That old literary maxim, “Practice makes perfect,” applies to anyone who wants to flourish as a writer. As an unused muscle becomes smaller for lack of exercise, the faculty of expressing thoughts also diminishes if you do not exercise it regularly. Write a little each day, and at the end of a year you will do better work than at the beginning (even though you may not become the next J.K. Rowling or James Patterson).
Use simple language
The majority of readers enjoy reading articles and books in which you use the simplest language. Skilled writers understand how difficult it is to couch an expression in simple language, and yet make the thought effective.
An English Professor at New York University says: ”To attain clearness, a writer must have definite thoughts. He must express his thoughts in words that his readers can understand as he [the writer] understands it. The words of the wise are few and well chosen. Scan every sentence, then condense your sentences into clauses; your clauses into phrases; your phrases into words; and if you do not really need the words, blot them out.”
John Leyton, a leading art critic, says: “Why make your writing sound ridiculous with redundancy? Would you write, ‘Your abode in which I’ve passed a many delightful days of my youth, is in a state of inflammation!‘ Or would you write, ‘Your house is on fire!‘ What do you think your readers would want to read? It’s obvious.”
Make it easy for the reader
Do not use obsolete or lengthy words when you can use relevant, shorter, concise words in your writing. Your readers will appreciate that you do not make them struggle through your sentences.
My advice to you: “He who seeks to handle the pen of the writer, if he possesses true persuasive force, handles a power mightier than the sword.”
Did you struggle to understand my advice? I bet you did. I struggled just writing it. It sounds like a piece of dialogue from a Conan the Barbarian movie.
In other words, if you want to excel as a writer, then master the words you use, and you will develop a powerful writing style.
Written by Alyssa Mur