perfectly fine to craft long sentences.
A run-on sentence is when two or more clauses (complete meanings) are joined by a comma instead of being separated by a full stop. You can also use a conjunction to connect the clauses.
I went to a party, I was really exhausted. This is a run on sentence, it has two complete ideas.
I went to a party. Afterwards, I was really exhausted. Or
I went to a party but I was really exhausted afterwards. Both are correct.
Get rid of any run-on sentences and excessive commas. Use full stops more boldly. Could you improve your sentences by restructuring them?
#11 Get Rid of Clichés
Cliches are sprinkled in to make your writing feel professional, often it does the opposite.
The only thing that your writing needs is that it is honest and specific. You don’t have to use fancy, clever or literary language.
Instead of using cliches, aim to write to surprise your reader. Say something unexpected, use humour and delight them, and enjoy yourself in the process.
#12 Use Exclamation Marks Sparingly
You need emotion in your writing: anger, grief, frustration, embarrassment, fear, love are all that makes it interesting. However, don’t try to bring attention to them by using exclamation marks. Use strong, vivid words to communicate that instead.
A sentence that falls flat without using an exclamation mark, is a flat sentence. It should have the same impact, even when you take the exclamation mark away.
#13 Check for Qualifiers
Check your use of adjectives and qualifiers (words that precede qualifiers) such as very, little, quite, rather, just, indeed etc.
Use strong words, use them with authority.
#14 Eliminate Unnecessary Words
We use thousands of unnecessary words in our writing. Go back and revise, cut everything that you can without affecting the meaning and the message in your piece. If you won’t notice its gone, remove it.
Every single word must pull its weight. Tighten your prose. Eliminate repetitious information.
#15 Proofread
Finally, proofread. Make any last minute corrections.
Give it at least twenty four hours. Its handy to change the font, size or colour when you do. The text will feel fresh, like you are reading it for the first time.
Many people still rush through this stage and inevitably end up with typos and other mistakes in their writing. Be thorough, use a spell-check.
You know you are done, when you have done the best you can. Relax, and be proud.
Which aspect of editing do you dread the most? What excites you? Share you best editing and revision tips in the comments below.
Marya is a communicator of ideas, exploring the human face of blogging. She offers quirky insights into personal development for bloggers. Catch more of her posts at Writing Happiness. For practical tips and inspiration, read Give Your Blog a Complete Makeoever – 18 Action Steps to the Path of Blogging Success.
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RE: “According to Natalie Goldberg of Bird by Bird…”
This guest poster ought to have use their own checklist: Anne Lamott, not Natalie Goldberg, is the author of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
Lamott is the originator of the SFD “Shitty First Draft” concept
Hi Randy.
Thanks for pointing out the error to me, you are right of course. Can I play the ‘but we ARE human and sometimes the silliest mistakes do get through’ card here? I have been saying that up?
:)
Marya
Of course. Great article.
BTW found a typo in a Harvard Business Review article yesterday (on the importance of proofreading!) so can I play the ‘I was on a roll’ card? ; )
Keep up the great posts!
Oh, so this is the sort of thing you do for fun eh? :) Phew! Good to know. :)
Marya
The Bird by Bird blooper was the first thing I noticed too. But then it’s always easier to see mistakes. Thanks for the helpful post. D
Blaming this one on my kids, Deb. :) Thank you for your kind comments.
It’s nice to know I already do some of these when writing my articles :)
Glad you found it helpful. Are there things in particular that you struggle with?
Marya
Some times, publishing time also comes into matter. Things like breaking news and related info has to be first come first read basis. If you are able to serve it first, millions of people tend to read it aloud and it spreads like a wild fire.
A valid point Sam. I am going for more of a creative writing guide type thing. Thanks for your feedback.
Some great tips there, thanks! It’s also nice to see that I do most of these things too.
http://lkwattsconfessions.blogspot.com
Good to know you do. Keep up the good work. :)
Marya
Great points, Marya. I think voice is a particular interesting one. I feel like I have many voices that reflect different aspects of my personality – sometimes I really feel like it’s coming straight from the heart, other times I might be feeling mad or defiant when I’m writing. I think as long as you feel deeply what you’re writing when you’re writing it, your voice comes through.
Hy Katie. No arguments from my side. As long as you write from the heart, you can’t go wrong. Thanks for your input. :)
Marya
Great summary of some of the key elements of writing a good piece. You’re really rocking it, Marya. Congratulations!
I hope you are able to correct the Bird by Bird bit before you have to listen to too many more corrections. But the point is so excellent: Just get a first draft out, shitty that it may be, and then you can apply all those important writing tips to polish your piece to perfection. Love Anne Lamott and Natalie Goldber.
Hey Sarah, thanks so much for your kind words, truly appreciated. :)
Now maybe people can see (and those who do notice) that it is possible to make a mistake and still come out alive. This will make one very interesting blog post on my own blog in future.
Marya
Some really great tips here, Marya.
Thanks for such a helpful and concise checklist.
Many thanks, Dave. Glad to help out where I can. Cheers :)
Wow…this one was totally enlightening and informatory…Oops, I again overused the dot-dot-dot :)
Anyways, I think any blogger like me can keep this post for ready reference while composing a post. That’s very true that first draft is just the beginning, it actually is a long way ahead to finally publish it. And by taking care of small details, one can actually accentuate the quality of their post to a large extent.
