Readers make writers

"What would you recommend to someone who wants to become a better writer (aka, me)?" --Alicia

1. Read. Good readers are almost always better writers. They are more aware of what makes good writing.

I really and truly believe that writing is strategic. It makes sense that it would be, because so much of our lives are strategic. Think about why you drive home the way you do every day--is it because it is the shortest route? the fastest? the least plagued by traffic? There are often methods to our madness. We use strategies without even thinking about it.

The same is true for writing, we just don't usually pay as much attention to the strategies that work best for us when it comes to posting a brilliant blog post or scribbling out a note or email to a friend. But the best writers are a little more aware of what strategies they use to have their readers react a certain way. To be good writers, we need to notice what other good writers do strategically.

I am talking about simple strategies here, like using a simple sentence (i.e. just a subject and a predicate: Carly likes red.), or even a fragment (i.e. just the subject OR the predicate: Red.). Remember: punctuation was made to convey meaning. I know your high school English teacher told you never to write a fragment (and she probably marked up your papers with "frag." all over the margins in a bold red pen), but published authors use fragments all the time in order to make an impact. Notice it. Published authors do all sorts of interesting things.

They use lots of line breaks. Even when they don't need to.

They use colons: again for emphasis. They use powerful imagery, similes, metaphors, personification (giving non-human things human like characteristics: "Our house was small, with it's feet tucked under like a cat." Of course, house don't have feet.), alliteration (repetition of the initial sound: The wind whistled around the white house.), and repetition in general (i.e. The quite night, the night, and the stars, and the damp of the cold...). They write long sentences. And short ones. They use strong verbs (why say she "walked" when you could say she "creaked" across the hard wood floor?) and interesting adjectives (she's not just a "tall" girl or a "skinny" girl, but a "long-legged, narrow-hipped" girl).

When you're reading, slow down and savor the words a little more. When you find you can't put a book down or you've read so fast you didn't notice the light growing dim outside without you, try to stop (or go back after the fact) and figure out just what they did to captured you so completely. And don't just say "it was good" or there were "nice descriptions." Dig deeper. Think about not only what happened in the story that was exciting, but try to figure out what about the way it was written that made it exciting.

To be good writers, we must be good readers. We must notice the tricks of the trade.

2. Write. I know that sounds obvious, but it's not to be overlooked. To be a good writer, you need to be writing. Everyday would be ideal, but if that's not feasible, pick a goal that is. Have places where you write (as in a diary, a writing journal, a blog, or a word document on your computer, in bed, at your kitchen table, in the park). Your goal could be a time limit (15 minutes a day) or a page limit (at least seven pages a week) or at a set time (everyday at 10am). Whatever it is, make it something that will get you writing a little bit out of your comfort zone.

And don't be afraid to write junk. Too often we expect to write the great American novel (or the most inspiring post or a breathtakingly poetic journal entry) in one go. Feel free to write a whole lot of really bad stuff before you write anything worth even looking at again. The more you write the better you will be.

So in conclusion, my simple suggestions for being a better writer is to read (chances are you already do this, just try paying more attention to how it is written) and to write (if you already are, try to write a little more).



On a completely unrelated note, but because I know so many of you want to know...

Jeremy Christiansen and I will be married in the LA temple on Saturday September 6th, 2008. Of course the colors will be red and red (much akin to "blush and bashful"...). And there will be daisies and roses in abundance. Thank you for all of your comments and emails and phone calls and well-wishes! I am one lucky girl. And I am sure you will all hear more about this wedding as the days and weeks and months tick-tock their way to September. In the meantime, just know the planning has begun!