Sunday, October 24, 2010

Writing Advice From a Novice...

What makes a great writer?  Some witty prose and fancy words?  Excellent sentence structure?  Perhaps conviction and clarity in the work?  It is my opinion that there is no "magic" recipe for a great paper. 

What are some important things to do/rules to follow to make your paper better, from the point of view of a novice writer, typing this blog for an assignment in WRIT 101?   I'm so glad you asked! 

1.  Write, write, write.  I for one write quite often.  Mainly it is an avenue for me to release frustrations, concerns, and fears after physical activities have failed as methods to release these types of stress from my life.  I have never been incredibly effective at vocal communication methods.  I think this is the reason I have always enjoyed writing.  When I was young, I would write short stories with plots running parallel to my own life.  I wouldn't share them or even really tell anyone about them; it was merely a stress-reduction technique I adapted to my own life.  Write, then destroy the writing.  When I was in grade school, my teachers were constantly praising my stories; this continued through high school.  I am confident that the quality of those writings was due mainly to the fact that I had already written countless pages on menial subjects, trying to turn silly subjects into something I would find interesting when I read what I had written prior to destroying the work.  The old adage "Practice makes perfect" seems to ring true; though I doubt I will ever have the necessary amount of practice to write a "perfect" paper.

2.  Grammar.  There is nothing that can destroy your message faster than improper grammar.  Grammar can make the paper shine, or it can turn it into something that your audience cannot tolerate to read.  Sentence fragments, run-on sentences, over-utilization of punctuation (e.g. commas, semicolons, colons) is something that EVERYONE is guilty of at one point or another.  I, for one, tend to insert excessive commas every time I write a first draft.  They may even survive into the second or third draft.  I know I do it, so when I am editing I tend to become overly-critical of commas and remove MORE than need to be removed. 

3.  An 'outside' eye.  Someone should always read your paper before you are finished.  Even if you consider it to be perfect, always get someone else to read it and give you comments on the paper.  While we may be happy with our writing, something we need to remember is that we are not writing it for ourselves.  If we love it and our audience hates it; we may as well have never written it.  I always have a few of my local family members give me notes on major papers before I call it a "finished draft." 

4.  Build your paper.  Every word, every sentence, and every paragraph contributes a brick, a wall, a room to the construction project that is your paper.  Think about it as such:  If you were building a house, you would have to have some sort of floor plan put together so you have something to guide you through construction, right?  So why would you randomly try to group things together for a paper, paying no mind to the placement or flow of the paper?  Try constructing an outline before writing your first draft; make the order of information logical and as easy to follow as you can.  The better your layout is, the easier and more pleasant your paper will be to read. 

5.  Don't be critical, Be the largest critic.  This phrase may not make a lot of sense right off the bat.  My intention here is to say early in the writing process you should consider every word, every phrase, every sentence to be suitable.  Don't pay attention to the details; get your idea and message on the paper.  When this is roughed-in, re-read and edit, change, add, or subtract points to clarify your message.  Once you have the message 'honed' to what you want to say and how you want to say it, have someone else read your paper.  Take their notes and combine them with your own thoughts on the paper.  Scrutinize your work as though you were reading someone else's paper.  Read it as though you carry a grudge against the author.  Mark it up.  Destroy anything you think could be better, write notes on how the author could improve it, then get going on revision.  Incorporate your own notes, as well as those of the outside source as you see fit.  To me, revision is THE major step in the writing process.  No one will ever get every aspect of a paper 100% perfectly honed.  But that shouldn't stop you from trying to be the one who does.

From one novice to his classmates, these are things that I believe to be very important to the writing process.  Take them or leave them, I am sure your papers will turn out well.  Best of luck in your endeavors in WRIT 101, and I look forward to hearing about your success.

2 comments:

  1. build your paper! I like the way you've said these things.

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  2. I like "be the largest critic" because that's something I should defiantly focus more on.

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