May 4 - Details, Details, Details...

Spring is finally here and I have been distracted from my lovely blog and my readers.  I hope you’ve found a moment to soak in some of the warm sun!

Using details and adjectives helps us translate human experience into words. Obviously, this isn’t always perfect - explain to someone how being in love feels - but it’s what we’re stuck with.

Consider if you reading a book with the following sentence:
The woman had long, blonde hair.

What image do you imagine?  This statement could be interpreted differently by two different people, depending on their own life experiences.  One person could image a young person, with darker blonde hair.  The other might imagine an older woman with dull and fading blonde hair.

Consider this sentence:
The woman, tall and bursting with confidence, had thick, wavy hair stretching to the middle of her back, that shone like gold thread in the sunlight.

These details narrow what a person might imagine in his/her mind!

Another example:
I’m really upset with how the company took my complaint; they didn’t even apologize!

Compare to this revised version:
I’m completely dissatisfied with how my complaint was filed with the company, as I expected them to take accountability for their error; they didn’t, and so I never received an apology.

Why are these details important? Why bother spending time using the best word possible to describe something?  Answer: the person with whom you are communicating did not experience whatever you’re attempting to convey and so does not have the same frame of reference as you.  Human beings are not mind readers.  Using details, and taking the time to find the best possible words to use help ensure that your audience is on the same wavelength - thus improving communication.

Finding the best words takes practice and patience.  It means taking a moment to let your brain process.  I find www.thesaurus.com to be very helpful while writing, to help substitute vague words with specific ones.  One could replace the word helpful with advantageous, convenient, or even invaluable.

The next time you find yourself writing, how can you incorporate more detail, in order to help your audience appreciate your frame of reference?

Happy Writing!

April 15 - Practical Applications of Writing

In reflecting on my experience in elementary, middle, and high school, I imagine how I might have approached my learning differently had my teachers emphasized more practical application - versus learning for the sake of learning. While I value learning for the sake of learning, it is equally important to focus on reality.  How will I use this information?  For our purposes, what are the practical applications of writing?

As I mentioned in my first blog post, writing is a way to organize and communicate the garble in your brain.  The more clearly you can communicate something, the better. Imagine if you were writing a complaint letter to a company regarding poor service.  You may get better feedback if you articulate how that service was poor, giving clear examples, than if you simply voice that the service itself was poor, with little explanation.

Imagine you are crafting your resume for a position that you are perfectly suited for. The person looking at your resume will only know that you are a perfect fit if you are able to clearly articulate that in your resume and cover letter.  Will you let someone else, perhaps less suited for position, get ahead of you because they possess better writing skills? Here is one online resume writing resource, and Cleveland Public Library is offering a Power Resume Workshop on April 22!

Lastly, many of us write emails as a daily part of our jobs.  Possessing the ability to craft professional written communication is essential, as it is common to communicate with those whom you do not know through email.  You want to make sure you are perceived as a professional!  Here are some tips regarding communicating via email at work.

As always, practice makes perfect.  Don't be discouraged if your writing skills aren't what they could be.  The good new is that you can only improve, and you can do so by practicing.  Try responding to any of these writing prompts!

Happy Writing!

April 8 - Roses are red, Violets are blue...

Happy April - National Poetry Month!

Poetry comes in many different styles and do not necessarily need to rhyme.  Poems can be as short as the 3 line Japanese Haiku, or as long as the ancient Greek epics, such as Homer's The Iliad - coming in at over 15,000 lines!

Poem topics vary and range from the sacred (the entire Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible), to love (think Shakespeare), to nature (Thoreau, anyone?), and even comical and irreverent.  This writer even penned haikus about writing!

Do you have a favorite poem? Here are several ways to celebrate this unique art of written communication. 

Happy writing!

March 31 - Things to consider while writing...

When crafting a piece of writing, consider the following: audience, tone, purpose.

Unless you are writing an entry in your diary for your eyes alone, throughout your writing, you’ll need to maintain awareness of your intended audience.  I’m guessing you would write a letter to a family member much differently than if you were crafting a memo to a coworker.

IF YOU ARE CRAFTING AN EMAIL IN ALL CAPS, THE READER MAY MISUNDERSTAND YOUR TONE.  Similarly, try re-reading your writing  before submitting it, and pretend to be the reader.  How are you coming across?  Might you be coming across as negative and critical, without intending to be?  If you want to communicate something positive, are you in fact doing such?  

Why are you writing what it is that you are writing?  Are you writing simply to inform?  To persuade? To argue for or against?  Your writing should reflect your purpose.  Feel free to be explicit about your purpose, using phrases like, “I am writing to inform you...,” or “The purpose of this essay to persuade the reader..."

I find it helps to be slow and deliberate when I’m writing something.  I draft, and put the piece away, in order to let it simmer a bit before I polish it.  I even draft these blog posts in advance, for example, and come back to them after a day or so.  Obviously, this does not always work, but it’s useful if you have the time for it.  Approaching your writing intentionally takes practice, but becomes regular habit after not too long. 

Did you ever miscommunicate because you forgot to consider audience, tone, or purpose?

