My Take on Writing: A Personal Reflection

A couple of days ago, a friend asked me tips for becoming a better writer. Honestly, I was flattered by that request. I am not a trained writer in the sense that I have not undergone any formal training specialized in writing. I am not a professional writer, meaning writing is not my career. I am not a bold writer because despite the encouragements that came along the way, I have hesitated to actually put it up for a very long time (for a small read on how I began to write follow this link). So when the request came, first I was flattered (in a good way) and second I was glad that my writing style was being appreciated. But, I still have much to learn and much to be careful with as I practice and continue writing. So what are some of the tips that I have learned for writing, basically in a non-academic setting such as the posts on this blog? Well, I owe these to teachers who have taught me and made comments in the margins on my assignment papers, works I have admired and studied (be it writing or something else), and listening to the experiences of others. With all these influences, I offer a summary below. 

Set the main idea: Ever took part in an extempore speech and felt your heart beat faster than your mind could think and your mouth could speak? The panic of being put on the spot induces either a loss of words resulting in a stunned silence or a flooding of words that are somehow not related to the topic. Neither of these will happen if we are able to think clearly (and quickly in this instance) about the main idea (the topic we picked) and gets points that are related to it directly. The same is true  for writing. Knowing clearly the main idea or the central thought around which to write helps prevent going off in a rant or beating around the bush. Know what is your main idea and ensure that every point is related to that central thought.  

Keep it simple: There is a beauty about simplicity and there is nothing like using simple words. Yes, there are times when we can use "not-so-common-words" but overdoing it becomes a hassle for readers. Unless it is a technical paper using common words is the best. Stick to simple words that the readers can and will understand. I normally use two new words at the most (if I want to experiment) in a 500 word write-up. The reason for this is because I want to communicate an idea not make a show of rich technical and sophisticated vocabulary (or make a pretense of having such). I love sophisticated words and I love to learn them, but they are not best choice for my personal thought-writing projects. These are not meant to be technical, they are to be just plain simple reflections for anyone to read.

Work on the expression: I think the beauty of writing also lies in mastering our expressions. Some times we are so focused on using the BIG words to impress rather than think of how it will play out in the sentence. Big words placed together do not necessarily make a beautiful expression. Knowing what you want to express and being able to put them in simple words is an art in itself. This in part means working on our choice of words and carefully stitching them together to make a sentence. Understanding the meaning of a word and the impact it will convey is important in crafting a beautiful expression. Knowing the function a word plays and learning to position it in the right place in a particular sentence is key to getting good expressions of our thoughts. 

Mind the sentence length and over-use of certain words: I have the tendency to write long sentences (there are some even in this post). Long sentences are not bad, but if not written properly, it becomes difficult to understand. It is best to develop the use of short sentences; they are clear and precise. Long sentences will definitely have their place and beauty, but for a start stick to the short sentence. In addition, watch out for repetition of a particular word or words. Much like how in our speaking we might develop "crutch words" in our writing (Crutch-word is a word/words that we often employ too much or over-use while speaking. For example: "you know," "so," "literally," "actually," "um" etc). I find that in my writings I tend to use "also," or "perhaps" a lot more than necessary and I have to watch out for these. 

Employ relatable illustrations: If you decide to use illustrations, use simple ones that the readers can understand and relate to. The best illustrations are those that are rooted in the local context. When a "foreign" illustration is used, you are liable to waste precious time explaining the illustration rather than let the illustration do exactly what it is suppose to do: drive the point home. My personal rule: if one illustration will do the job, then save the second for another. No harm having more than one illustration, but in the initial stage pick up one and study that thoroughly to see how well it can be used. 

Take time to think and practice re-writing: We must think through what we are going to write. Not everything can be said; not everything is required to be said. Taking time to think is to polish the piece in such a manner that every word counts. It is to develop clarity of thought and the message it will convey. Taking time to think involves patience, it results in edits and revisions and is by no means a simple task. Eventually this discipline will help clarify what should be conveyed and how it should be conveyed. As we think, we also need to keep practicing our writing and refining it. I usually go back to my old writings and read through them. This helps me in two ways, it helps me remember afresh what I have written and also importantly see how I have written. Sometimes I edit and rephrase a sentence or two, delete a section and rewrite a new one. It is not a rule that we do this with everything we write, we also have to determine when a piece is done. However, revisiting our old writings helps us improve even as we continue to practice our writing skills. There might be some cringes and some smiles as we re-read old works, but they offer good learning ground. 

Know your readers: Writers also have to know who their readers are. Knowing your readers will influence your choice of language. If I write for academic purpose, it is more formal and technical. If I am to write for popular reading, the language is lighter and more informal. We have to understand that there are different categories of people and though our message is the same, the way it is conveyed has to be appropriate to our audience. I once watched a video where a subject-expert explained the concept of "gravity" to five different levels of learners (child-teen-college student-grad student-expert) and it was a learning moment on how your audience influences the choice of words (language). The same I would argue applies to writing, knowing our readers or having a sense about them is key to communicating appropriately with them in their level.

Be observant: I think there are moments when we get inspired to write and there are dry spells. We have to appreciate both these moments. For me learning to be observant has helped me in writing my thoughts. For instance, while reading being observant of not just what the story is, but how it is presented, how are things described; or watching a movie and being observant of how the action is presented, how are props arranged; or just watching people around me, learning to pick on general behaviour, expressions, signs; or just looking at nature. Being observant helps me match my words with what I see. It does not arise the moment I catch a sight, but as the image is printed in my mind, one day comes that magical moments where a connection is made between a thought and the picture. My Instagram posts are based on such instances. When I take a picture it is not usually that I have an idea to write about. The idea comes much later as I look at the picture and allow it to sink in. 

Final thought: I love to watch the TV cartoon series Tom and Jerry. Not only are the antics of Tom and Jerry comical, but it is based on stretching reality, for instance running off a cliff and falling down only when it is realized that there is no more ground below. I love this creative thinking that contradicts reality and yet we agree with it as "possible" at least in the world of cartoons even as we laugh at the duo. It is this creative thinking in animation movies that I have come to admire: while in real life an arrow will strike with a thud, in animation it gets a "toing" or a "tzrrr" sound as it strikes the target; a guy who falls from a building in real life will lie dead but in the world of animation the person goes into the ground. So animation helps me to visualize in my mind a world of possibilities, unrealistic as some may be, and to put in words my thoughts with a shade of humour.

What I have shared above is not exhaustive but a few of the lessons I have learned. I offer these as guideposts for your benefit and encouragement. Every good thing takes time to mature, writing is no different. To you, my friend, here's to the writer in you!