Writing Well - Part 4 - Writing Style

Instead of telling us a thing was "terrible," describe it so that we’ll be terrified.

In short, consider finding evocative, unconventional ways to say meaningful things. It forces readers to use their imaginations to piece ideas together. You engage their minds and no longer spoon-feed each detail. Now they meditate on your implications.

I define poetry as finding evocative, unconventional ways to say meaningful things.

For example, instead of saying "the day was hot," you could write “even the bugs were looking for air conditioning.”

In that example, we're describing the effect caused by our subject (the hot day)—as opposed to directly describing the heat itself. In other words, po... See more

To engage a reader's senses, you can do more than just add vivid details. You can also swap plain phrases for more engaging ones.

Pay attention to the bold words, which now create metaphors:

• “Make me an instrument of your pain.”


• “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”


• “Where there is hatred, let me

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Notice how vividness isn't just detail. It's detail that resonates. It's the articulation of the rarely articulated nuances of life—in a way that makes you remark, "Ahh, that’s how I'd put words to that feeling."

Here's an example of vividness:

One of my favorite moments of the year involved a beetle doing yoga on a desert dune. In the Namib desert in Africa, the darkling beetle's day begins with an ascent of a massive sand dune. A tiny creature faced with a Himalaya-sized trek. Undeterred, it marches on, its legs as skinny as a runner's, up towards the summ

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In authentic voice happens for a few reasons:

• You read a lot of someone else’s writing and absorb their style.


• You project expertise or experience you don't actually have.


• You try to "write smart:" you use words like "plethora" or “myriad.” If you don’t use those words in conversation, don't use them in your writing. It's fraudulent voice.

The antidot... See more

I don't think voice is your choice of words. It's your unfiltered self reflected on paper.

In early drafts, I like to discard my reflex to self-censor. Talk vulnerably like you do with friends. In later drafts, you can remove sensitive details.

Until then, it's a confession.