I occasionally get questions about "how" I write, and what tips I can pass along to help someone develop their style of writing.
Truth be known, I have never adhered to a particular "style" of writing. At least not that I am aware of.
Red geranium in bloom
Well... that's not entirely true-- I worked as a technical writer for a while, and had to write to the style I was ordered to. But aside from that, I have generally stayed away from the "mechanics" of writing.
Sure, if I have to, I can write something that will come across as "journalistic." But it's a rarity for me, as I really don't care for impersonal 3rd person prose.
When I was about nine years old, my elderly auntie "caught" me talking to myself, in the kitchen. I was somewhat horrified, and thought I had been caught doing something awful... after all, my parents had imprinted on me that people who talked to themselves were "insane."
My auntie believed no such thing and told me that "ALL intelligent people talk to themselves."
I told her what my parents had said, to which she replied "Nonsense! That's just rubbish invented by people who don't have anything going on in their heads!"
On the greater scale of things, it was a pretty minor conversation, yet it left a lasting impression on me.
No, I don't go around talking to myself... but I do carry on a lot of conversations inside my head. Literally... a form of inner talk-- quite separate from "thinking."
So getting back to "writing styles," most of what I commit to paper (or "screen") is basically an inner dialogue. Hence my writing has sometimes been described as "conversational."
Northwestern sunset
When I actually start writing, it almost feels like I am "taking dictation" from an inner voice... all I have to do is type and keep up!
According to people who claim to "know about such things," it is this conversational element that (evidently) makes my writing fairly easy to read and understand. Because it's pretty much as I would talk to someone, if they were in the room with me.
One of this things I've always enjoyed about "Social Blogging" venues like Steemit is that this type of writing tends to fit in quite well. It walks a line between "too serious and stiff" and the typical garbage of a Farcebook post.
I don't have many good writing tips, but one of the best I can offer is to "read it out loud," before you hit "post." If you can't read it easily, and it doesn't feel like it "flows"... odds are you need to polish it up a bit more.
Aside from that... no great "secrets" here, other than give yourself permission to throw the "rules" out the window. A lot of people who "struggle" with writing tend to be locked up in notions about doing it "properly." I say, just relax and do it your way!
How about YOU? Do you have a writing "approach?" Or do you just write whatever comes into your head? Do you follow a formal "format," ("beginning, middle, end") or do you just free form? Do you ever read your posts out load to yourself, to double check them for readability? Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20170916 18:10 PDT
