7 steps to better writing v4

7/27/2019 7 Steps to Better Writing v4

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7 Stepsto

Better WritingEffective methods for great results!

By Paul Parrywww.EnglishLanguageExpert.com

http://www.englishlanguageexpert.com/




7 Steps to Better Writing

Copyright © 2007 Paul Parry

All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this ebook may bereproduced, copied or transmitted by any means – electronic ormechanical, including photocopying and recording – without expresswritten and signed permission from the author.

Violations of this copyright will be enforced to the fullest extent of thelaw.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to make this ebook helpful andinformative. However it should be used only as a general guide andnot as the ultimate source on the subject matters covered. The authormakes no claim or guarantee based on the information containedwithin this ebook. The author reserves the right to add to or to changethe disclaimer statement at any time, although he does not foreseechanges anytime soon.

© 2007 Paul Parry – All rights reserved




Contents

Introduction: ………………………………………...……………….….

Step 1: Take action - write now!.........................…………. Page 6

Step 2: Write with your audience in mind……….. …………….Page 8

Step 3: Understand punctuation ….................……………...Page 13

Step 4: Avoid the over-use of clichés..............……………..Page 15

Step 5: Beat writers’ block...............……………………………….Page 17

Step 6: Proofread, edit and check......................……….….Page 21

Step 7: Focus on the area which needs most attention.Page 23


Page 4




Introduction

Hello, and welcome to ‘7 Steps to Better Writing’, by Paul Parry.

Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, this book is for you. You maywrite solely for your job, or your college course, or perhaps you write ablog or contribute to forums – maybe you want to produce a book of your own – whatever brought you here, I believe you will find someuseful information within the pages which follow.

The main thing to bear in mind with writing is that, like anything, themore you do it, the better you become. So keep practising andabsorbing all the relevant information you can get your hands on.

Good luck!

Paul Parrywww.EnglishLanguageExpert.com







Step 1:Take action – write now!

You’d be surprised by the number of people who would love to writesomething or have their work published but who actually do not sitdown to write on a regular basis. They have lots of ideas, startsomething, don’t pursue it, then they move on to the next project,dreaming all the way. I know – I have been guilty of this myself.

There is nothing wrong with dreaming, but if you have dreams youmight as well strive to achieve them. It doesn’t matter how long ittakes – you have only failed if you have given up.

Or maybe you have a particular writing project for your studies or your job which needs completing, in which case it can be just as easy toprocrastinate and go and do something else instead.

That is why the first of my 7 Steps is about taking action. Focus onthis. Good habits are just as easily formed as bad ones.

If you suffer from the horrors of procrastination, here’s my advice:start by allocating a five-minute slot on a day of your choice. Then fillthose minutes with writing. Not dreaming, not editing, just writing.About anything. Just get it down on paper or into your computer.

Then, the following day, allocate a ten-minute slot – and be sure to fillit with writing. Then gradually increase the time you allocate to writingevery single day until you reach the maximum that you arecomfortable with or your schedule allows. Now all you have to do is

write for that amount of time every day.





The key here is momentum. Keep it going and things become easier,

so aim to do even the bare minimum every day, just to keep moving.Writing is like physical exercise: the more you do, the easier itbecomes. If you have to miss a day or two because something moreimportant needs dealing with, allow yourself time to deal with thatthing but plan to write again just as soon as you can.

What you will find is that the habit of writing is established and takescare of itself. (If you have problems with writers’ block or generatingideas or where to get inspiration, these areas are covered in Step 6).

To improve your writing (or anything else in your life, for that matter),you must do one or a number of things differently. Wantingimprovement simply means you want different results because you arenot satisfied currently. So, consider this, one of my favourite lines:

If you always do what you have always done you will always get what

you have always got.

Therefore, identify which particular area you wish to improve then dosomething differently to achieve a result which you have notexperienced before. You may well enjoy it.

So make your writing ambitions more realistic. Whether you want to just scribble a few notes down, write to a higher standard on your blogor work on that novel you know you can write, work towards it everyday.

By setting this goal for yourself – and then achieving it – you will gainmore confidence and enthusiasm and your writing will indeed improve.

This simple little plan worked for me. It helped me write Naughty by

Nature, my novel.


http://www.lulu.com/content/515578







Step 2:Write with your audience in mind

Whatever you write, you must work with your audience in mind at alltimes. This applies whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction.

There are a few key questions to consider:

• Who is your work intended for?• What is the purpose of your work – for example, is it to

entertain, inform, challenge, inspire or persuade?• What do you want to say?• Where, how and when will you research the information required

for the work, or is it all currently in your own head or notes?

Once you have answered these questions, you can begin to plan andstructure your efforts – and you will find writing a lot easier.

This is a crucial process which will see your writing skills improvedrastically. Why? Because, simply, you will communicate moreeffectively. You will use a tone and level of communication which isappropriate for your target audience.

