Applicable Writing Advice?

Great writing tips abound. If you've been writing more than ten minutes, you've probably heard these two:  

"Write what you know."

"Show, don't tell."

While these contain great advice, there are certain words of wisdom I've found more applicable and helpful than others.

For example, years ago I came across this quote in The Elements of Style by Strunk and White:  

“Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”


This was something I practiced immediately. It dovetailed perfectly with the courses I'd just completed at the Institute of Children's Literature, where they taught us the value of word economy. 

Here's another favorite from the same book:

“Do not overstate. When you overstate, the reader will be instantly on guard, and everything that has preceded your overstatement as well as everything that follows it will be suspect in his mind because he has lost confidence in your judgment or your poise.

Overstatement is one of the common faults. A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a single carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for the reader, the object of the writer’s enthusiasm.” 

 

 

This quote brings to mind the exclamation mark and its generous use everywhere. And it makes me wonder if we are a society of people who shout all the time. Or are we guilty of overstating? Or maybe both. :)

 

One veteran writer's opinion on this advised counting the number of exclamation marks in a piece. He recommended eliminating all but one, and to carefully consider even the lone remainder. Ask, he said, "Is such emphasis necessary?"  

 

Ever since reading those wisdom filled words, my use of such in formal writing is deliberate and sparse.

While some advice seems more applicable or timely than others, I'm grateful for the wealth of info at our fingertips. Always something to learn, always something to improve upon, right? 

What advice did you find most applicable when you began writing? What have you found most useful lately? 

 

Happy writing,

Karen

Photo credit: Pexels

Are You Guilty of Overstating?

 

The view from my front porch. :)

5 Questions 

To celebrate the grand re-opening of the Coffeehouse for Writers, Jennifer Brown Banks is spotlighting the instructors in a 5 Questions series on her blog, Pen and Prosper. I have the privilege of teaching the Boot Camp for Writers, so I'm featured in this post.  I invite you to stop by if you have a moment. :) 
 

Overstating, Are You Guilty?

Strunk and White had this to say in The Elements of Style:

“Do not overstate. When you overstate, the reader will be instantly on guard, and everything that has preceded your overstatement as well as everything that follows it will be suspect in his mind because he has lost confidence in your judgment or your poise.

Overstatement is one of the common faults. A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a single carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for the reader, the object of the writer’s enthusiasm.” 

I must admit, overstating puts me off. You might say it's one of my grammar pet peeves. For example, I cringe when I get an email that includes something like this: 

"I KNOW you’ll AGREE with ME WHEN I SAY that WE MUST put an END to THESE ATROCITIES."

Why must we shout? Isn't it more civilized to simply say, 

"We must stop the atrocities."

Is it just me, or is the extreme capital emphasis distracting? My interest in the message wanes, and I feel like I'm being coerced into taking it seriously and pressured into embracing the cause. Making a point is necessary and commendable, but there is a better way to achieve respected, professional results. As Strunk and White state, overemphasis "diminishes the whole". 

The exclamation mark also suffers from overuse. Its true purpose of course, is for commands or exclamations, like: 

Stop, thief!  or Your book was published, hooray!  or I haven't had my coffee yet! 
                         

It works for informal correspondence like in social media, emails, texts, or blog comments. But I've noticed their generous use elsewhere and I wonder, how excitement worthy are these statements? Are we shouting and exclaiming when simply stating will do? 

One veteran writer's take on the subject advised counting the number of exclamation marks in a piece. He then said to eliminate all but one and to prudently consider even the lone remainder. He asked, is such emphasis necessary? I thought this advice interesting; it now factors in to my editing process.

And since we're on the topic, there's the obvious overstating with excess words and modifiers. When revising and editing I'm on the lookout for extras like very and really, and repetitive phrases such as free gift.

While there is a place for using all caps, exclamation marks, and even bold and italicized print, I believe a good balance equals better communication. Well chosen prose combined with class and common sense never goes out of style.  

What do you think? Do you agree with Strunk and White? What grammar mishaps make you cringe? 

If you have time, don't forget to stop by Pen and Prosper for my interview. Thanks so much!   

I'm taking a break for a few weeks, but will return on June 6 with an interview with author Sarah Sundin. Enjoy the remainder of May! 
 

Happy writing,

Karen :)



Photo credit: Karen Lange

National Grammar Day

 

Did you know that March 4th is National Grammar Day?  

That means it's time for a rousing discussion on grammar, right? :) Well maybe not, but I'm thinking we can at least share a few grammar tips that have helped us along the way. 

One of my favorite gems comes from William Strunk and E. B. White. In their book The Elements of Style they said, 

“Do not overstate. When you overstate, the reader will be instantly on guard, and everything that has preceded your overstatement as well as everything that follows it will be suspect in his mind because he has lost confidence in your judgment or your poise. Overstatement is one of the common faults. A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a single carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for the reader, the object of the writer’s enthusiasm.”

I believe that overstating can take different forms. For example:

1) Capitalized Words 

Consider - which is better? This:

I KNOW you’ll AGREE with ME when I SAY that we MUST put an END to THIS DISPUTE.

Or this: 

We must end this dispute.

Have you ever received an e-mail loaded with caps like this? I understand the desire to make a point, but this is distracting and unprofessional.  

