A Few Basic Writing Tips
I've been mulling over writing this post for some time as I don't feel that I am an authority on much & tend to listen more than advise, but I thought I would put a few thoughts onto a page & hopefully help some people with their post writing.
My first real piece of writing wisdom came from my homeroom teacher in fifth grade as she addressed the class after we had to compose a piece of creative narrative.
"Do not start a paragraph with the same word twice."
It creates redundancy & redundancy is boring. It also annoys some readers (like myself, I hate to admit) which makes them drop your piece like a hot potato.
On the subject of being repetitive, another piece of advice I have gathered in my repertoire is to not regurgitate the same word again & again. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule as an author may repeat a descriptive word creatively to impress upon the reader how very 'grey' or 'dry' or 'dusty' or 'bright' something or someplace may be. However, one must be aware of the unintended circumstance when a favored word is repeated. I am prone to this error & try my best to correct it upon my many proofreading read-throughs.
Commas & the overuse thereof is yet another writing faux pas. I love my commas, especially Oxford commas & so I must be vigilant in their use. Commas are like sprinkles to me... you can never have too many! All jokes aside you most certainly can have too many commas, or ellipsis (...) in your writing which almost has a jarring effect on the reader.
Be mindful of the use of your punctuation, but please do use punctuation! Over-sprinkling is better than a wall of text with no breaks, in my opinion. Personally, I cannot be bothered with a paragraph with no structure, breaks or personality. I'm fairly sure I am not alone in this assessment.
Lastly, I'd like to stress the importance of proofreading. Look over your piece to be sure it makes sense when reading; I can't tell you how many times I have looked over something I've authored to see mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation as well as sentances that make no sense or just simply end. Run on sentences & sentence fragments are also a large part of my first drafts. Be aware of these common pitfalls & their effect on getting your point across to your audience.
In conclusion, I'd like to say that even if you ignore most of this advice & just write from the heart I'm sure you will find an audience. I'm just bringing these few things to your attention to enhance your natural writing ability & hopefully help you get your point across in a more pleasing way so that you can capture even more interest in what you have to say. After all, the objective of the written word is to lend a voice to the soul.
Have a wonderful day.
Cat
Recent Comments
18
Hiya, "CAT" ==^..^==
I totally agree, with you're analysis ... some people, obviously "Never" went past the 3rd, grade ... I wonder, how thay make it thru the day ... of course, "We" educated folk, due much better, .. right ?!?!
Thank You, for sharing yer grate observations .. lol .. ;-)
Regards to you and yours
Joe
Hiya Joe! >^-^<
I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I know a lot of folks get through life without writing 'properly'. As I stated, as long as you write from the heart, all is well. Just give it your own unique charm, as you did with your comment.
And Thank you, for "Getting It" :-)
Sometimes - when my caffeine level is too low, my "smarty britchesness" comes out to play, and Often times 'some people' think I just got off of the 'short bus .. lol
Anyhow, Rock On M'Friend
Joe
Well, you can bring those smarty britches around anytime Joe! I enjoy a fresh perspective & lively conversation. Keeps me honest & on my toes.
Have a fantastic day. ;-)
Fantastic tips I think I over use all of them, something used for me to mull over during my next post
I don't know how you save on here, but I would love to save this for future. I do need something like this! It is an excellent blog and I learned a lot from it. Thank you.
I'm so happy to hear you learned something! If you ever need proofreading or some writing advice feel free to ask. I can't promise I'm an expert but I can certainly give you an outside point of view at the least.
See more comments
Forgive me, but where is the star I am supposed to click. I am still pretty new to this. I hope you don't mind.
No worries; I’m new to this as well!
I think the star you’re referring to may be up at the top beside the little button with a speech balloon on it. That’s the only star I see.
Thank you! I hope I find it.
I found something! The 3 dots at the be going of your your blog site, up above, if you click that and go into the list and click "add to home screen, it will save it. Thanks for helping me!