For example, consider the following about your audience:

• Their age range• Their level of education• The way they communicate with their peers• Their level of knowledge of the subject you are writing about





Consider this quote:

“Communication takes more than words. It takesunderstanding.”

That sums it up nicely. Understand what makes a person or group of people tick and you will engage them more effectively.

Here’s an example: an author of children’s stories will adopt a toneutterly different to an author of a scientific report. This is stating theobvious and represents both ends of the spectrum, but it illustrates mypoint.

Here are some more things to consider before you begin to write:

• Will your writing be formal or informal?• Will it be concise or provide lots of detail?• Will it provide specialised or technical information or will it be

more general?• Will you use plain English or jargon (industry- or activity-specific

language)? Whatever you use, make sure it is language whichyour reader(s) will understand

The more questions you ask of yourself, your writing and youraudience, the better your work will be. Writing with a specific audiencein mind will automatically engage that person or those people muchmore effectively.

If we want people to read every word of our work, we have to makethem feel involved in some way. Then, what you have to say may wellhave an influence. After all, people tend to write because they havesomething to say.





Grab their attention

It is worth remembering that in many cases (for example, on theinternet and within advertising and marketing), your intendedaudience is often made up only of potential readers: they can click the ‘back’ button, look away or move on within less than a couple of seconds if they do not feel engaged instantly.

This, therefore, presents a challenge. It is then your job as a writer toturn these potential readers of your work into actual readers. And thebest way to do this is by grabbing their attention with an eye-catchingheadline, subject line or opening line (or, preferably, all three, if appropriate).

The next time you are surfing the internet or reading a newspaper oreven walking down your local high street or main street, pause for asecond and consider the writing that grabs your attention and try towork out why it succeeded where other writing failed.

In your own work, spend time on your opening or headline to get itright. When you are happy with it, see if you can improve it in any way

(maybe by turning it into a question). Grab the attention of as manypotential readers as possible and as quickly as possible.





Establish a rapport – and keep their attention

Use your introduction to establish a rapport with your audience. Uselanguage that they will understand and can relate to. If you are writinga formal piece, such as a job application, stick to the rules of grammarand use plain English generally and jargon only as often as is required.Do not use jargon for the sake of it.

The simplest way to establish rapport is by using the word ‘you’. Butbe warned: do not use ‘you’ in formal writing (for instance, essays andlegal documents) or when you mean ‘anyone’.

Once you have established rapport, you need to keep the attention of your audience. I find the simplest way to do this is by keepingsentences and paragraphs short. Break up your writing whereappropriate by using sub-headings, bullet points, italics, bold type,tables and, most importantly, plenty of white space.

All this invites your reader to continue. If you, as a reader, are facedwith large blocks of text, you may instantly feel put off.

Then, keep your writing tight: avoid repetition and the over-use of clichés (see Step 4), be careful with your spelling, grammar andpunctuation (see Step 3), and remember the basics, such as introducethe point you are making, make it, then move on.





Conclude

If you are writing non-fiction, at the end of your work, you may wantto offer a conclusion. This provides a nice way to wrap up your writingand bring it to a natural close. Whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction, there is nothing worse than leaving loose ends. Either concludeneatly (non-fiction), perhaps with a brief summary of your ownviewpoint, or tie up every storyline (fiction).

Writing for yourself

Of course, you are perfectly entitled to write just for yourself, and tokeep your work private forever.

Writing for yourself serves many useful purposes. For example, itmight well help should you feel the need to write purely for therapeuticreasons, it can help you plan and it can allow you to write morepersonal accounts. Also, the more you practise, whether writing foryourself or anyone else, the better your writing will be.





Step 3:Understanding punctuation

It is, of course, possible to be understood even if your writing is notvery good. But through a little application you can turn your writingfrom not very good to excellent. And one of the best routes tosuccessful writing is through the correct use of punctuation.

There are many excellent tools available to us writers, so we might as

well use them. If words are your bricks, then punctuation – and,specifically, correctly-applied punctuation – is the mortar which holdsthem all together in coherent order.

Take this example, which I came across the other day as I was surfingthe internet:

I just loved,watching The Pink Panther on tv. When the show, was on tv, you alsogot to watch, 2 other classic cartoons, The Ant And The Aardvark and Inspector Clouseau. I'm glad that they have The Pink Panther on this neat DVD collection. Idid expect, to also have The Ant And The Aardvark and Inpsector Clouseau,

cartoons, included, and I'm disappointed,that those 2 cartoons, were leftout,however, I really like this Pink Panther cartoon collection. I'm really happy, tohave purchsed this neat collection. I urge anyone, who is a Pink Panther fan,tobuy this cartoon collection.

I like what this person has written but I am not too keen on how hehas written it. It is a good example of a decent point madeconfusingly, mainly because of the incorrect use of punctuation.