We can avoid this pitfall and emphasize instead with clear, efficient prose. Skip the caps except for abbreviations and similar instances.

2) The Exclamation Point 

The exclamation point (or mark) suffers from overuse too. Its true purpose of course, is for commands or exclamations like: 

Stop!    Wait!     Halleluiah!

Ever read anything (other than informal correspondence) that had exclamation points sprinkled throughout? Was it really that exciting or was the emphasis lost? 

I've read advice that said to review your text for exclamation points and remove all but one. Other alternatives such as italicizing key words and selecting sharp content help make our writing shine.

I think Strunk and White had the right idea. When we put our best writing foot forward, we avoid weak and diluted content. What do you think?

Visit Grammar Girl's National Grammar Day page for tips, links, and more grammar fun.

Do you have any tips to share? Have any grammar pet peeves?

Happy writing,

Karen


Photo credit: Free Images

Text copyright Karen Lange, 2015. Please feel free to link to this post, but no part of this post may be reproduced without written permission.
  

Is Overstating Overrated?

“Do not overstate. When you overstate, the reader will be instantly on guard, and everything that has preceded your overstatement as well as everything that follows it will be suspect in his mind because he has lost confidence in your judgment or your poise. 

Overstatement is one of the common faults. A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a single carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for the reader, the object of the writer’s enthusiasm.”

Strunk and White in The Elements of Style

We can always count on Strunk and White to warn of pesky pitfalls, can't we?

Pondering this, I considered misused basics, such as: 

 

CAPITAL LETTERS

I think Strunk and White would concur; using an abundance of capitalized words for emphasis is not a good thing. 

Indulge my illustrations. :)

Which is better, this:

I KNOW you’ll AGREE with ME when I SAY that we MUST put an END to THESE ATROCITIES.

Or this?

We must stop the atrocities.

I've gotten emails loaded with similar content. The extreme capital emphasis is distracting. My interest in the message wanes, and I feel like I'm being coerced into taking it seriously. 

Making a point is necessary and commendable, but I think it there is a better way, particularly for professional results. As Strunk and White state, overemphasis equals lost impact.

While we're on the subject, how about the

Exclamation Mark!

Is it just me, or does the exclamation mark suffer from overuse too?

Its true purpose, of course, is for commands or exclamations, like:

Stop!                     Hooray!                Wait!                     Halleluiah!                          

It's one thing to use them for informal correspondence, such as emails, texts, and blog comments. But I've noticed their generous use elsewhere, and I wonder, how excitement worthy are these statements? Are we "shouting" when simply stating will do?

One veteran writer's take on the subject advised counting the number of times the exclamation mark is used in a piece. He then said to eliminate all but one, and prudently consider even the lone remainder. He asked, is such emphasis necessary?

Makes me pause before tapping the exclamation mark key, you know? 

I don't have a problem using either of these elements in the right place, but I think balance is essential.

What do you think?

Can you recall any examples of overstating?

Do grammar mishaps jump out and remind you to articulate your prose?
 

Happy writing,

Karen 



Copyright 2012. No part of this blog or post may be reproduced without prior written permission from the author, Karen Lange.

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Do Your Elements Have Style?

Every writer needs style, right?  One way to develop fabulous style is to tap great resources. The Elements of Style is one of my all time favorite resources.

Thought I would share the following review, just in case you aren't acquainted with it. This review first appeared on the Coffeehouse for Writers blog.

The Elements of Style

By William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White 

The Elements of Style is small enough to fit into a pocket or purse.  Yet it is packed to the brim with great advice for writers. How did Strunk and White manage this feat? I’m not sure, but I’m glad they did.

The introduction contains E.B. White’s take on the background of how the book came about. While not an absolute must read portion of the book, I found his insight interesting as he points out the timeless advice within the book, and tells us how he became acquainted with Mr. Strunk. 

Chapter One, entitled Elementary Rules of Usage, reminds us about the proper handling of things like possessives, commas, conjunctions, pronouns, and participial phrases, to name a few. For example, years ago I referred to this chapter to brush up on my semicolon use. Do you use it with an independent clause or a dependant clause? Sure enough, problem solved. 

Composition is addressed in Chapter Two, with Elementary Principles of Composition.  Here the authors tell us to “Choose a suitable design and hold to it.” They encourage us to organize our thoughts, transferring them in like manner for the reader to understand. Active voice and passive voice are discussed, as are tenses and tight writing. This chapter contains my favorite piece of advice, where they tell us:

“Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. ”

A Few Matters of Form highlight Chapter Three, with a discussion of colloquialisms, exclamations, margins, numerals, quotations and more. Chapter Four elaborates on commonly misused words and expressions, telling us, for instance, when to use allude and elude and other oft-confused words.

Chapter Five closes with An Approach to Style, and includes a handy list of reminders. Awkward adverbs and overstating a point are among the rest of the helpful principles addressed in the final pages.

I purchased this book for my children when they were in middle school. Little did I realize how appropriate it is for students and adults. This book is 100% user friendly and is proof that good things really do come in small packages. If my copy ever wears out, I’m buying a new one.

What resources are your must-haves? 

Happy writing,

Karen

Photo Credit: Stock Exchange