Life imitates cinema

Great writers are avid readers. By immersing yourself in reading, you develop a keen sense of effective language, which is crucial for writing well. Treat the pursuit of writing excellence as a pleasurable journey of mastering a skill. Take inspiration from accomplished writers like Richard Dawkins and Abigail Van Buren (known as "Dear Abby"). They offer valuable lessons on how to improve your writing.

Like film directors and camera operators create captivating scenes, skilled writers paint vivid pictures with their words. They pay attention to how words sound and aren't afraid to use dictionaries when needed. They understand the power of showing rather than just telling. Good writers are passionate about their topics, and all these factors come together to shape their unique "sense of style."

When you write, you paint a vivid picture for your readers, allowing them to step into the world you've created. Using a classic style of writing, you neutrally present the facts, encouraging readers to engage with your ideas. This invites them to join you in exploring your world, fostering a sense of collaboration.

Style: Three Key Types

Classic style is different from "practical style" or "plain style." While the practical style is commonly used for memos or research papers, the classic style is less common in writing guides. However, grasping the classic style is crucial for writing effectively. Classic style gives the impression that the writer carefully crafted their thoughts before putting them into words. It may not always be the go-to style, but it's essential for coherent and quality writing.

Reasons for Poor Writing by Some Writers

Some individuals, such as researchers or academics, may find it challenging to write effectively due to "professional narcissism." where they forget their audience isn't necessarily as knowledgeable as they are, assuming everyone understands their specialized language. Alternatively, they might be "self-conscious" writers, feeling uneasy about their readers and relying on techniques like excessive repetition, quotation marks, or cautious language usage like “somewhat” or “presumably”, known as "compulsive hedging."

Confidence

To write confidently, avoid clichés and steer clear of abstract terms that dull the vividness of your writing. Abstractions are sentences lacking human elements, featuring words like "framework," "model," and "process." "Nominalization," such as turning a verb like "prevent" into a noun like "prevention," results in empty phrases and words described by writing expert Helen Sword as "zombie nouns" that move without conscious direction. Some guides advise writers to combat these zombies by transforming nouns back into verbs and avoiding passive voice. This is sound advice, although passive voice can be effective when maintaining reader focus.

“The Curse of Knowledge”

Writers often struggle with what's known as the "curse of knowledge." This means they have a hard time putting themselves in the shoes of readers who might not have the same information they do. This curse can manifest in different ways. Sometimes, writers assume everyone knows what they know, which is called "hindsight bias." Other times, they understand a conversation or topic so well that they forget readers may not have the same background knowledge, known as "illusory transparency." The curse of knowledge is a big reason why some writing isn't as good as it could be. While imagining your readers looking over your shoulder won't fix everything, it's a good start. It helps to recognize the gap between what you know and what your readers might know. To overcome the curse of knowledge, it's important to keep in mind the perspective of your readers and avoid assuming they know as much as you do.

• Don't use fancy terms or shortcuts without explaining them. Keep it simple and clear.
• Read what you've written. If it's not crystal clear, it needs work.
• Remember that your readers might not connect the dots the same way you do. Break down your ideas for them.
• Making things clear doesn't mean you're treating your readers like they're dumb. It's about helping them understand.
• Watch out for "functional fixity." For instance, while you grasp "stimulus," to readers, it might simply be an "elbow tap."
• Once you've written something, ask people you know to read it. If they don't get it, you need to revise.

Enhance Trees: Trim and Grow

Good writers need to grasp how sentences are put together using grammar and syntax. Think of it like organizing thoughts in a left-to-right order on the page. Syntax, which is like a tree of phrases, helps turn a bunch of thoughts into a string of words. If words aren't grouped properly, things get confusing. Let's break down a simple sentence using this "upside-down tree" idea.

Every part of speech—nouns, verbs, adverbs, and the like plays a crucial role in creating clear sentences. The placement of these parts determines whether a sentence is clear or confusing. For example, in Sophocles's play, Oedipus married his mother." Here, it's clear who the writer is and who got married. In more complex sentences, having "syntactic awareness", knowing how words group and interact—can help writers avoid confusion. It's important to be mindful of common pitfalls in sentence construction.

1. Subject-Verb Agreement: Make sure your subject and verb match in number. For instance, in the sentence "The bridge to the islands is crowded," even though "islands" is plural, the verb "is" remains singular because it matches the singular subject "bridge.

2. “Coordinators”: When you connect two phrases with a conjunction, ensure they have the same function. For example, Stephen Colbert's book title "I Am America (And So Can You!)" is incorrect because it mixes different functions.

