Top Tips From The Write Coach
Find the best word not always the prettiest word.
Keep your sentence structure interesting by using a variety.
Beware of repeating words unnecessarily.
Keep your readers in mind.
What will keep them turning the page
to learn more or find out how the story ends?
~ Joyce Glass. ~
1. Don’t Overuse The Thesaurus
- Finding the best word can be difficult.
- Using a thesaurus is a great idea.
- Rely on your creative instinct first. Don’t let the thesaurus dilute or stifle your writing.
- Avoid relying on the Thesaurus too much.
- Just because the word is on the list doesn’t mean it is appropriate
. This is VERY important to check! I love usingPowerThesaurus .com - Because it gives the definition of the word I am looking up, and I can click on the synonym word to read its definition to make sure it is correct. - Your writing will become stilted and lifeless with all the “perfect” words inserted.
Quote from William Noble “Relying on the Thesaurus too much can make you mentally lazy and blunt creativity… Think of it as an aid, not an answer."
2. Don’t Wallow In A Sentence Straightjacket
- “Prose sentences resembling cookie-cutter models (same size, same order, same surface, same interior), line after line, offer no variety, and hence no excitement, no spice.” - William Noble
- Example: The day was cold and raw. It snowed a little. The barn walls had peeling green paint.
The hay bales were stacked up. The old car was on blocks by the door.. . blah… blah… blah… blah… reminds me ofCharlie Browns Teacher. - Do you feel the life draining out of you as I read those sentences? Same length and same rhythm and sentence structure.
- As you edit and work on your writing, look out for identical sentences.
Make sure to spice things up with different lengths, structures, and sounds. - Good Example of avoiding the Sentence straitjacket: From Steven James book Singularity - “Truthfully, Lady Luck has nothing to do with your winnings;
Señor Computer does. He’s the one who decides how much you’re going to win at the slots. The best odds are always when you’re playing the tables, and that’s where the next generation wants to gamble. There’s a saying around here that there are two types of people who leave Vegas - losers and liars. Not too many people figure out how to exit our city without becoming one or the other.” - Page 172 - Keep your readers awake when your sentence structure is interesting.
- Compare these two examples:
- The day was cloudy, and
he was depressed . The wind blew, and he watched the tree branches whipsaw about. The ground was soggy, not an ounce of comfort here. - The day was cloudy. Lord,
he was depressed . Tree branches whipsawingin he cold wind, soggy earth under his porous shoes, not an ounce of comfort here...
- The day was cloudy, and
- They say the same
exact thing, but one evokes an image and emotion. I can feel the second one. The first one islike reading a boring letter from a relative relaying information. - Be careful to not use the same word in a paragraph repeatedly. Depending on what you are writing about it maybe necessary. Avoid as much as possible.
- Ex. She graciously accepted the gift.
… While he accepted the gracious gesture from the host, he was ready to leave.… Changeone of them . This repetition is boring. - Using active voice keeps the pace of your writing interesting. Versus Passive voice… Episode #402
- The same thing applies to paragraphs. You want to vary the length of your
pargraphs .
Four Writing Blunders To Avoid ~ Episode #406 -> Listen to The Write Hour with Joyce Glass, Tips From #TheWriteCoach #TheWriteHour
3. Don’t write the perfect paragraph.
- The perfect shiny paragraph without style is only an exercise - paraphrase - It is
something taught in your high school comp class not used to create a compelling book. - Know your audience. - Younger people
generally do not prefer long paragraphs droning on about a topic. Keep it short with stories and quotes to keep them reading.
- Depending upon your audience will depend up your style of writing. - A book for preteens and teens will have a different sound and feel to it than one written for pastors in the middle of the career.
- The Perfect paragraph is an illusion - trying to create it will frustrate you.
- Keep your readers in mind. What will keep them turning the page to learn more or find out how the story ends?
3. Don’t repeat without relevance.
- Many of my clients struggle with Tautology - the saying of the same thing twice in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style
(e.g., they arrived one after the other in succession ). - EX. my own home…. my home ….
- You writing will appear disorganized or uninteresting
- Not all repetition is bad.
- Repetitive words and phrases or punctuation, used for style can make an important point or set a mood.
- Repetition must be done with purpose.
Episode Highlights:
00:36 Intro
02:18 Blunder #1 ~ Don’t Overuse The Thesaurus
04:14 Blunder #2 ~ Don’t Wallow In A Sentence Straightjacket
10:42 Blunder #3 ~ Don’t write the perfect paragraph
12:30 Blunder #4 ~ Don’t repeat without relevance
Links Mentioned In This Episode:
