100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Use common sense
Seven ways to edit yourself

I write often about writing, and that can be terrifying. Sometimes I feel as if I’m standing in front of a firing squad and the captain will give the order to shoot as soon as I have violated my own advice. Have I used too many words to tell you not to use too many words? Is my voice too passive when I tell you to use the active voice? Is my grammar faulty when I tell you to bone up on your grammar?

It is not hard to imagine a legion of mean-spirited readers out there scanning my every word with a magnifying glass, all of them poised to leap on the first sign of contradiction. Off to their laptops they will run, and soon my inbox will be overflowing with e-mail, all of which begin, “Dear Mr. Provost, On page such and such you said this, but just thirty-two pages later you said that. Are you a moron?”

No, I’m not. Honestly. I am—dare I say it—an artist. And that is my escape hatch. Writing is art, not science, and when I finish a piece of writing, I do not review every single one of my tips. I ask: Have I communicated well? Have I pleased my readers? Have I given them something that is a joy to read? Have I entertained them, informed them, persuaded them, and made my thoughts clear to them? Have I given them what they wanted?

And these are the questions you must ask about all that you write. If the answers are yes, you have succeeded. If the answers are no, you have failed. Writing well is what counts.

The tips in this book encompass much of the accumulated knowledge about what writing techniques work best, which patterns of language most successfully reach and hold readers. But like all tips they should be considered carefully before being acted on.

So don’t use the active voice “because it’s the right way.” Don’t write with strong nouns and verbs “because you’re supposed to.” And don’t maintain consistently good grammar “because only stupid people don’t.” Tips, not laws. Think about these tips. Apply them generally. They will guide you to successful writing.

And do something else. Accept the fact that there is good writing and bad writing. There is writing that runs, and there is writing that plods. There is writing that wakes up readers and writing that puts them to sleep. So turn to this book from time to time. Stretch your vocabulary. Read. A lot. And, most important, develop your ear for the sound of written language. When you have done these, you will have the knowledge and the wisdom to apply the best tip of all: Use your own common sense.