Better Writing: A process of Trial and Error

Throughout my writing career at Choate Rosemary hall, I have experiences successes as well as failures. Writing is a process, and despite what many may say, I think everyone can become a great writer. There are those who have, “the gift,” as I like to call it, but there are just as many others who developed their writing skills. Remember, anybody who writes is a writer. As far as I go, I like to think I have that writing gift but I would be fooling nobody but myself. I have, however, made a variety of edits to my writing that I feel have definitely helped my writing develop. Over my Choate writing career I have always looked for ways to improve my writing and have stumbled upon some amazing ideas through successes and failures. So here it goes, my top 4 writing tips to help improve your writing.

Tip #1: A persuasive Title. The title is the most important part of a good essay/story etc. Anyone who is walking around a bookstore would agree with me in saying when they come across a book with a persuasive title they will at least open it up. What keeps them reading is what's on the inside and is completely up to you; the title is just a kickstart. The title should be something creative that also lets the reader know what to expect. It shouldn't be something that you should overthink, for me, it usually comes as I am writing the piece or even after writing my piece. I like to proofread and look over the recurring themes in my writing that may help contribute to my title. As the famous saying goes, “Keep it short and sweet.”

Tip #2:  Read your writing back to yourself. This is a tip that has helped me tremendously with my writing this year. It's easy for people to appreciate their writing after it's been completed but it's not until you read it back to yourself that you will see problems that aren't there while your writing. For me, it was recognizing the pace of my writing. You will get a sense of how words should fit together and how they work together in the entire piece. It's sort of the same as listening to music. When you hear an off beat or note it's easy to identify but even easier to fix. You may also be able to decipher things in your sentences that shouldn't be there. While you're writing you don’t really think about how it will sound rather how it looks and feels. Reading out loud  makes it much easier to identify unnecessary words and will help make sure you don't sound like an idiot in your writing.

Tip #3: The hook! If you are or have ever been an english student in high school, you should know how important it is to have a good hook. The hook is what makes the reader want to keep reading. It is typically the first sentence of a essay or book and helps set up the rest of story. Here are some of my favorite hooks from famous authors: “True! – nervous – very, very nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” —Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart. "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." - Charles Dickens-A Tale of Two Cities. There no way you can sit there reading this and tell me you wouldn't want to keep reading after hearing those two opening lines! Of course not everyone is as good a writer as Poe and Dickens but it's not hard to engage a reader in your writing. Whether you choose to start off with a famous quote or even a question it's important to make sure the reader is engaged. Of course nobody reading your writing will ever understand how much time it took you to think of a title..nobody.

Tip #4: Be concise. As i've learned a lot this year through trial and error, being concise makes your writing sound clearer and more professional. When you reread your writing, (see tip #2) you will often notice the usage of unnecessary word in your writing that does more harm than good. Words such as: very, a lot, great. I now know that these words don’t really have any effect on the writing rather are there to fill an empty void. Take some of my old work for example: “Rip Van Winkle Song reference: I must say, the first time I listened to, “I could be dreaming” by Belle & Sebastian I couldn't find a real connection with Rip Van Winkle. This second time I played through however, there were words that were being spoken by the girl. Upon further research these words are a direct quotation from the short story, “Rip Van Winkle” Despite the reference I saw a connection between Rip Van Winkle and dreams…”  This was the beginning of a reflection I wrote in my fall journal way back in October. Right off the bat I notice how boring the writing sounds. There no words that provoke any additional thought, the writing is very robotic. I notice problems with my quotation punctuation, these problems could have been easily fixed if I would have proofread my writing as well as read it out loud to myself. However, it’s nearly impossible to improve your writing without experiencing mistakes.

Well, there you have it; my top 4 writing tips to help you become a better writer. Remember.. Anyone who writes is a writer, even if you think you can't!