Using the passive voice isn’t always bad. Sometimes there is no clear way to make a statement active, or sometimes you want the lighter touch a passive construction allows. But learn to follow this rule before you start making exceptions. The main exception to this is science writing, which conventionally uses the passive voice to put the emphasis on the results, rather than the researchers (although this is changing, so check the guidelines before you write). For example, “puppies fed spicy dog food were found to have more upset stomachs” puts the emphasis on the finding rather than the person doing the finding. [2] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC’s on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source
One exception to this is the words used to describe dialogue. Bad writing is filled with “he commented” and “she opined. " A well-placed “sputtered” can work wonders, but most of the time a simple “said” will do. It may feel awkward to use the word “said” over and over, but changing it up unnecessarily makes it harder for your readers to get into the back-and-forth flow of the conversation. “He said/she said” becomes nearly invisible to your readers after a while, allowing them to stay focused on the characters’ voices. [4] X Research source Strong doesn’t mean obscure, or more complicated. Don’t say “utilize” when you could say “use. " “He sprinted” is not necessarily better than “he ran. " If you have a really good opportunity to use “ameliorate,” go for it—unless “ease” is just as good there. Thesauruses can be handy, but use them with caution. Consider the predicament Joey from Friends gets into when he uses a thesaurus without also consulting a dictionary: “They’re warm, nice people with big hearts” becomes “They’re humid, prepossessing homo sapiens with full-sized aortic pumps. ”[5] X Research source If you’re going to use a thesaurus to spice up your vocabulary, look up your new words in the dictionary to determine their precise meaning.
Adverbs are the classic crutch of mediocre writing, and they often serve only to clutter up a sentence. A well-placed adverb can be delightful, but much of the time the adverbs we use are already implied by the verb or adjective—or would be if we had chosen a more evocative word. Don’t write “screamed fearfully” – “scream” already suggests fear. If you notice that your writing is filled with “-ly” words, it might be time to take a deep breath and give your writing more focus. [7] X Research source Sometimes cutting the chaff is best done at the editing stage. You don’t have to obsess about finding the most concise way to phrase every sentence; get your ideas down on paper however you can and then go through to edit out unnecessary stuff. Your writing doesn’t just exist in a vacuum—it’s experienced in conjunction with the reader’s imagination. You don’t need to describe every detail if a few good ones can spur the reader’s mind to fill in the rest. Lay down well-placed dots and let the reader connect them.
For example, “Sydney was angry after reading the letter” tells the reader that Sydney felt angry, but doesn’t give us any way to see it for ourselves. It’s lazy and unconvincing. “Sydney crumpled the letter and threw it into the fireplace before she stormed from the room” shows that Sydney was angry without having to say it outright. This is far more effective. Readers believe what we see, not what we’re told.
“It was a dark and stormy night” is a classic example of a clichéd phrase—even now a clichéd concept. Compare these similar weather-related opening lines: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. ”—1984, by George Orwell. It’s not dark, nor stormy, nor night. But you can tell right from the start something’s not quite right in 1984. “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. ”—Neuromancer, by William Gibson, in the same book that gave us the word “cyberspace. " This not only gives you the weather report, it does so in such a way that you are immediately placed into his dystopian world. ““It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. ”—A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. Weather, emotion, damnation, and despair—Dickens covered it all with an opening line that leaves the reader ready for anything. Clichés are also important to avoid when you’re writing about yourself. Saying you’re a “people person” says nothing definite about you. Saying you’re able to communicate well with a variety of people because you grew up in a bilingual family and lived in six countries growing up lets your reader know you’re a “people person” without you relying on lazy language.
This applies to creative writing, too. Don’t allow yourself to assume anything without examining it. For example, if you’re writing a story about a female character, don’t assume that she would automatically be more emotional than a man or more inclined to be gentle or kindly. This kind of non-examined thinking keeps you in a creative rut and prevents you from exploring the variety of possibilities that real life presents.
A “mixed” metaphor mixes two metaphors so that they don’t make sense. For example, “We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it” mixes the common metaphor “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it” and “Don’t burn bridges. ” If you’re not sure how a metaphor goes, look it up – or skip it altogether.
As with everything, moderation is key. Using one rhetorical question to create a punchy opening can be very effective. Using a string of six rhetorical questions would quickly diminish their effect. Be choosy about when and why you break the rules.
Some people confuse “editing” with “proofreading. ” Both are important, but editing focuses on considering what your content is and how it works. Don’t become so attached to your wording or a particular idea that you aren’t willing to change it if you discover that your ideas would be more clear or effective presented in another way. Proofreading is more technical and catches errors of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting.
Look for different ways of organizing a piece of writing or presenting a narrative. Try comparing different author’s approaches to the same subject to see how they are alike and how they differ. For example, Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilych, and Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Remember that even if you’re writing nonfiction or academic writing, reading examples of great writing will improve your own. The more familiar you are with the many ways it’s possible to communicate ideas, the more varied and original your own writing can become.
This applies for nonfiction and academic writing too. Take some examples of work by well-respected authors in your field and take them apart. What do they have in common? How do they work? What are they doing that you could do yourself?
More than a movie ever can be, a theatrical performance is like words come to life, with only the director’s interpretation and the actor’s delivery as filters between the author’s pen and your ears.
If you don’t feel creatively inspired, practice taking notes about situations. Write down the way people work at a coffee shop. Note how the sunlight strikes your desk in the late afternoon. Paying attention to concrete details will help you be a better writer, whether you’re writing poetry or a newspaper article.
Workshops aren’t just for creative writers! Academic writing can also be improved by having friends or colleagues look at it. Working with others also encourages you to share your ideas with others and listen to theirs.
When you have part of an outline that will take more than a few words to describe, create a sub-outline to break that section into manageable parts.
Don’t let yourself get bogged down here. It’s not crucial to find exactly the perfect word when you’re drafting. It’s much more important to get all your ideas out so you can tinker with them.
You’ll find that if you’ve thought sufficiently about who your characters are, what they want, and why they want it, they’ll guide how you write.
