Thursday, October 6, 2011

Write what you mean, Mean what you write

There is no magic formula to writing.  Yes, there is the technical side, the use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, punctuation and tenses correctly which helps you to articulate your thoughts, but the content, is a totally different ballgame.  Reading masterpieces such as Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Fitzgerald, Eliot and Twain, the literature is impeccable, most importantly though, the message is distinct.  I'll be the first to admit, and I believe I am in the company of many, at some point in my writing career, I have tried to emulate these great writers only to end up with a piece of writing that is suspect. Which brings me to a creed worth following.  Write what you mean and mean what you write.  Can't say it any simpler.  Don't get distracted from what you know, feel and what you want to tell the world.  Stick to your convictions.  When you do both, there will be no ambiguity in your message.  Try practicing the 24 hour rule. Once you have written your piece, walk away and don't sit with it for a least 24 hours. You will be amazed how a fresh sets of eyes catches errors and incongruencies. Done that a number of times and ended up deleteing more than I would have liked.  That's the beauty of writing.  So how do you know when you have it right?  It's kind of like an epiphany, you just know.

7 comments:

  1. I agree--you have to write what you write as only you can write it! I also agree that you have to let your writing "cool" for a while, so that you can see it with new eyes and a fresh perspective. I look forward to reading more of your posts!

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  2. I agree too! =) I always find that the closer I am to when I wrote something, the more attached I am to it. It's easier to edit when I've "forgotten" what I've written and what my thought connections were. On the flip side, I also feel better about some of the things I write, too. I've gone back to old writings and thought, "Wow--I wrote that? That's awesome!" =)

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  3. Writing what you mean is really important, especially if it's for an audience. It's just like saying, 'practice what you preach'. Thanks for this informative post.

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  4. Absolutely agree, Angela. I would add, too, that "write what you hear," is also good advice. What I mean by that is to draft the way you hear things in your head: that will be your natural voice, and is most likely to produce the kind of writing that you yourself would want to read. And if you wouldn't want to read it, then why write it?

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  5. Simple, yet sound advice. If we only could focus on the simple things! I get distracted in writing comments let alone full blogs :)

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  6. I agree. Sometimes it's best to let your writing sit awhile. Then you can go back and reread it with fresh eyes.

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  7. I found your blog through Linkedin. This post caught my eye. I'm presently writing a memoir. Allowing my writing to sit untouched for a while, I've found is the best way to improve it. The longer I'm away from it, the better I'm able to truely edit it. Will I ever get it out?! ha!

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