Rethinking your way of writing

The following is a response to why my friend loves writing that I thought I’d share with you. 

“Writing is an extension of yourself, projecting your emotions onto your characters, your flaws and who you wish you were.” 

Writing is a safe place for me, a place where I can vent out my emotions instead of holding them in. However, when writing works that other people need to read, I approach things differently. Here are a few tips for you before you hit the final draft! 

Before writing 

Write everything you know about the topic. Let your sentences flow freely. Don’t worry about grammar. It’s your zero draft. Write about what you know and what you would like to know. This will give you a sense of direction. This is better than putting off your final draft that feels overwhelming to complete in one sitting. A basic guideline to what you are writing/typing is a motivating start!

You can also gather more information about your topic by asking yourself questions. Feel free to include a quote, book, movie, or any other piece of media you are inspired by. You may be able to come up with more ideas for your concept by asking yourself why you were inspired by it.

After Writing

My first writing tip is to remove all of the verbs after you have finished writing, place them in a separate document, and list them all. See how you can improve the ones you wrote to make them more accurate. As my teacher once told me, “verbs make up the backbone of a sentence”. I agree that it’s because verbs are the most powerful words in a sentence. They give a clear visual image of what’s written. 

Take a look at these sentences:

“She saw the paper in front of her.”

“She admired the paper in front of her.”

The use of the verb “admired” gives the sentence a more positive connotation. Observing her emotions as she looks at the paper makes it feel personal. This exercise also helps in noticing if you’ve repeated any of the verbs in your essay. It’s easy to overlook repetition in large paragraphs. 

Using contrasting words in a sentence is another way to grab the reader’s attention.  

This can be seen in the sentence “she cried happily”. Both emotions can be visualized by the reader, demonstrating both the dynamic and the relationship between both ideas. 

Another tip is to remove the adjectives from the sentence and then read the passage again. Essentially, you want to create sentences without using adjectives. 

We see your writing in its purest form. Without color, without elaboration. Do your adjectives play a big role in your writing? Is it still legible?

In my opinion, adjectives overshadow other words. I think of them as the whipped cream you put on your cupcake, which makes it better. However, I think looking at the base can help you notice if you’ve added too much flour or its other essentials. 

Your overall writing can be evaluated by considering how you begin and end your writing. It’s worth observing the first and last impressions that your writing leaves, as they are the most memorable! (If you’re interested in the psychology behind it, check out this case study! – Glanzer and Cunitz 1966) 

Practice makes perfect, and writing is no exception. By reading more, you become familiar with other writing styles and encounter new words that inspire your writing! I hope this was helpful to you and that it encouraged you to finish that assignment or story you’ve been thinking about! 

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