Good Writing - Back to Basics
Good Writing - Back to Basics
by Charlie Wilson
Writing well, and helping other people to write well, is my job. As a professional proofreader, copy editor and copywriter, people often ask me how to write. The following is a simple guide to remind people of the basics of good writing style.
Good writing is . . .
. . . simple. Leave the complicated sentences to Dickens. There is nothing more off-putting to a reader than long, long sentences and even longer paragraphs. Keep them short and simple.
. . . organised. Your reader wants to understand easily what you are saying, without becoming frustrated and confused by a haphazard structure. Plan your writing logically before you begin, and employ that old rule from your schooldays: it needs a beginning, middle and end.
. . . to the point. There's no surer way of losing your reader's attention than embarking on a rambling detour off the subject. By all means add interest to your writing using examples, opinions and anecdotes, but ensure they are relevant. If you're writing about the history of British castles, write about the history of British castles, not that time your Auntie Ethel fell in a moat.
. . . consistent. Inconsistent writing is frustrating, annoying and distracting to the reader. Watch out for inconsistencies in your meaning, and also in your writing style. If you've written a book with a blonde protagonist called Bob Moore, your reader won't be impressed if he suddenly becomes red-headed Rob More in chapter nine.
. . . accurate. Okay, it's a pretty obvious point, but good writing goes hand in hand with correct writing - free from spelling and grammatical mistakes. Proofread it. And then again.
. . . descriptive. Description (by which I mean adjectives and adverbs) is an important part of good, evocative writing, but overdo it and you'll read like you've swallowed a thesaurus. Consider the difference between The vibrant butterfly settled on the lush leaf. and The delicate, beautiful, vibrant butterfly settled and nestled slowly and happily on the green, leafy, lush leaf. The first is descriptive but simple; the second a fairly exhausting read.
. . . written with its reader in mind. If you want your writing to be effective - whether you're writing a letter to a client, a marketing leaflet, an essay, or a novel - you need to ensure you're appealing to your target reader. Your writing style, tone and choice of words need to speak directly to your reader, in their own language. Try to keep your reader in mind as you write, and read your writing back as if through their eyes.
About the Author
Charlie Wilson is a professional writer and editor. She runs Perfectly Write, a company that specialises in providing expert copywriting, copy-editing and proofreading services to businesses, publishers, organisations and authors. Passionate about words, her aim is to make them 'perfectly write'. Visit her website at www.perfectlywrite.co.uk.
by Charlie Wilson
Writing well, and helping other people to write well, is my job. As a professional proofreader, copy editor and copywriter, people often ask me how to write. The following is a simple guide to remind people of the basics of good writing style.
Good writing is . . .
. . . simple. Leave the complicated sentences to Dickens. There is nothing more off-putting to a reader than long, long sentences and even longer paragraphs. Keep them short and simple.
. . . organised. Your reader wants to understand easily what you are saying, without becoming frustrated and confused by a haphazard structure. Plan your writing logically before you begin, and employ that old rule from your schooldays: it needs a beginning, middle and end.
. . . to the point. There's no surer way of losing your reader's attention than embarking on a rambling detour off the subject. By all means add interest to your writing using examples, opinions and anecdotes, but ensure they are relevant. If you're writing about the history of British castles, write about the history of British castles, not that time your Auntie Ethel fell in a moat.
. . . consistent. Inconsistent writing is frustrating, annoying and distracting to the reader. Watch out for inconsistencies in your meaning, and also in your writing style. If you've written a book with a blonde protagonist called Bob Moore, your reader won't be impressed if he suddenly becomes red-headed Rob More in chapter nine.
. . . accurate. Okay, it's a pretty obvious point, but good writing goes hand in hand with correct writing - free from spelling and grammatical mistakes. Proofread it. And then again.
. . . descriptive. Description (by which I mean adjectives and adverbs) is an important part of good, evocative writing, but overdo it and you'll read like you've swallowed a thesaurus. Consider the difference between The vibrant butterfly settled on the lush leaf. and The delicate, beautiful, vibrant butterfly settled and nestled slowly and happily on the green, leafy, lush leaf. The first is descriptive but simple; the second a fairly exhausting read.
. . . written with its reader in mind. If you want your writing to be effective - whether you're writing a letter to a client, a marketing leaflet, an essay, or a novel - you need to ensure you're appealing to your target reader. Your writing style, tone and choice of words need to speak directly to your reader, in their own language. Try to keep your reader in mind as you write, and read your writing back as if through their eyes.
About the Author
Charlie Wilson is a professional writer and editor. She runs Perfectly Write, a company that specialises in providing expert copywriting, copy-editing and proofreading services to businesses, publishers, organisations and authors. Passionate about words, her aim is to make them 'perfectly write'. Visit her website at www.perfectlywrite.co.uk.
posted by attapol at 6:59 PM
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