Thanks for a great help!
Thanks Rashmi. Hope it helps you with future writing projects. :)
I like to read aloud when editing and proofreading. It lets me hear if my words are readable and can be understood easily. If I feel that the sentences are a little lousy or inappropriate, I change them immediately.
Thanks for the great tips, Marya!
I agree, reading loud does wonders for your prose. It really lets you have a true feel for the rhythm and tone.
Often I am surprised by what I thought was clear in mty mind, it came across really confusing. Cheers
Great tips. I have always tried to read my writing aloud as if it were a conversation or speech to see if it made sense from that perspective. This led to a lot of corrections that I would have otherwise missed. I also try to make sure I cater correctly to the target audience and tune the content as much as possible to strike the right chords and not offend or lose interest of anyone at any point while reading.
-Jean
Well said, Jean. Many thanks for your input.
Hi Marya, thanks for the checklist which I will most definitely use before I hit “Publish” on my blog posts. I have just finished the first draft of my book, which will be sent to the publishers at the end of the week but I may just read it out loud before I send it off, I am not too sure if my voice comes through. thanks for the great advice.
Wow, congratulations on the completion of your manuscript. That must have taken you a while. What is it about?
Hi Marya,
You wrote a great checklist for writing. When writing articles, it’s so easy to skip some of the steps, so your list is a helpful reminder. Reading out loud is one I know is important, and I will remember that one. I read somewhere to email your writing to yourself and it looks different in the email, so mistakes may be more obvious. Appreciate your post.
Thats a great tip Cathy. I’d be sure to keep that in mind for future. Thanks
Marya – Thank you for helping us to see the ‘dirty work’ that goes into writing top-notch content. Your second point struck me… making sure I’m reading for the right voice.
In this day and age when content is expected to be posted in real time, it’s good to know people like you are still committed to slowing down and combing over the details to get it right (and motivating others to do the same). In the end, this will be the content many will eagerly share.
Thank you for your kind words. :) I did put everything in this one.
I can show you exactly how use social media (free traffic) to promote anything including your business. I just developed a whole free training course on this.
can I add the 16th? you must right a SEO-ed article if you are dealing with blog.
Thanks so much for sharing, this is a great reference point!
This is a great list. I homeschool my kids, and we’re doing a lot of writing instruction right now. I’d love to be able to share this with my 10 year old, but since it has the word “shitty” I can’t really give it to him as is. Can you maybe edit that part, so that we teachers can direct our students to your site?
Thanks for the checklist, will be coming back to it for my future pieces.
I think for me the hardest part about writing is knowing when to stop editing. It feels as though a piece could always be a little bit better! But eventually the improvement is so marginal and probably not worth the time invested.
As with all things, it’s all about finding the right balance I guess :)
PS Great tip about changing the font for proofreading: I’ve found that when I proofread directly in WordPress I miss all sorts of little mistakes, so I’ll be playing around with different tactics there.
Great tips there Marya, great writeup…. :D
Great tips Marya…
The part on run on sentences…Sometimes I make a habit of writing a lot of run on sentences..I feel like the reason people do that is because they just get really excited to write what they feel like writing so they are not really aware of the run on sentences..
And also I totally agree that sounding too professional is not a good idea..When you have a blog and are building your personal brand, being real and authentic is really important for long term success..
Thanks for sharing…
Cheers,
Nabil
I print my work and read it far away from the computer. I make the marks the old-fashion way with a blue pencil. If it’s something critical, I read it from end to be beginning one sentence at a time. This forces me to focus on grammar and syntax and not character and story.
Just ask in a nice way if this person can help you with something and then when they do so, thank them and let them know that if you can return the favour and be of help to them in the future, to let you know.
Ugh! Clearly, I have a long way to go. Thanks for these great tips, I will put them into action immediately! Oh, I mean (.).
Marya, thank you for your 15 points to energize our writing for our readers. It is easy for me to write a story about events in my life since my life has been so diversified. My first draft is not entertaining and very diary oriented. My literary group have really helped me. Your list of 15 are familiar to me through my group and I have put their critical input to good use. You are very consistant with the input that I have been receiving. I want to emphasize, however, that your capsulation into 15 specific points gives me a more specific checklist to work. I like specifically number 12 where you point out the use of the exclamation point sparingly. I was turned on by your emphasis of what I call the “Big Six”. They are anger,grief,frustration,embarrassment,fear and love. I really like this list and I am trying to implant this into my creative mind. Thanks for your time and effort to provide your knowledge and experience for our success.
Aw, this was a very nice post. In thought I want to put in writing like this moreover – taking time and precise effort to make a very good article… however what can I say… I procrastinate alot and not at all appear to get one thing done.
Great checklist to go through. I especially think it is important to fix run on sentences. I have had problems with run on sentences in the past so I know exactly what you mean. Good job on the guest post Marya.
- Robert
I am finding your blog very refreshing, inspirational, and helpful. I happened upon you while searching for tips to engage my readers and this is the second post I have read this evening. I love your checklist, and I will keep it handy whenever I make a post within my blog.
My writing style is as though I am speaking to a good friend (less the cussing), which seems to tork for the nature of my blog. There’s always room for improvement – as I now know.