The Writing Wire

Riding the Word Flow: The Basics

2009-06-09T07:57:00.001-07:00

Hey look, it's the first new post of my reboot of this blog. Today's topic is Flow; how well your writing fits together and how smoothly it transitions. Anyway, shall we get started?

Nothing makes a paper easier to read than it's flow. To understand flow, you need to know what the objective of your writing is first. What are you trying to accomplish? Say your writing a persuasive paper; your trying to prove to someone that your argument is the right one. How does flow relate to this? Your paper would want to flow from the weakest to the strongest argument, so at the end the reader can't help but think that "Wow, this guy is right". This is an example where the objective of your paper effects it's flow.

Flow also has much to do with the structure of the paper. You can make any piece of writing more readable by splitting it into smaller paragraphs. Note that if you do this, the transitions have to make sense. It's best to split up the writing at points where you begin to move the topic in a new direction. Look at this paragraph and the one before it. They both talk about Flow. But the first paragraph is more of an intro and how Flow relates to the objective of the writing; this paragraph talks about Flow in relation to the structure of the paper. Because of this, I could logically split both of these sections into two paragraphs.

But what about stories and creative writing? Have you noticed that the best stories have a good pace? They don't dwell in one place for too long, and describe things in enough detail to picture it in your head; not paint a Michelangelo. In this case, Flow would relate to the pace of the writing; how fast or slow it progresses through the story or the speed that it gets to it's message. You walk on a bit of a tightrope here; you don't want to go too fast and miss crucial parts needed to develop your writing. You also don't want to go too slow and drone on and on about minor details. A story with a good flow glides at a good pace, explaining everything with the necessary detail but always progressing.

This is a very basic look at Flow, but it's simplicity hides the fact that it makes writing easier to read and understand. Thanks for reading!

Sorry!

2008-09-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Yes I haven't updated this in ages; I've been very busy and used what little time I had left to focus on my other blog, Thoughts of G. I've been also starting to write for Associated Content, and I've written a post on how to improve your writing.

"How to Improve your Writing Easily"

So go ahead and check that out. In the meantime I'll see if I can't get a post on here. Thanks!

Get Funky

2008-08-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

And no I'm not asking you to break out the 80's Cd so... don't do that o.0. But if you want your writing to be better than average, you might want to take a few risks. Writing is one place in which having weird or strange ideas can pay off. As long as they connect with the main idea and aren't completely irrelevant, adding your own special flair can make things more interesting. Remember, if you can explain things in a way that is much more interesting than a cookie-cutter standard, then just do it. Sometimes it is the quirkiness of a piece of writing that makes readers come back for more, just because it is unique. Don't be afraid to use different phrases or explain things in more far out ways. It will probably shake things up in a good way.

Proofread it!

2008-08-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

What I am about to say just might be the most obvious statement ever, but I'm kind of surprised to see how many people actually neglect to do this. After you write your draft, READ IT! You would be surprised to see how many mistakes you might find. And I don't simply mean spelling and grammatical mistakes. When you read through the paper, you might find phrases and sentences that sound strange or not clear; this is your chance to make your paper sound better. Proofreading is about fixing errors and improving your paper, and there is always room for that. Even if you end up changing the bulk of the paper, it might end up better for it. Always remember to give your writing the once-over.

Clarity

2008-07-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

So when you write, you are trying to convey something to the reader. The more clarity you have, the better they can understand what you are writing. Spelling, grammar, punctuation; these are all very important things that add to the clarity of your paper. Remember that just using the computer spell-check is not enough. Read it yourself a few times; you will probably catch a few errors that slipped through the nets of the spell-check. Also, using similes and metaphors to explain things in ways that can be understood more easily is good practice. It lets readers visualize things in their heads, and therefore understand it a bit better. One last thing; try to find a balance between writing too simple and being too complicated. Your writing should be well-worded, but simple enough for a reader to understand. Stick to the middle ground.

