Writing has always been a passion. And ya, I enjoy it. I accept that I am not very good at it. But I have seen the worst of the worst, and hence I know what I write can surely be palatable.
The first thing to know is that you have to have confidence in what you write, and have confidence in your style. You should not get affected by the writings of others, and you shouldn’t try to change it to make it agreeable or impressive (maybe except in exams, where all you are trying to do is to impress the examiner to get good marks). But that shouldn’t be the basic idea otherwise. You must have faith in your own style, because writing, like your personality, is an identifier.
Another thing is that you should know the basic idea you are going to try to elaborate. I don’t mean to say that it should all be worked out, because while actually penning it down, we get newer and better ideas, and in the flow, you come down with amazing stuff, which is way way better than actually having everything worked out beforehand. Of course, this doesn’t come intrinsically to most, but over the course of time, it develops automatically. And then, no matter what the topic is, you can write wonderfully provided you have the basic idea of what you are going to write about. The thing to remember is that do not have the total body of the document already decided, because then you cant stray away and maybe come up with better things on the spur of the moment if all the points are laid out. But try to maintain the flow. Never jump from one point to another, and come back to it later to finish it (unless you are writing it in the order of time of events). Besides this, always see to it that you aren’t being repetitive in aspect of usage of words/ideas/phrases. That totally decimates the weight of your text.
Another thing is, don’t try to be too showy and flashy. Don’t try to give away more than you actually know (except if you are writing engineering papers or giving an engineering viva), and do not at all use words whose meanings you have no idea of. It really can embarrass you. Like don’t be a thesaurus, and draft the document as if it’s some secret script. Keep it simple and lucid. It will automatically be more impressive without sounding too desperate. Keep the sentences small. And conversely, avoid too many conjunctions. Because you tend to forget where you started off, and then end of in some totally different tense, different voice, different mood. Remember, that writing is totally different compared to speech. In speech, you may change the meaning by expressing it differently, or by actually acting it out, by signs of hands, by exclaiming or questioning, or by actually persuading the other person by saying it two or three times in different ways. But this is not possible in a writ text. You can imply it only once, and that’s it. So you have to make the reader understand what you mean in that single line, and hence writing is difficult. Remember that..!!! For this, hence, understanding and application of punctuation marks is very important. A very good example about the effect of punctuations I always like to give is this one: 1) Go slow, work in progress. 2) Go, slow work in progress.
Always give examples. Examples help the reader make analogies, and hence help him more in the department of understanding. And they make it more homely. Hence the reader can relate more to the document. And hence he automatically gets attracted and carries on reading further, which is the whole point finally. Don’t try to sound to convincing as well, that decision should be left to the reader. Your idea is to put forth your views, and keep the subject open for further thoughts.
Inclusion of figures of speech, rhymes, poems, quotes, phrases does add to the respect a reader gives to your text, but beyond that, it’s all just ornamental. If your text has a certain genre, like comic, serious, thoughtful, and casual and so on, then include anecdotes or maybe say some lines or thoughts which lead to that genre. Like jokes, puns or playing around with words in comic text obviously makes your script more demanding. Use swear words or slang sparingly. The language you use directly implies to the character you may have.
You also have to think about your grammar. And spellings (if you aren’t using spell check like me i.e.), because those are the ones which can totally make or mar your writing. I have gone through the Diamond comics and believe me, they are pathetic. As against that, the Potter series was just so winsome because it was simple yet error free. Always maintain a structure for your sentence and follow it. That is, the subject, the action, the object; and also have a correct spot for time and place if applicable.
And lastly, if you know the language, only then attempt to write in it. I know many of us have to actually write in English while we are not that adept with it. But that’s the rule, so you have to go with it. Or else try to revolutionize in order to accommodate your demands. But remember, no matter what language it is, if you don’t follow certain rules, you are bound to spoil the effect. So be natural, be simple and be smart. Because fluency in writing can earn you accolades you never can dream of.
This is of course my point of view. Not that it’s totally right, but ya, I have never had tomatoes thrown at me, so it does have some credibility. Whatever be it, keep penning down your ideas in your own sweet way, and hone your talents while doing so. Who knows, we may just have another Longfellow or a Rowling amongst us!!!
