Posts Tagged by readers
The Curse Of The Adverb
| December 12, 2010 | Posted by JerriCook under Structure, The Writing Process |
Here’s the painful truth: most adverbs are useless. That’s right—useless. Think about it a second. What is an adverb’s function in a sentence? It modifies the verb. However, if you have to use an adverb to explain the verb, you’ve chosen a weak verb, and worse yet, you have failed to show your audience what you’re trying to convey. Remember the old writer’s adage, “Don’t tell me. Show me.” This is the essence of adverbs. They tell, not show. Continue Reading
Getting To The Point: An Example Of Ineffective Writing
| December 11, 2010 | Posted by JerriCook under Becoming a writer, Know Your Audience, Structure, The Writing Process |
When someone tells me that they can’t write, I cringe. Of course you can write. Barring illiteracy, anyone can write. What people really mean to say is that they don’t believe they write well enough to get published. To this, my answer is simple: just because someone is published, it doesn’t mean they can write. I’m not the only writer to make this observation: Continue Reading
Follow Me: Avoiding Non Sequitors In Your Writing
| December 10, 2010 | Posted by JerriCook under Becoming a writer, Structure, The Writing Process |
A good writer is like a good shepard who keeps his flock from going astray
The term “non sequitor” is Latin. It means “doesn’t follow.” Simply put, a non sequitor is an inference that doesn’t follow the premises. While the term is most often associated with the study of rhetorical analysis, writers make this mistake on a regular basis, and it baffles the reader. Once a reader stumbles over this giant obstacle to comprehension, they might decide not to go on. If you want to be read from beginning to end, don’t force your readers to run the gauntlet of structural errors.
The example below is from the January/February 2011 issue of Dairy Goat Journal. The non sequitor looms in front of the reader like an insurmountable wall roped with razor wire. (more…)
Writing Is About The Reader
| December 9, 2010 | Posted by JerriCook under Know Your Audience, literary devices |
Old book bindings at the Merton College, Oxford library.
One of the biggest mistakes a writer can make is believing that writing is about the author. It’s not. Writing is about the reader. No one cares about the writer. Sadly, people who have fine arts degrees and high-end educations seem to miss this critical point. Nothing makes me cringe more than an article submitted by someone who is a “trained” writer or has the letters MFA or PhD behind their name. It signals I’m in for a boring read that might be grammatically correct, but uninspiring and flat.
What’s worse, these folks are fond of using “literary devices.” This is a highfalutin excuse for deviating from grammatical norms. It’s supposed to show the reader how crafty, brilliant, and original the author is. Instead, it signals to the reader that they are being talked down to, which guarantees the reader will move on. (more…)
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