Here are 7 things that I think you need to write well or at least to a standard suitable for publication: 1. Understand all aspects of punctuation: the colon, the semi-colon; how to use a possessive apostrophe. Use the right word: adverse and averse are two very different words. Get the technical stuff right. 2. Embrace grammar. A sentence property constructed sounds right. If you cant hear that a sentence doesnt sound right then you havent mastered correct grammar. A finely constructed sentence sings. 3. Read and re-read drafts. Read it aloud. Read it again and again. I re-read my Saturday Oz columns perhaps 30 times before sending off. And even on publication I see things that might be improved. 4. Use short simple sentences. If something is complicated then break it down into a series of short sentences. No point being brilliant if that brilliance is hidden in a convoluted sentence that no-one will bother ploughing through. 5. Be casual; be normal; be engaging. Loosen up. But not too loose; youre not writing for your Facebook friends here. Get the balance right. 6. Have something to say. A single point. An over-arching narrative. Dont wander into something without knowing where you are going 7. Think broadly. Do not be predicable in your thinking or in your argument. Embrace left field. Theres enough predictable people out there; be different; make odd connections; make it worthwhile for the reader to read everything you have to say. Right to the end.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:53:26 +0000
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