6 Writing Tips to Precision and Clarity

Using metaphors in writing is good. Mixing them is not. Much of our language is metaphorical and we don't realize it, which is okay when speaking face to face, but cramming all that color in our writing can get messy. Remember these writing tips when editing your work and check that metaphors match. Better yet, eliminate all but the most intriguing. Simply being aware of language chosen is the first step to clear writing.

Trim The Fat & Weigh Each Word

Overwriting is something we all do. It's part of the process. The mistake, however, is to leave in words and phrases that just add weight and do nothing to support the overall content. Trim those. Make each word carry meaning. Look for articles that can be cut or changed to a possessive pronoun. Words like a, an, and the are articles, and function like a yellow traffic light, warning readers that a noun follows. Check out Dostoevsky and see how many articles he used per page. You'll be amazed. (Rusty on parts of speech? Even the drill sergeant who passed as your seventh grade grammar teacher needed to brush up after summer vacation.) Another way to cut fat is to jettison adjectives and adverbs. More advice follows on how to make your nouns and verbs work harder, so you won't need all those adjectives and adverbs clogging your content.

Use Active Verbs & Thumbnail Nouns

Choosing the right word is never more important than when it comes to verbs and nouns. These are cake, everything else is icing. Always make clear who the actor is, the subject of your sentence, and avoid passive voice, any construction using is or was along with a verb ending in -ed. Remember a writer's goal is to create pictures in the reader's mind, so show us who does what to whom. And choose verbs that depict kinetic action whenever possible.

For example, look at the verb I chose in a sentence from last section: "Another way to cut fat is to jettison adjectives...." The word jettison moves: you almost see the white contrail streaking across the sky, in this case, of an adjective. The same idea applies to nouns. Choose thumbnail nouns, suggestive nouns, provocative nouns, those carrying an image with them.

Avoid Trends

Put your personal stamp on everything you write. Own it. Don't borrow catchphrases from The Office or Borat. You can't own those (unless you wrote that particular episode of The Office). Trendy phrases lose their freshness fast. And freshness always matters. It's what makes writing rewarding for both the reader and the writer, and after 5000 years of written language, that's the essential challenge for all of us. There's nothing that hasn't already been said, but with helpful writing tips, you'll find there's always a new way to say it.