Sunday, October 01, 2006
There has to be a Purpose
"Move like you have a purpose."
This is an expression that I have heard comes out of the military, but it's not bad advice for writers as well. In both fiction and nonfiction, you need to make sure that everything you write has a purpose, and that you're clear about what that purpose is.
In nonfiction, you'll often find that your writing can be tightened just by removing those parts of it that are superfluous – that are not consistent with the PURPOSE of the sentence or paragraph.
In fiction writing, divide your work up into scenes. Does every scene have a purpose? What is it? Does it introduce or develop a character, introduce or worsen a plot problem, develop the setting, give the reader information (preferably through action of some kind), or create an atmosphere?
In both cases, make sure that you know exactly what your writing is doing. Your readers can only be clear about your purpose when you are. And then you'll be ... beyond the elements of style!
Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware, Inc.
This is an expression that I have heard comes out of the military, but it's not bad advice for writers as well. In both fiction and nonfiction, you need to make sure that everything you write has a purpose, and that you're clear about what that purpose is.
In nonfiction, you'll often find that your writing can be tightened just by removing those parts of it that are superfluous – that are not consistent with the PURPOSE of the sentence or paragraph.
In fiction writing, divide your work up into scenes. Does every scene have a purpose? What is it? Does it introduce or develop a character, introduce or worsen a plot problem, develop the setting, give the reader information (preferably through action of some kind), or create an atmosphere?
In both cases, make sure that you know exactly what your writing is doing. Your readers can only be clear about your purpose when you are. And then you'll be ... beyond the elements of style!
Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware, Inc.