March 20, 2013 - Rules of the Game

 

Writing allows us to precisely craft the garble in our brains in order to communicate that garble to others.  How do we do that?  How do we ensure that what we are communicating through writing, is indeed reflective of what we intend to communicate?  How do we prevent confusion? 

 

Rules.

 

Each language comes with a set of rules, instructions.  We were exposed to these rules before we were even born, as we heard our mother's voice.  This exposure continued after we were born, as we absorbed the sounds our parents made, and long before we were capable of imitating those sounds adults called "words."  Eventually, when we were old enough, we began learning those rules formally in school.   

 

What are these rules?  Grammar. Syntax.  These are the rules which bind language together.  These rules, when used properly, can help prevent confusion. 

 

That being said, we know that people rarely follow rules 100% of the time.  Additionally, there are a lot of rules to keep track of!  Some of us remember those language rules better than others, and that's okay.  Like I said last week, any person can learn and use these skills - it's simply a matter of practice. 

 

Here's an entertaining article about how grammar rules are sometimes fairly confusing! http://mentalfloss.com/article/49238/7-sentences-sound-crazy-are-still-grammatical 

 

Additionally, here is a link with plenty of information regarding the most common grammatical errors:  http://www.grammar.com/common-grammatical-mistakes-definition-overview-and-lists-of-examples/ 

 

Here is an interactive grammar tool to help people familiarize themselves with grammar: http://roadtogrammar.com/ 

 

Bonus points to anyone correctly citing the following line: "There are rules, man, this is not 'Nam"

 

...Until next week!

March, 14 - Technology and Writing

In the beginning, there was cuneiform on clay... 

Clay gave way to papyrus scrolls, giving way to parchment... 

Forever changing written text, Gutenberg's press...

In the next stages of evolution, the typewriter, followed by the word processor, followed by the personal computer...

And finally, chat rooms, texting, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter...

Once upon a time, text messages were not part of any unlimited data plans and were limited to 160 characters or less. This meant the writer had to condense and abbreviate words to maximize space.  In addition to the use of online chat rooms, this is when "textspeak" became a regular part of our language. Textspeak includes condensed phrases such as LOL, JK, BRB, and other similar acronyms. 

With the advent of typewriters and word processors, one could spill thoughts onto a page usually quicker than writing, and without cramped hands. Technological advances in writing have obvious advantages, and this is one example.  Technology will always have a shadow side, however...  

Technology's Impact on Written Communication...

While I don't expect every single person to express him or herself in grammatically correct language one hundred percent of the time, a failure to aim for that goal makes it much harder to write correctly when it counts the most.  

An example:  Once upon a time while in college, I thought I would instant message some friends, as I typed a paper for class.  I noticed that I would type instant messages using various typing shortcuts, which made it exponentially more difficult and time consuming to type my academic paper.  Why?  After I typed a message to a friend, I would continue that same habit of typing shortcuts in my paper, and I would have to think harder about typing full words, and with correct punctuation. If I had simply aimed for typing correctly while chatting with my friends (making some concessions for the sake of speed, perhaps), then my mind and fingers would have more easily completed the task of typing my academic paper.  Can you imagine if I consistently used those shortcuts while chatting or texting, and never had to practice correct grammar?  Does the phrase, "If you don't use it, you'll lose it" come to mind? 

This "losing it" is how I interpret the shadow side of e-communication.  If you can remain mindful of that shadow side, and manage it, then you can reap the advantages technology provides. 

When have you experienced miscommunication as a result of typing shortcuts?

...Until next week!

March 4, 2013 - Why is writing so important, anyway?

Welcome!  I plan on using this platform to both educate and connect. I intend on updating this blog weekly, with topics related to writing, and I hope you find it useful!  Please subscribe to the right for email updates, and always feel free to comment with suggestions about what you would like to read about!  

This week:  Why writing?
When we look back at human history and consider ancient culture, the standard for that culture is always the presence of writing.  From a purely practical perspective, I suppose it's difficult to study that which has no written record, but writing is also uniquely human.  Writing is part of what separates us from our fellow primates and the rest of the animal kingdom.  Writing is what allowed people of multiple languages to learn about the experiences of a young girl named Anne, to feel what she felt, to know her innermost thoughts, as she hid from the Nazis during the Holocaust.

The beauty of writing is in its ability to serve as an equalizer.  Any person can pick up a writing utensil and write.  Any person can learn and practice this skill.  The skill of writing can cross any social boundary. 

Want to practice your writing skills, but are unsure of where to start? If you'd like, try this for practice: Write a summary of your day's events.  Be as detailed or as generic as you prefer.  Don't worry about what others might think, as this is only for practice and your eyes alone.

For my visual learners, consider the following image of ancient Sumerian Cuneiform.  This image depicts the Code of Hammurabi, an ancient Babylonian law code predating Biblical texts - it is almost 4,000 years old!  This piece of writing (carved into stone) allows us to learn a bit about ancient Babylonian culture.

cuneiform up close

Code of Hammurabi Stele

How do YOU use writing? Comment below and stay tuned for next week's entry!