In my opinion, the writer’s over-use of the comma makes this simplepiece more difficult to read and, while his point is understood, it was abit of a struggle to get there.





So, be aware: make your writing as easy as possible to read throughyour use of punctuation.

Refer to my book, ‘Improve Your English’, for a more detailed look atpunctuation.





Step 4:Avoid the over-use of clichés

Clichés – stereotyped, hackneyed phrases – are odd: they sometimesserve a genuine purpose but are often simply lazy and boring.

Now this is purely my own opinion, but if you want to improve thequality and standard of your written English, there are two things youcan do right away:

1) Recognise clichés in other people’s writing2) Avoid over-using clichés in your own writing

The purpose of the first point above is simple. It is about educatingyourself. Therefore, once you realise how frequently people use clichésyou can instantly set your own writing apart by creating genuinequality with your words.

And what’s more, when you study other people’s cliché-laden work,you start to form a list (either in your mind, on paper or on your

computer) of the most common clichés in use. And then you realise just how lazy and boring clichés can sound. They fail to rouse, inspireor test readers.

However, having said that, clichés can sometimes serve a genuinepurpose. Sometimes, a cliché will do a job for you and save aparagraph or two to explain what you want to say.

As I always say: clarity, brevity, impact. Always. And if using a triedand trusted cliché does the job perfectly well (like ‘tried and trusted’,for example) and there is no real need to avoid it, then use it.





For example, take the cliché, ‘outside the box’. If this cliché did not

exist, I would have to write (depending on the context) somethinglike:

Thinking or concepts which push boundaries and/or go againstconventional thinking in order to break new ground and/or achievebetter or different results.

How long-winded was that?!

Once you have done a bit of research in this area – and youconsciously strive for improvement with your own writing – you willnotice you use far fewer of the laziest clichés. (If you are writingfiction, however, clichés may be used with good reason, perhapsbecause they form part of a particular character’s speech patterns, forexample).

Titles

When it is time to come up with a title for a piece of work, I wouldcertainly suggest avoiding clichés, copying a slogan from an advert or

copying or slightly altering an existing title (titles cannot becopyrighted).

Choosing a good title really is so important, and I always believe thebest ones are the truly original ones. For example, One Flew Over TheCuckoo’s Nest, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Catch-22(which is such a good title it has itself become a valuable cliché).

Avoiding the most common clichés gives you a creative edge. It meansyou can write with developed thought, feeling and authority. Andwhether you are writing a book, regularly adding to a blog, doingcoursework or writing essays, your work will automatically improveand your readers will enjoy a more fulfilling experience.





Step 5:

Beat writers’ block

It’s not nice when writers’ block sets in but the good news is it isbeatable.

Inspiration can come in so many forms and from the most unlikelyplaces. So, in theory at least, it is not that difficult to find something tokick-start your thought-processes.

There are countless ways to help you stay rich in ideas. Everybody isdifferent so I will write from experience on this one and hopefully youwill get something out of it.

Keep a notebook

Perhaps the best way for me to beat writers’ block is keeping ahardback A4 notebook on the go. Always. I have done this for yearsand couldn’t live without one. I’m worse than a child with a comfortblanket – it’s that important.

While there are times when I don’t even look at it for a few daysbecause of commitments, it’s never far from my thoughts (and alwaysclose to hand).

I think having a book like this really helps (like therapy ), mainlybecause having it makes me focus (even subconsciously) on observingand absorbing the funniest and most interesting bits from life whichcan possibly enhance any one of my writing projects.

I use the book in several ways:





To record interesting quotes/characters/ideas ‘on the hoof’

Whenever I come across something that amuses or interests me, be ita snippet of a conversation, a joke, an interesting or amusingcharacter I see while I’m out, I make a note of it or him or her. Imight not look at it again for a long time or, more often than not, Imight not know how I will use it.

But the important thing here is that I have a little nugget that may beuseful in the future. And it is on a page so it won’t be lost forever. Andwhat’s more, it can be categorised. I can then forget it if I choose to.

Or perhaps, if I’m lucky, that nugget might fit perfectly into a projectI’ve got on the go at the time. It might be the one thing I need orhave been looking for to unlock a literary door or two.

To record ideas which have been on my mind for days, weeksor even months

I like to spend some quality ‘me’ time occasionally, usually late at

night when the family are asleep and the phone won’t ring and therewon’t be any knocks on the door. Only then can I really and trulyswitch off. So then I empty my mind of all the ideas and dominatingthoughts which have been rattling around – even subconsciously –since I last spent time in this way.

As a diary or ’hard copy blog’ (but more personal than I wouldpost online)

I honestly think I need to dump stuff from my mind into a note bookon a regular basis to avoid going insane. Do you need to write asopposed to want to write? Same here, and there is a differencebetween the two.





