The Craft of Writing

We're all searching for the secrets to becoming a better writer. You never know, the answers you seek might be hiding right here. (You will let me know if you find them, won't you?)

How to look more professional

Want to know the simplest way to look more professional in your writing? Ultimately, my friends, it’s all about style.

I’m not talking here about grace or glamour, nor the seemingly effortless ease with which chic beings glide among us. My kind of style is more editorial. It involves a nifty little list called a style sheet. This records your preferred version of words that can be written in different ways.

It notes, for instance, whether you’re searching for more color or colour in your life. It advises you what to do with words like alphabetise, contextualise and extemporise that can end in either –ise or –ize. It reveals when to wield a hyphen, how to format numbers and dates, and whether single or double quotation marks apply. It even indicates if the government or Government has your best interests at heart. (Personally, I have my doubts about that.)

A style sheet provides you with a personalised guide to using the right words every time.

It may seem that choosing and methodically using a single version of a word is a little bit petty. It’s the sort of thing that may not even be noticed. Which, actually, is kind of the point.

When you are consistent with your usage, you spare your readers from trivial distractions. They may not realise why their minds flinch from an unsteadily worded message. But on some level those capricious capital letters and erratic spellings still niggle. They give off a whiff that something’s not quite right, and that’s mostly because it’s not.

It’s not accurate. Not considered. Not professional and it is definitely not the look you want in your writing.

The easiest way to avoid this is to use a style sheet. I’ve created a simple one for you. Just note down next to the appropriate letter which version of a word you prefer, remembering that it’s best to stick with a single style of spelling. Elect either –ize and –or word endings, which are typical in American writing, or opt for a more British flavour with –ise and –our. Both varieties are equally acceptable. If in doubt, select a suitable dictionary to use as a reference.

These are all small choices but they do make a difference – if only a subtle one. Then again, it’s often the subtle differences that can be the most meaningful. In my view, it is worthwhile taking the care and making the effort to write consciously and consistently.

After all, that’s what professionals do.

Now it’s your turn…

What tools or techniques do you use to ensure your writing looks shiny and bright? What do you struggle with when trying to give a professional impression with your words?

Photo credit: The exquisite orchid image by brainchildvn via photopin is used stylishly on this site under a Creative Commons licence.

The importance of crafting your written expression

It happened in an art gallery. Of course. Amid the burble of opening night chatter, surrounded by inspiring artwork, an idea arrived surprisingly in my mind.

“I could start a business,” I thought. “I’ll call it Artful Words.”

So I did.

Deciding on a tagline for my business, however, wasn’t so intuitive. I had to go looking for one. I sifted through a variety of phrases. They were mostly awkward, lumpy things. Yet when the words “crafting your written expression” came to me, I knew that they were right.

I like the pleasant resonance between “artful” and “crafting”. I appreciate the way these two terms allude to a view of writing, editing and proofreading as activities involving both art and craft.

More than this, the phrase states what I will do for you and what I hope to help you do for yourself.

It affirms the value I hold in being careful and intentional with your words.

I’m not saying it’s easy, though.

Crafting your written expression requires time and attention. You need a clear understanding of your purpose and a willingness to keep reviewing and improving your writing. This includes cleverly selecting which terms to use, noting their rhythm and tone. It means meticulously reading each line and excising whatever is unnecessary, even if it stings a little to cut it out.

When you craft your written expression, you demonstrate respect for your reader and yourself as a writer. Through such crafting, you consciously cultivate your insight and skill, developing your technique through repetition and devotion. Your aim may be to make art. But ultimately, you craft your writing because it matters.

You do it because it can be better. Because it will be better. Because you make it better.

Perhaps not all your words need to be so finely wrought. However, any writing that aims to sway or persuade, that aspires to enchant or impress, that seeks meaningfully to tell a story or share an idea will always be more vibrant when both art and craft mingle in its composition.

At the core of my business is a desire to help you communicate your ideas more elegantly and effectively. In that way, “crafting your written expression” is more than just a tagline. It’s an articulation of the way I work with your words, using expertise, insight, precision and care.

That is what you can expect – and what you will get – from Artful Words.

It’s something I believe you can expect and achieve for yourself too.

Now it’s your turn…

What craft do you practice? What art do you make? How do you view the interplay between the two?