Brainstorm

2008-07-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yep... I can talk about how to write all day long. But even after all that, if you don't have anything to write about, that kinda sucks. So how do people get inspired? You have to take a few minutes to brainstorm. Get a piece of paper and a pencil. And just think. Think of anything that is related to the topic of your paper. And write it all down. No matter how silly or stupid it sounds to you. Because in that mass of thoughts, there might be one or two that are worth using. Once you have all these thoughts on paper, you can look through them and find something you can use.

In Their Shoes

2008-06-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, a good writer takes a little time to put themselves in the shoes of the reader. By experiencing how your paper would actually be read, you can identify certain aspects that you can change. Perhaps a part of your paper is too wordy, or sounds kind of stiff. While the stuff you write about may be your opinion, no matter how extreme it is, if it isn't clear or understandable then no-one will gain anything from reading your writing. Just taking that five minutes to be in the readers shoes can make a big difference.

The Message

2008-06-28T10:56:00.001-07:00

So when you write, what are you trying to tell your readers? The message is probably the most important part of the paper. It's the main idea; you just use the paper as the means to get readers to understand this idea. So how you convey your message is very important. You have to be very clear. And this means when you write, don't stray too far off topic. In the end, everything should connect to the main idea of your paper. This is true with any kind of writing. Whether it is a research paper or a creative writing, there should be some kind of core idea or theme that ties it all together.

Titles

2008-06-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Titles. Why do they matter? The title to a person's writing is something that is often overlooked. If nothing else, avoid generic titles. Seriously, if you put "Creative Writing Essay" for the title of your paper, that doesn't say much about the paper's actual subject. Only use straight-forward titles if they are necessary; since this is a purely informative post, so is my title. Imagine if articles in a newspaper had those kinds of titles. Would you want to read those? A title should do two things. Clearly show the subject of the paper, and somehow hook the reader onto looking further. Let's say that Bob writes a paper about... giraffes. He could easily put such great titles like "Research Paper" or "Giraffes". But cmon, we can do better. Be creative. How about "The animal with a mile-long neck". That would probably catch a person's attention better than "Research Paper". And it hints to the topic of the paper. Creativity is something that can be used everywhere in writing, even in your title.

Structure

2008-06-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

Your writing is composed of words. Structure is how you arrange those words. Why does it matter? Because no one wants to read a giant mess. Obviously it looks very unprofessional if you just write things as one giant paragraph. I was taught in grade school to use that three paragraph formula for essays, but frankly, you should go with what feels right. The most basic thing you can do is to split long essays into paragraphs whenever there is a shift in ideas or subject. If you have ever read a newspaper, maybe you have noticed that most of the articles are split into many paragraphs. This not only helps organize the ideas of the the article better, but it really makes it easier to read and digest. If you quote things often, remember blockquotes. If your quote is more than 4 lines, then
you should put it like this:

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Vestibulum sagittis. Aliquam pretium arcu in libero. Sed eget arcu. Cras consequat dui ac eros elementum laoreet. Suspendisse eget ligula ac orci lobortis egestas"ulla velit quam, fermentum sit amet, fringilla dignissim, scelerisque posuere, ipsum. Maecenas risus augue."

Just center the quote and give it some space. Using blockquotes is a example of good structure. So remember, you give a first impression when you dress up for a interview; make sure your writing gives a good impression by being structured and organized.

Voice

2008-06-26T19:55:00.001-07:00

Ok, so before I start getting into specific tips, I want to talk about something that is very important in most writings. I'm sure you've heard a teacher saying that some paper doesn't have enough "voice". What does that mean really? Basically, your voice is your personality that shows in the writing. Writing should not be a robotic; that kind of thing is reserved for your textbook. When you write, it should feel like your just talking. Try reading what you write out loud. Does it feel like your just talking... or does it feel fake? Without voice, a person's writing would be the same as everyone else's. Your voice is what sets you and your writing apart from the rest. This sounds simple enough, but it's easily forgotten.