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Writing 20 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

Can anyone tell me how to become a stronger writer? Like how my writing can catch peoples eyes more.

OpenStudy (anonymous):

Those are contradictory goals. The writing of a truly good writer does NOT catch the eye. It becomes nearly invisible, and the underlying ideas in the piece flow into the reader's brain without him even being very aware that he is reading words on a page. On the other hand, writing that catches the eye makes the efficienty transmission of ideas difficult, because the reader's brain has to expend significant effort detecting the underlying ideas in the remarkable prose. I refer you to the infamous Edward Bulwer-Lytton: http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/ THere is, nevertheless, nothing wrong with becoming a very remarkable writer, whose writing indeed catches the eye, with pretty ordinary underlying thoughts to communicate. This is, indeed, essentially what poetry does: communicates a very ordinary thought ("love is nice," "death and loneliness are unpleasant," "I think my lover's face is very beautiful," et cetera) -- but in such a dramatic and remarkable way that the reader enjoys the process of teasing out the meaning from the fancy writing. So you need to choose: do you want to be a flowery fancy writer, where the creativity of your writing is what is remarkable? Or do you want to be a very effective writer, where your writing is like a clear stream, with underlying ideas instantly transparent? In either case, I recommend two things (1) read a lot. In particular, read authors and pieces you usually don't -- read fiction if you like nonfiction, read technical manuals and product labels if you like fantasy fiction, read Austen if you like Hemingway, Tolkien if you like William Gibson, and vice versa. By simply reading many styles, and thinking about how and why they are effective in various ways, you will improve your own writing. (2) write a lot. Nobody gets better at anything without miles and miles of practice. If possible, write for publication, or at least let someone else read it and have them thoroughly and pitilessly criticize it, so you can get better.

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