Newsletter 005
How to Improve Writing 1/3: Style
Perhaps we try too much.
Whether in school or university, we were all taught to pay close attention to the smallest of details when writing— organize your thoughts, don’t use simple vocabulary, use sentence linkers, don’t hand in the text immediately once done, check for mistakes, and the list goes on and on; and, constrained with all those tips and tricks and rules, we forget to apply and further develop our own creativity, along with the very thing that we like about our favorite writers and their books and other writings — we forget to keep it simple.
Some of the most famous writers and teachers propose the most obvious thing that can help us become better at writing — we need to read more!
It is reading that gives us ideas on how to start, connect, narrow down, expand, finish, and do everything in between in order for us to write a text worth reading.
Gary Provost, an American writer and writing instructor and the author of the world-renowned 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, discusses the very essence of the problem focusing firstly on the most obvious, yet neglected, steps:
1. Get Some Reference Books
2. Expand Your Vocabulary
3. Improve Your Spelling
4. Read
5. Take a Class
6. Eavesdrop
7. Research
8. Write in Your Head
9. Choose a Time and Place
We need not ponder all the time whether our sentences contain all the grammatical glitter and splendor of vocabulary that even Shakespeare would admire (See what we did there? Sorry about that.). The first and foremost is composing a text that is at the same time readable and fully understandable.
If a reader cannot understand the text, it is not their fault. It is the writer’s fault.
Writing is a skill that needs constant honing as, during that process, we develop and improve our own style that is original and ultimately effective. It should be similar to speech — if a person’s speech is monotonous and not clear, people get bored and lose the point (and we’ve all been exposed to such speeches and conversations).
However, writing cannot and should not completely mimic the way we speak —it simply needs to have a similar flow. When you read a text, you enjoy it when you don’t have to struggle with understanding and when the sentences are connected so well that it seems like you are just flying through them, right? Well, that is the point. Simplicity brings clarity regardless of the text length.
Therefore, avoid cramming too many points into one paragraph or text. Simply imagine a river whose flow is constant and uninterrupted — select the most important pieces of information and explain them well enough so that there is a natural switch to the next section.
In order for us to properly learn this skill, we need to experiment (up to a reasonable point) until we feel comfortable with the style we have developed. Take a look at this wonderful example of what we can achieve if we practice enough:
Forgive Mr. Provost his usage of him instead of them, as the standard has changed from the time he wrote this example (more on gender-neutral vocabulary in Newsletter 004). Yet, this short text does hit the bullseye here. Practice makes perfect.
Reading and writing (blogs, random longer texts and essays, etc.) is of great help in the process of learning and developing our personal writing style. It takes time, but the result is always there and we end up feeling more self-assured as we gain more experience.
Now, all said and done, it is the type of writing that dictates the writing style. There is a local sports saying that sums up the point we are trying to make and it goes:
A futsal player can easily play football, but a football player can’t always play futsal.
That is why, in our next newsletter, we are going to discuss presentations, flows, business emails, reports, and all other texts where we are more limited.
Until then, keep it simple.
Take care!
