Hi Steemians,
Today I bring you an original post in the spirit of my primary Steemit goal. I've taken some time to document my recommendations for improving writing. For many Steemians, English is a 2nd or 3rd or Nth language. For Steemians who's native tongue is English, we still struggle to get it right.
The #1 Torrey.blog Steemit Goal:
Help Steemian writers write more and write better.
Torrey's Writing Tips:
- Practice
- Read books about writing style
- Be Specific
- Great writing is really about re-writing.
Here's more detail for each of those:
1. Practice
The best way to get better at writing is to write. While you write you will develop your taste and style. You will notice phrases and words you don't like. Pay attention to those.
The more you write and the more feedback you get, the faster you will improve.
Benjamin Franklin was known for writing beyond his year's. He invented tricks to give himself feedback. For example, he found the best writing samples, disassembled the essays, converted them into poetry. Then he waited a few weeks, and came back and try to reassemble the arguments of the essays, working from his poems. This trick forced him to expand his vocabulary (when writing the poems) and organizing persuasive writing (when converting poems back to essays).
2. Read books about writing style
If you are serious about writing, study the masters. Writers have devoted their whole lives to their craft, and recorded their expert knowledge.
The best books I've found are Elements of Style by Strunk & White, and On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Every time I pick up either of these books, I find something immediately useful.
If you don't want to read about writing. Just read great writing!
3. Be Specific
Being vague is a common mistake of beginner writers. Don't make the reader read your mind. One thing I'm constantly trying to add to my writing is specificity. It's easy to gloss over something without explaining it. It's harder to explain ideas in ways that large audiences can understand.
Also, a great way to instantly improve writing is to use more specific words. Instead of saying "things" "somebody" "someone", say exactly what or who you mean. Instead of saying "around 35" say "37". That was easy!
4. Great writing is really about re-writing.
The first time you write anything it is not at it's best. The beauty of writing is the ability to re-write over and over again. Each revision has a chance for improvement.
When you re-write, first, take out all unneeded words. Taking out fluff forces you to be more concise. Where possible replace two words with one. Chances are that one word says even more than the two it replaced.
Thanks for reading!
-Torrey
[A Steemit Original]