Spruce Up Your Writing ~ By Stu LeventhalWhether you are trying to communicate by song lyrics, poetry, short story, essay or other prose, do not be vague. Be precise, non-cryptic, on point and as specific as possible.
Your readers need to understand exactly what you are trying to tell them. Yes. You can still use imagery and symbolism and metaphors and have hidden messages in there, if that is your thing; but be careful with words, phrases and statements that have more than one meaning. Do not risk being misinterpreted. When you say, “Society is angry because of blah, blah, blah…” The word society can mean many different things to your various readers. Drill down to the actual part of society that is mad. Plus, there are different versions of ‘angry’ too. How upset is your particular sector of society. Are they about to get violent or organizing a peaceful protest rally or just ranting and venting online in chatrooms? Explain, define, clarify… General messages are too weak but very long descriptions become boring. So, it is a balance. Give us enough to comprehend but do not drone on and on and on. They say, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, so, make us visualize. Don’t just give us a dictionary type interpretation or an encyclopedia style narrative or a long sermon. Compare stuff to make your points fast. His heart was as big as the universe. She was small as a minnow but gutsy as a grizzly. The great writers twist language to fit their needs. Definitions are subject to context. Nature gets interpreted for your use. Creative Writing TIP: Teach through emotion. Being Interesting Creative and Worth the Read |
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