100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Picture a reader
Nine ways to overcome writer’s block

Do you know who your reader is? Is your story going to be read by a professor who knows everything but has very little time? Or is the reader a layperson with no knowledge of your specialty? A little girl, perhaps? An immigrant?

Before you write, figure out whom you are trying to reach. Who is the reader and what does he or she know?

To write is not necessarily to communicate. Communication occurs in the mind of the reader, and if that reader is not familiar with your terms and your concepts, you might as well write them in Latvian. The computer terms that are impressive in a letter to your software engineer will be gobbledygook in a sales brochure aimed at people who have never used computers.

Remember that when you write, the language you have to work with is not your entire vocabulary, but only that portion of it that you share with the reader. Just because you speak Portuguese doesn’t mean you should pepper your story with Portuguese phrases. This reminder goes not just for words but for historical allusions and the like. When you write, don’t think about how smart you are; think about how smart your reader is. To do that you must visualize him or her. Imagine your reader in the room with you. What is his education? What are his attitudes? How important is this particular story to him? Write as if you were in conversation with your readers. Listen to the dialogue that would occur. Are your readers going to stop you and say, “Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What’s a grumdocle?” If they are, then don’t use grumdocle, or explain it when you do.