As writers we are improvisers. And that can be terrifying. Because there is no map that can help us get our idea or story on to the page.

Here’s how Charles Baxter described the process:

Sitting in the dark of Gregory’s room, with a cigar in his hand and Glenn Miller playing “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” softly beside him, Jerome began a bunny story. “Once upon a time, there was a bunny who lived with his mommy and daddy in a bunny hole at the edge of the great green wood.” All the other bunny stories started with that sentence. After it, Jerome was deep in the terror of fictional improvisation. From Charles Baxter: Harmony of the World: Stories

Most bloggers are deep into the terror of factional improvisation each day. It’s like walking into a dark wood where there are not only friendly mom and pop rabbits – but also dragons.

What are your dragons?

For most of us, the dragons of fear and self-doubt lurk out there in the darkness.

Like in any dragon story, here’s the deal: you kill the dragon – or the dragon kills you.

Before I let this introduction meander too far into fairy-tale land, let me say quickly how the terror of improvisation, and the dark forest of dragons relate to the topic of this article – which is the elements of style.

The elements of style are the armor and weapons that give a writer confidence, and the ability to slay the dragons of fear and self-doubt. [OK, that’s a bit medieval, but – hey – I had to think of something, right?]

Are you a brilliant writer?

Writing continues to be a scary proposition for me, as I don’t see myself as particularly talented and I wonder how much longer I’ll be able to massage novels out of my meagre storehouse of gifts.
From Elizabeth George: Write Away – One Novelist’s Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life

Well, I’m not a brilliant writer. And maybe you aren’t, either.

The good news about blogging is that we don’t have to be brilliant writers. We just need to be a ‘good enough’ writer. And we must be willing to learn and practise. Because 90 percent of good writing is craft – and not innate talent. As novelist Elizabeth George says in her book ‘Write Away’:

Knowledge is power, technique is glory.

 

Elements of Style: Conversational Writing

Here is what Elizabeth George has to say about elements of style:

The fact is that good writing comes down to an understanding of craft. And understanding of craft comes first from knowing what the tools are and second from knowing how to use them.
From: Elizabeth George – Write Away

Fact is, our brain only remembers what it thinks is important. For our distant ancestors, it was important to remember where the mammoth fell over the cliff, or where edible vines grew. This kind of information was passed along in conversations. That’s why our brain today still thinks that conversational writing is worth paying attention to. As opposed to formal prose.

Anyone who has waded through a text book will know how tedious formal writing can be. And it’s so hard to remember. Sometimes you have to read a paragraph three times in order to get the meaning, because the brain keeps nodding off.

Tip: Offer information in a conversational package – and the brain stands to attention.

Conversational writing has 6 components:

1. Write like you talk. Use contractions to sound colloquial. Go through your blog posts and get rid of all ‘formal-speak’. Get rid of ‘I will’, ‘I shall’, ‘you should not’, ‘I could not’, and so on, and use contractions, like, ‘I’ll’, ‘I couldn’t’, ‘you shouldn’t’, and so on.
2. Use bad grammar. When we speak, we often start new sentences with ‘and’ or ‘but’. More often than not, bad grammar is good conversation.
3. Use a balance of ‘I’ and ‘you’. A post where a lot of sentences revolve around ‘I’ can sound self-centered. And a post where you use a lot of ‘you’ can sound hectoring. Mix them up for best effect.
4. Make it readable. There is a readability index (Flesh-Kincaid) which calculates the readability and the grade level necessary to understand text. Magazines like Readers Digest score 65 and higher on this test, whereas a text book might only get a score of 10.
   Run one of your posts through the readability checker and see what your score is. Ideally, your score should be over 50.
5. Keep it simple. Some writers use obscure words to show off their intelligence. Don’t do it! Your writing is about the reader, and not about you. Just be yourself. It is enough. Talking of which…
6. Be yourself. If you try to be someone else, or ‘brand’ yourself in a particular way, you may be a candidate for ‘blogger burnout’.

Follow these 6 tips and readers will love you, and rave about your blog. Most importantly, forget about trying to write well. Because the desire to ‘write well’ kills the natural flow of words. Remember that good writing is simple writing.

If you write like you talk (just more coherently) – you’re on the right track to master conversational writing.

Author:  Mary Jaksch