100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Research
Nine ways to improve your writing when you’re not writing

Do your fingers sometimes freeze over the keyboard? Does the blank page seem to stare back at you with an accusing eye? The problem could be that you haven’t gathered enough information. You haven’t gotten the facts.

Almost everything you will ever write must be built on a foundation of factual information. That includes opinion pieces and most certainly includes stories, plays, and novels.

Before you write, track down the bits of information you are going to need. Get the prices you must quote, the names of people you will mention. Find out when it’s going to happen, where it will be, who’s going to be speaking, and whether or not dogs are allowed. You cannot write securely on any subject unless you have gathered far more information than you will use.

Here are four ways to get facts.

1. Look it up. If the facts are not in the books on your shelf, try looking them up online or using library resources. Between libraries and the Internet, you have access to just about every piece of information in the world, though in some cases the information might have been printed only in Swahili. In that case, you can use the Internet to help you do a quick translation.

2. Ask somebody. Who has the information you need? Is it the chair of the canvassing committee? Is it the president of the company? Is it the president’s executive assistant?

Ask yourself, “Who would know?” Then go directly to the most logical and best-informed people. And if anybody begins an answer with “Well, gee, Harry, I think maybe that now that you ask, let me see . . .” ask somebody else.

3. Observe it. Sometimes the best way to acquire facts is to conduct an experiment. Do you need to know how many miles it is from the center of town to the church? Drive from downtown to the church and check your mileage. Will people in wheelchairs be able to attend the dinner at the Old Timer’s Café? Go to the Old Timer’s, have a drink. And while you are there, look for ramps, measure the doorways, check the restrooms. Although most of these details are accessible online, they are not always updated in a timely manner. Sometimes it’s best to find out for yourself.

Of course, there’s not always time for this sort of thing. In an emergency, ask somebody. Like a waitress at the Old Timer’s, or the minister who’s got to drive downtown to put the collection in the bank.

4. Speak to the reference librarian. Most libraries offer a reference service. Use it. When you need information and you don’t know where to find it, ask the librarian. He or she will find it or direct you to the source. Many libraries will handle reference questions over the phone or by e-mail, and that can spare you a good deal of frustration when your writing comes to a standstill because you don’t know where George Gershwin was born. Keep the library’s phone number and e-mail address handy. But remember that librarians are the servants of ignorance, not of laziness. Call the librarian if you need to know the biggest crops in Bolivia in the twentieth century, but don’t call to ask how Bolivia is spelled.