Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Do Not Overwrite


One of the main rules in writing is not to overwriteOverwriting is over explaining what you want to say. It is composed of unnecessary words, sentences and paragraphs.

It is over indulging to things that you want to tell. Here are some tips for you to prevent you from overwriting your composition or a post for a blog.

Write Simply

“Vigorous writing is concise,” as William Strunk J.R of Elements of Style emphasizes. It should be brief and must be easily understood by the reader. Never involve in colloquial terms and jargon languages. It should be written in plain English and as brief and simple as you can.
Image from p2p-place2play.blogspot.com

You also need not to exhibit flamboyance by including unfamiliar words. Many amateur writers do this just to merely show how bright and intelligent they are in terms of their vocabulary, but oftentimes end up misusing those unfamiliar words. Don’t indulge yourself on this unless you’re a seasoned writer who plans to write an entry for Pushcart, Pulitzer or Palanca awards.

Do Not Tell Everything

If you are narrating a story don’t tell everything in one sentence. Although you shouldn’t break one sentence into two, it is still redundant to tell what, where, when, why and how in one sentence. For example, don’t say, “Carlo settled himself comfortably in a big, red bamboo chair in front of the TV wedged high in their living room.” Instead simply say, “Carlo settled himself on a big chair in front of a TV.” You can say other details in another sentence or somewhere in the paragraphs as you go along with the story.

Stick to Your Goal

Focus on what you are trying to convey. Do not tell something that is not related to the subject or gist of your composition. I myself also have committed the same mistake. I did it without being aware due to some new thoughts or insights that pop into my mind and somehow want to continue running my fingers on the keyboard.

Never forget the general idea of your article or essay. If you notice some of those unnecessary statements on your work, omit them. Do not add anything in between sentences or paragraphs unless there are missing conjunctions, articles (a, an, the), pronouns, etc..., or unless it is really relevant or important to add them. Say what you want to say during the process of writing your first draft and omit needless words, sentences and paragraphs.

By doing these advices you can help yourself in refraining from overwriting. It is important to revise your work until you come up with a brief and simple composition.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Write With all Your Might: A Cousin's Advice

A cousin had once told me that he can never ever write. This is his response after advising him to just write. Turn on your computer, open your Microsoft Word, and just write what comes into your mind, I told him.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Placing the Apostrophe S on the Right Place

Many bloggers I observed are having troubles where to put the ‘s in some possessive nouns. I thought perhaps they are just not confident or trying to be safe. But the problem is whatever position they want to be, their last refuge is believed not to be safe at all. What follows are common mistakes bloggers often commit and the right thing to do it:

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Trouble with Blogging English

I never was engrossed reading blogs or content from the Internet until I began blogging. I remember I would only enter an Internet Cafe if there was something that I want to know about. To save time I only print the information and read them at home.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Web Content, Journalism and Literature

With the many kinds of writing, some writers believe that each and every medium is different from the other. They believe that Journalism is different from Literature, and that Creative Writing is not the same as Technical Writing.