Photo by Jessica Ruscello on Unsplash

Books that live on my desk

To begin with, there’s the dictionary. It’s always a good place to start. I have a thicket of dictionaries (collective noun, anyone?) scattered about my shelves, including a hefty, two volume New Shorter Oxford. But the one that’s in residence on my desk is The Macquarie Concise Dictionary. Together with The Australian Oxford Dictionary, the Macquarie is generally accepted as the standard for Australian spelling. It’s the one I refer to when copyediting and proofreading.

Next come the classy couple of Penguin Working Words and The Cambridge Australian English Style Guide. Between them, these two debonair texts tell me (almost) everything I need to know about correct and preferred language use. I could probably refer to just one or the other, but I enjoy exploring the variations in their explanations of various linguistic topics. While I may refer to them less often than my dictionary when working, I’m always enlightened by what I find in their pages.

The other two books on my desk are a little different. One is very old. The other is very new. Both are gifts from friends I cherish.

The old book is a genuine gem. It’s a small but erudite text on etymology, the study of the roots and origins of words. This text is so impressive it has not one but two semicolons in its title. In full, it is The Pupil’s Guide to English Etymology; containing the Principle Roots from the Latin, Greek, and Other Languages, with their Derivatives; together with Copious Exercises on Prefixes and Affixes by George Manson. “Copious Exercises”? Why, yes!

Published in 1848, its cover is grimed and almost worn through. The pages crackle peevishly when turned and the print is small enough to cause a hawk to squint. Even so, this book simultaneously intrigues, delights and inspires me.

It is perhaps not entirely necessary to delve into the roots of words in order to use them judiciously. However, there is power in understanding the true meaning that lies at their heart. Such knowledge can make one’s choice of words more conscious and also more creative.

The new book arrived just a few weeks ago. It is a copy of Neil Gaiman’s ‘Make Good Art’ speech, originally delivered at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts. The book is designed by Chip Kidd and features artfully arranged text in a striking palette of turquoise, red and white.

The design is engaging but the ideas presented are even more so. Gaiman’s kind and wise advice can not help but make the reader feel reassured about the value of art and effort and experimentation. Above all, this speech is a celebration of both making mistakes and making it up as you go along.

I don’t look to this book for rulings on spelling or usage. I don’t investigate it for insights into the origins of language. Instead, I open it when I’m feeling uncertain or discouraged. I read a page, then usually another, enjoying the energy of the typesetting and the encouragement in the tone of voice. When I feel better, I close the book and go on with whatever task is at hand.

It’s that simple. And it works.

These five books live amicably on my desk. They each reflect my appreciation for words and they aid me in my work. In their own ways, all affirm the extraordinary effect that well chosen and carefully crafted language can have.

They also ensure that I learn ever more about its subtlety, power and pleasure.

Now it’s your turn…

Which books do you keep near you for guidance or sustenance? Which give you the most insight and delight?

New year’s advice for writers

I’m not really one for making new year’s resolutions. I don’t see the point. If you’re hoping to change your habits, your activities or the whole glorious jumble of your life, why wait until 1 January?

Even so, I can’t help finding the optimism of a new year enticing. There’s that delicious feeling that this is the year you will get it right. You’ll figure it out – the system, the magic, the knack. The trick to keeping everything beautiful and smooth.

It doesn’t matter that you thought the same thing last year, or the year before that, or even (since we’re being honest here) the one before that. Nor is it important that while you’re envisioning a life brimming with grace and ease, you remain entirely aware that it’s not going to work out that way.

New years are about beginnings, however wishful, and I’m all in favour of that.

Perhaps this brightly shining new year is the one in which you will finally commit to writing that book. Or maybe 2014 will see you complete that project which has absorbed your time and your mind for so long.

If you have a resolute nature and a desire to write, you might try taking Ray Bradbury’s advice. Writing daily and reading fervently are two excellent ways to spend your days or nights in the coming year. And while delightful activities in themselves, they are also highly likely to make you a better writer. Perhaps even a better human being.

Grasp the optimism of the new year and give it a go. Then, as Bradbury says, see what happens.

My own reservations about resolutions do not stop me from making a wish for the year ahead. That wish is to assist you in whatever way I can to find the art in your words and to craft your written expression.

Artful Words is open for business in 2014.

Tell me how I can help you.

Now it’s your turn…

Do you make new year’s resolutions? Care to share? What do you resolve to create this year?