3. “Assignment of Case”: Pay attention to pronoun use. Sometimes people overcorrect themselves, like using "I" when they should use "me," or using "whom" instead of "who."

Effective writers aim to be concise. Instead of using long phrases like "because," opt for simpler alternatives like "since." Similarly, choose straightforward terms like "speed up" over more complex ones like "significantly expedite the process of." However, remember that it's not about eliminating every extra word but ensuring your sentences are smooth, clear, and logical. Read your sentences aloud to check for clarity and coherence. This approach helps prevent confusion and ensures your readers follow your intended meaning.

Clarity:

Tips for writing include:

1. Use punctuation correctly to avoid confusion. For instance, in the headline "Man Eating Piranha Mistakenly Sold as Pet Fish," the missing hyphen in "man-eating" changes the meaning.

2. Opt for clearer phrases like "Strikes by Teachers Idle Students" instead of the ambiguous "Teacher Strikes Idle Students."

3. Create symmetry and rhythm in your writing, like Winston Churchill's famous declaration: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and the streets, we shall fight on the hills; we shall never surrender."

4. When listing items, arrange them so that the most compelling ones come last. For example, in "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," saving "the pursuit of happiness" for the end adds impact.

“Arcs of Coherence”:

The issue of "failure of coherence" is prevalent, particularly in longer works like magazine articles or books. Even sentences that are clear, concise, and well-crafted can appear disjointed and unfocused when arranged in a sequence that feels choppy to the reader.

Here's a checklist to help you sharpen up your writing:

• Make your subject clear: Don't keep your readers guessing. State what you're talking about early on so they know what to expect.
• Communicate your “point”: Ask yourself, what's the purpose of discussing this? Make sure your readers understand why they're reading your piece.
• “Protogonist”: If you're writing about herons in winter, don't suddenly start talking about something unrelated, like Canada.
• Ignore “synonymomania”: It's okay to use the same word more than once, especially if it helps compare or contrast things.
• “Connectives”: Use words like "such as" and "therefore" to show how your ideas are linked together.
• “Negations”: Instead of saying what something isn't, focus on what it is. For example, say "the king is alive" instead of "the king is not dead."
• “Proportionality”: Make sure you're spending enough time on your main point and not getting sidetracked.
• “Consistent thematic strings”: Present your ideas in a way that builds on each other, so your readers can easily follow along.

Usage: Right and Wrong

Back in the day, some folks thought grammar was set in stone by "prescriptivists," while others believed it was whatever people said, according to "descriptivists." But that's not quite the truth. Here's the real deal: dictionaries have always kept up with how most people talk and write, and there's never been a showdown between these prescriptivists and descriptivists. However, just because everyone says something doesn't mean it's automatically correct. Take, for instance, the rule against splitting infinitives. Dictionaries and guides take their time before accepting or rejecting such rules, even if they seem widely accepted.

Prepare to be surprised by acceptable usages:

• “Ain't”: Songwriters from Gershwin to James Brown defied rules against using "ain't," seen in sayings like "It ain't over till it's over."
• “Like” vs. “As”: The 1960s ad "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should" was technically correct; either can be used, with "as" being more formal.
• “Prepositions at sentence ends”: Acceptable if conveying significance, like in "That's what this tool is for."
• “That and Which”: The notion that "restrictive clauses take 'that'" is wrong; use "which" for restrictive clauses, as in "the things which are Caesar's."
• “Absolute and graded qualities”: Avoid "very unique" due to the weak modifier "very"; modify absolutes for emphasis, as in "a more perfect union."
• “Less” vs. “Fewer”: Use "less" with singular count nouns, e.g., "one less car."
• “The singular they”: English lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun; make subjects plural or use generic alternatives to circumvent the issue.

Don't stress over whether to use words like "hopefully" or "nauseous." It's more important to focus on clarity and precision in your writing.

• Avoid common mistakes like using "beg the question" incorrectly. Remember, it means something "assumes what it should be proving," not simply "raises the question."
• Keep "flaunt" and "flout" straight. Flaunt means showing off, while flout means disregarding or disrespecting.
• Know the difference between "hung" and "hanged." People who are executed are hanged, not hung.
• Understand when to use "affect" versus "effect." Misusing these can make your writing seem careless.
• Learn the distinction between "lie" and "lay." This confusion often stems from the word "lay," which can be both present and past tense.

Pay close attention to punctuation. Proper use of commas, semicolons, dashes, and quotation marks is essential for clear communication.