6 Writing Tips to Master Immediately if You Want to Write Memorable Articles Your Readers Will Enjoy

Some tips to spice up your articles

I have plucked a sackful of writing tips from the plantations of other writers thus far on my writing adventure.

But I see a new writer too many overlook some of these tips when I read their work. Herein, I lend a helping hand to the new writer who is just taking baby strides or the reader who may not be familiar with some of these classified tips.

Without further ado, here are six of those tips.

Everything has a name, so name the stuff

“How many times have we seen people do stuff without passion?” I had typed under a post I consumed last Sunday. I read my comment through and asked myself what those “stuff” were?

I backspaced the stuff and typed “tasks” instead. My rewritten comment waved at me when I reread it. So I hit publish. Not a big deal, but many writers have stuffed too many nameless stuff in their writings instead of naming those stuff. Worse, some even call them stuffs.

In speaking, you may point to some stuff in a bag, for example, and the one you’re conversing with can see it. But that may not work in writing.

When you name your characters — even inanimate objects — you breathe life into their nostrils and make them living souls. That’s why you remember the names of your favorite meals, cars, and movie characters.

Your readers will also remember the names you mention in your work. So, make a name up if you have to, but don’t go stuff stuffing.

Look for what is hiding behind a “there is”

A lot of new writers overlook some of the harm the innocuous “to be” verb causes their writing. So, they keep starting sentences with “there is” and “there are.” But treading that trusted trail means packing too many unnecessary words into their sentences.

I have lost count of the times I did that.

Start hunting for the familiar phrases of there is, there are, there will be, etc. Often, they are clutter you can cut from your work. For example, you could rewrite the sentence, “There are many kids who like ice cream,” as “Many kids like ice cream.”

Sometimes, you can replace them with a more colorful verb. Let’s consider the examples below:

a. There were thousands of protesters outside the building.

b. Thousands of protesters congregated outside the building.

Doesn’t example “b” read better?

Unity is strength, so strengthen your unities

Said William Zinsser, in his classic book On Writing Well, “Unity is the anchor of good writing. It satisfies the reader’s subconscious need for order. Therefore choose from among the many variables and stick to your choice.”

He outlines some elements you must settle on to make your unities smoother.

• Choose one tense by which you’ll mostly address the reader. Are you going to write in the past tense or present tense?
• Settle on one dominant point of view. Are you going to write in the first person or the third person?
• In what capacity are you going to address the reader? Average observer, provider of information, or reporter?
• What is your mood? You might want to address your reader in a casual voice, or you may choose to inform the reader in a more formal voice.

He even suggests you tie all these pieces together with the chord of unity before you put pen to paper or finger to keyboard. When most of the elements of your writing agree to attack the enemy of disorder, the battle becomes a breeze.

Mind the parallel structure

Said William Strunk and E.B. White in their book The Elements of Style, “The principle of parallel construction requires that expressions similar in content and function be outwardly similar.”

Using parallel structure means repeating the order of multiple words, phrases, etc., in a sentence.

Around Christmastime 2011, the song “Fly” by Nicky became a lively worm in my ear. “ I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive, I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise, to fly…,” I kept muttering.

She mastered the art of the parallel structure to a tee by repeating multiple verbs in the present tense.

“They came, they saw, they conquered, “the voice of Legendary TNT broadcaster Doris Burke once teased after my friend blew me out in an exhibition game in NBA 2K14.

Let consider the following examples:

a. Julie is a mother, a grandmother, and a teacher.

b. Julie is a mother, a grandmother, and she also teaches.

Example “a” respects the laws of parallel structure, while example “b” disregards the principles of parallel structure.

Keep the subject and verb close to the start

Like best pals, you want the verb close to the subject. It gets better when they’re near the start of the sentence. Often, a lot of writers flex their bulging writing muscles and get too elaborate, keeping their readers waiting too long for the verb.

Verbs bring the action along and kick the party off, so don’t keep them backstage for too long. You don’t want to risk your guests nodding off bored, or worse, walking out unsatisfied.

Check out the examples below:

a. Some writers, because they want to impress their readers, replace shorter words with longer ones.

b. Some writers replace shorter words with longer ones because they want to impress their readers.

Example “a” takes too long to reveal the verb “replace” while immediately, example “b” unveils the verb “replace”.

Revealing the verb early in your sentence grabs the reader’s attention, and if the verb evokes strong emotions, you stand a higher chance of retaining their attention. So, unleash the verbs on your subjects as soon as you start your sentences.

Bring everything to a fitting climax

Robert A. Harris, in his book Writing with Clarity and Style, describes climax as “the presentation of ideas (in words, clauses, sentences, etc.) in the order of increasing importance.”

Thus, when you’re reeling off a list of items in your writing, first take a second to rank them in some order. This order could be size, age, or importance.

Do you remember how an MC announces the winner of a beauty pageant, for example? He starts with the runners up. Then he takes a breather. And then, with anticipation, “and the winner is….,” he announces.

The same principle plays out when winners collect medals in the Olympics. Bronze first, then Silver, and finally, Gold.

Let’s look at these examples below:

a. The wildlife documentary starred zebras, elephants, and beavers.

b. The wildlife documentary starred beavers, zebras, and elephants.

The second example tips a hat to the principle of climax.

Takeaways

In summary, here are six simple tips you can apply to your writing to give it more oomph.

1. Instead of stuff, name your characters.

2. Eliminate there is/there are.

3. Settle your unities before you start.

4. Mind the parallel structure.

5. Keep the subject and verb close to the start.

6. Bring every list to a fitting climax.

The fun of learning how to apply these rules is in knowing how to break them with ease and flair, and not in tying yourself in a knot too tight you can’t wiggle your pen-holding hands. So have fun and happy writing.