Some of those “most interesting bits from life” which I mentionedearlier have included some pretty serious times in my personal life.They were not fun to live through and I certainly don’t want to gothrough them again. I’m not looking for sympathy here – I just wantto point out that I’m glad I did live through those experiences becausethey can only enrich my writing and me as a person.

Apart from the books, there are lots of other ways I get ideas.

Here’s a list of the main ones:

• Go somewhere different – do you like to be in the countryside oran urban setting? Where are you most comfortable? Where areyou happiest? Which places do you, dare I ask, find inspiring?

• Meet someone new. What is that person’s most remarkablefeature?

• Try something for the first time. What does it make you think of?• Get out of your comfort zones – doing this makes you think

differently about things. Big things.• Get focused on only one or two projects (one, ideally)• Watch something that has inspired you in the past – a favourite

film, perhaps.• Listen to music that you will enjoy but do not have memories(good or bad) attached to. This makes my mind wander. I listento good music – always uptempo – and I just enjoy and drift(and relax). When I start thinking about something different, Ipick up my pen and away I go.

Those are the ways I try and get ideas. And when I think of something, the very next thing I do is this: I consider how it might fitinto my main project.





If it fits, I develop it. If it does not fit, but I like the idea and don’t

want to forget it, I simply write it in the book as one for the future. It’snot a particularly sophisticated idea, I’ll admit, but it works for me.





Step 6:Proofread, edit and check

Now this is really important. Once you have written something for anyaudience, you must, must, must read it and check it. At least once,preferably more than once.

There is nothing worse, for example, than finding the advert for yourperfect job, producing the perfect CV or résumé and crafting a

stunning letter to go with, sending them off, full of hope andanticipation – only to discover when it is too late that your work wasladen with errors, simply because you did not read your work andcheck it.

Obviously, how much proofreading you do depends on the importanceof the writing and your relationship with your reader(s). But I suggestit is good to get into the habit of checking – and double-checking –everything you write.

Furthermore, it is advisable (again, depending on the work you haveproduced) to check the following:





•

Clarity – is what you are saying actually clear?• Brevity – are you saying it in as few words as possible or are

you waffling and including irrelevant information? Will youreaders mind this?

• Impact – does your message come across strikingly? Will itgenerate the reaction you want it to? Will your opening, headlineor subject line grab your reader’s attention?

• Facts – is your piece factually-correct? Beware: including factswhich are false, inaccurate or misleading could land you introuble (I know: this is a bit extreme, but it can – and does –happen)

• Spelling – have you used your computer’s spell-checker orasked a friend or family member to have a look at your work?Do you think you need to? Only you know the answer to this

• Layout – how do you think your work looks? Will your reader(s)be put off by the large chunks of text? Aim to divide largeparagraphs into smaller, more manageable ones

I find it is a good idea to write what you want in the first instance andthen go back and proofread, edit and do your checks afterwards.

Otherwise, what you may find is that you spend all your time editingthe same small area of your work while you are not actually writingvery much. This amounts to procrastination, in my book





Step 7:Focus on the area which needs most

attention

Finally, Step 7 is about practice. The best way to improve your writingis to actually do lots of it. Write in as many different styles as you canand for as many different audiences as possible.

This could include writing as much as possible for your job or your

education course, contributing to online forums, writing a blog, orcontributing to a fanzine. You will be amazed at how quickly you canprogress with a little application.

Also, Step 7 is about knowing yourself and your writing. Pay closeattention: do you find that you struggle more with your vocabulary orwith the rules of grammar? Does punctuation get you down? Or doesyour constant struggle to spell words correctly seem insurmountable?

Take heart. All these areas of your writing – and plenty more, besides– can be improved. All it takes is a little examination of your strengthsand weaknesses and then focus on the areas of weakness.

Apply yourself to the area which needs it most and use the other ideasand suggestions described in this book. You might want to come upwith your own ideas as well (I’d love to hear about them – [email protected]).


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




I also suggest you read lots of books, magazines, websites and

anything else. Vary what you read – pick up a different newspaper,borrow a book from a friend…venture from your normal material andsee where it takes you.

Keep practising and you will find your ‘voice’ – the style and tone of writing which suits you and reflects your personality. Engage yourreaders. Try to make them smile, laugh, think or do anything.

*****************

One final word of advice: if you write most of your work on acomputer, please ensure that you back up your efforts frequently.

I once spent a whole night working on a project for a client only to findthat, somehow, it had got lost on the computer and was irretrievable. Ihad to do the whole thing again. It taught me a very valuable lesson:back up your work with a USB stick or simply email yourself if you areworking on a computer which is not your own (for example, in a library

or a college or at your place of work).

I hope you have found this book useful. Keep checking my website,www.EnglishLanguageExpert.com, for more tips and suggestions.




7 steps to better writing v4

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