Monday, 16 November, I wrote about How I Write and posted on the Black Rose of The Wild Rose Press blog. It was a very simple post designed to help the reader think about their basic writing process. However, writing is not really that simple.
This week, we’re discussing nine ways to Give Words Power. Here are some tips courtesy of Gary Provost’s 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost.
“Use short words.” (pg.73) – Mr. Provost’s reasoning is “short words tends to be more powerful and less pretentious.” Think Ernest Hemingway. For example…rape versus sexual assault.
“Use dense words.” (pg. 74) – Dense words hold lots of meaning. For example…bifocals instead of glasses with lenses for near and far distances.
“Use familiar words.” (pg. 74) – Don’t use words the reader may not know. Readers of fiction rarely want to need a dictionary to understand the book. How many people know epicene is the same thing as effeminate or unmanly?
“Use active verbs.” (pg. 75) – Active verbs involve the reader by conveying action and motion. Was with anything …ing is passive. For example…He was moving in her direction versus He moved in her direction.
“Use strong verbs.” (pg. 76) –
“Turn look into stare, gaze, peer, or gawk.”
“Use specific nouns.” (pg. 78) – Specific nouns contain descriptors within them. Prostitute conveys more meaning than woman.
“Use the active voice.” (pg. 80) – Active voice involves the reader in the same way active verbs do. For example…The car was driven by John versus John drove the car.
“Be specific.” (pg. 83) – Details draw the reader in, but beware too many details. For example…She wore a dress versus She wore a white empire dress decorated with tiny pink bows.
“Put emphatic words at the end.” (pg. 87) – Put what you want the reader to focus on at the end. Don’t bury it in the middle. For example…Mary went to the ball to dance, not to talk versus Mary did not go to the ball to talk, but to dance.
Next week...Avoiding grammatical and punctuation errors.
