ten ways to improve your writing

Ten Ways to Improve Your Writing

10. Use Dense WordsA dense word crowds a lot of meaning into a

small space.

10. Use Dense WordsO People I didn’t know are…O StrangersO Things I was thinking and feelingO Thoughts and feelingsO Something impossible to imagine

is…O InconceivableO Once a year is…O Annual

9. Use Strong Verbs

Get rid of the verb “to be” and make your other verbs (such as LOOK and

WALK) specific. Don’t rely on adverbs to describe your verbs.

9. Use Strong VerbsO A grandfather clock was in one

corner, and three books were on top of it.

O A grandfather clock towered in one corner, and three books lay on top of it.

O Did you look?O Or did you stare, gaze, peek, or

gawk?O Did you throw?O Or did you toss, flip, or hurl?

8. Use Strong NounsStrong nouns are specific, precise, and densely

packed with information.

8. Use Strong NounsO Was it a black dog?O Or a Doberman?O Was it a large house?O Or a mansion?O A man entered the room.O A man? O Or was he a priest? O A senator? O A Lithuanian? O Or an ex-senator Lithuanian priest?

7. Show, Don’t TellDon’t tell your readers what they need to feel, see, or think. Instead, let them experience the

situation for themselves.

7. Show, Don’t TellO My new

boyfriend, Arnold, is a terrific athlete. He’s also incredibly smart, very sentimental, and sort of strange.

O My new boyfriend, Arnold, ran five miles to my cabin in the middle of that snowstorm last week. When he got here, he stood out in the snow and shouted that he loves me in five different languages.

6. Provide Facts

Instead of writing your own conclusions, provide facts and let the readers come to their

own conclusions.

6. Provide FactsO A lot of banks hand

out gifts when you open an account. Since you know that they want your account, you may assume there is no catch. But sometimes you lose money by taking the gift.

O In New York City, one major bank recently advertised a free TV to people who would deposit $3,000 into a 3-year account that would pay 7% interest while other banks were paying 12% on 2-year $3,000 accounts. How free was that TV?

5. Delete fluff!So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.”

― N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society

5. Delete fluff!O ActuallyO ReallyO VeryO Kind of O Sort ofO In my opinionO GenerallyO Basically

4. Be specificUse specific but brief details.

4. Be specificO Various ethnic groups have settled in

New York.O Greeks, Italians, and Puerto Ricans

have settled in New York.O Some time ago, a public official in

Montana committed a serious crime.O Three years ago, a Montana senator

killed a man.

3. Use Positive Statements…

…most of the time

3.Use Positive Statements

O There was no noise in the church.O The church was silent.O George’s plan to breed giant rabbits

did not succeed.O George’s plan to breed giant rabbits

failed.O George and Mary were not sober

when they got home.O They were drunk!

2. Use Negative Statements…

…when emphasizing the negative.

2. Use Negative Statements…

O It’s ten o’clock on a dark and stormy night. Your wife was supposed to come home at six. You are worried, so you call her brother and say…

O “Jennifer is out.”O NO!!!O You say, “Jennifer is not home yet.”

1. Learn from the BestWhat do writers, editors, and philosophers

say?

It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a

whole book. Friedrich Nietzsche

As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out.

Mark Twain

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you. And you edit to let the fire show through the smoke.

Arthur Plotnik

Thank you for your attention!!!!

Any questions or comments?