#thursdaythoughts – it starts with you and yourself
As writers, we must be kind to our readers. We must think about our readers with
intention and purpose. We must show them
kindness by respecting their time and their intellect.
Being kind begins with you as a person. You must be kind to yourself. You must speak positively to yourself. When you feel good, you write good. Then, you must be kind to yourself as a
writer. You must speak well about your writing and your craft. You are a writer; and you must tell yourself
that each time you write. Start with positivity. Even if you are writing a hard or difficult
piece, starting with a positive attitude and a positive mindset will help the
writing be easier and better.
Self-talk is good. Tell yourself you are a good writer. Tell yourself positive affirmations. Being in good spirits when you write is key.
Once you are kind to yourself, you can be kind to your
readers. Being kind to your readers is
involved and requires dedication and diligence on your part. At every instance of the writing process, you
must keep your readers in mind, because they will read your product.
Readers are intelligent. You do not have to “dumb it down” or tell
them everything. In novel writing, we
say, “Show, don’t tell.” What that means
is do not tell readers everything. Instead
create an atmosphere with words, feelings, and emotions that will lead readers
in the right direction so that they get to the correct conclusion.
Alternatively, if you need something in your text that is
important, put it in there. You insult
readers’ intelligence when you do not give them every thing they need to
understand what you are trying to say. If
it needs to be said, then say it.
Use your words
wisely. Be sure to use the words you
are writing in a way that works best for the text and will engage your
readers. Often, writers want to show
their intelligence or superiority. That is
okay, but be sure that the text requires you to do that. There are times when you simply do not need
some material in the text. Be wise
enough to know when you need to leave things out. If you are “showing off” in your writings,
readers will not like that.
Show your love for
the craft. When you write, write
like you care about the art of writing.
In his book, The Art of Writing:
Four Principles for Great Writing that Everyone Needs to Know, Peter Yang
gives four principles of writing.
Principle one is Economy
– use your words sensibly and efficiently.
Use short sentences. Do not repeat
yourself. Write with conviction. Use positive language. Use active voice instead of passive
voice. As mentioned earlier, using your
words wisely is important.
Principle two is Transparency
– have a clear intention when you write.
Have an outline or a story or essay map to help guide your writing. (Even if you are a panster, have some idea of
your format before writing). Give your
writing life by being precise with your points and ideas. Be consistent through out your writing,
especially with which tenses you use. Use
concrete language instead of abstract and flowery language. Being transparent creates honesty and respect
between you and your readers.
Principle three is Variety
– Do not be monotonous in the presentation of your writing. Vary your sentence length and structure. Vary your paragraph structure and
length. Do not use a lot of long paragraphs. Variety makes your writing flow better, which
makes reading it better. Creating a
piece of text that is easy to read engages readers and encourages them to read
more of your writing.
The last principle is Harmony
– Your writing must flow together in a pleasing and consistent way. You do not want to throw your reader off and
make reading the text problematic. Use the
same voice, style, spelling, structure for your writing. Creating harmony in your writing shows the ultimate
love for your craft. This takes skill
and practice to master.
To show the love for the craft, you must be detailed in your
revising and editing. Check everything
more than once. Have someone else check
things for you. Taking the time to
carefully read over your work and look for errors and mistakes is vital to
being a writer. Writing is more than
just putting words on the page.
Being a skilled writer requires you to be meticulous, aware,
genuine, flexible, and patient.
Leave reader with
hope. No matter the subject, leave
your readers with hope. Even if you
write about negative, hard, or scary subjects, leave readers with something
good to think about. Readers often read
to be inspired, to be encouraged, or to get help. Being kind to your readers is acknowledging
this desire in readers. You acknowledge
this by giving them hope. This does not
mean that there has to be a “happy ending.”
It means give them something to feel good about, whether it is knowing
that things work out or get better, or showing them that others have conquered,
so they can conquer.
Think about the feelings you want to inspire in your
readers. Be positive as much as you can
and use genuine emotions. Remember to be
helpful because your words have power. You
have the power to change people’s lives and thinking. Use that power wisely.
Kindness begins with respect, human being to human being.
-Jenny Hubbard
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I have affirmations for writers on my blog.
Thirty-one affirmations that you can tell yourself - http://31daywriteraffirms.iamagracefulwriter.info/
Thirty affirmations that you can journal about to help yourself
understand yourself as a writer - http://30dayjournaling.iamagracefulwriter.info/