What is Good Writing?

If you write, you need to learn to write right! This is (and must be) a continuous process. Once you master the use of words, you can bend them to your will. That’s what being a good writer is. You can have very crappy ideas, but if you can present them well, you still come across as intelligent (trust me; it happens all the time). It then takes a discerning eye to determine that your ideas are poor. Fine writing is like a gloss which serves to polish good ideas into a presentable form, or gives a deceptive lustre to poor ones. Obviously you want to be aiming for the former. All truly good writing incorporates both.

But how do you achieve that?

A)    Know what you’re talking about. What does that mean?

a.       Do the research. Then, when you think you’ve got enough, do more research. And don’t just pull random articles off of Wikipedia and Google. Invest in your own work. Take the time to do it right, or there’s not much point in doing it. (So obviously, a big part of what I’m telling you hear is don’t procrastinate.)

b.      Understand your own idea. Plan it out carefully and work your ideas out carefully. Don’t even start until you have an idea of what you’re doing. You don’t have to have it planned line by line — some of my best work has started with a vague idea that blossomed — but you need to have at least a notion of where you’re going with whatever your idea was, or it won’t flow together as well. You’ll probably end up going back to add things in that may or may not actually work to make it seem like you knew what you were talking about the whole time. Trust me, that does not work.

B)     Be deliberate.

a.       Choose your thoughts deliberately. Think things through, and choose what works and what doesn’t. Be honest here; if it doesn’t work, don’t twist until it does. Even if you’re a good writer, that still doesn’t work well, and it’s a cheap way of imitating good writing.

b.      Case your language deliberately. The words you choose make or break you. You can have the best idea in the history of mankind, but if you can’t express it, the only one that will ever know it is you.

c.       Execute your idea deliberately. Choose a sequence for your thoughts that not only makes sense, but is progressive and strengthens your argument/idea as you go on.

C)     Be ruthless.

a.       You should be your own harshest critic. You need to be unflinching in your criticisms of your own work. I once heard a writer say (and I believe he was quoting someone else, but nevertheless, this is a horrible butchery of the way he put it) that writing is like nurturing a child, and editing is like being a shark on the attack.

b.      You want good, not good enough. Don’t settle. Take a break and then go back and keep playing with it until you are personally satisfied that you’ve done good work. After you release the idea to the world, some will agree that it’s good work, some will disagree; that’s just how it is. But know for yourself that you’ve put your best effort into it. That’s more important even than whatever response/mark you get.

D)    Learn from others.

a.       If you are a writer but not a reader, you aren’t as good as you might think you are. The whole point of writing is so that people can learn from each other. Writing is a record that’s often more permanent and more accurate than oral retellings. So take advantage! Read around! Find out what you think works and what doesn’t from other people’s writing; whether you mean to or not, you’ll emulate it in your own. This is a good thing! Everyone is inspired by someone. But do note that there is a difference between learning from and copying. Inspiration is what Rowling got from Tolkien. Copying is what will get you sued. This is very much connected with my previous point. Imagination is only half the battle.

b.      Take advantage of the resources available to you. If you know a good writer, ask them about how they do it. Quite often the reason they’re good is because they use their own resources well, so they can probably point you to some good stuff to use for yourself. Other than that, your library is a great place to start. If you’re in school, your school library is even better because they’ll often run programs on how to write well. If not, writing about writing is an entire genre unto itself, so there’s no shortage of information.

E)    Try to enjoy your writing!

a.       Most times if you enjoy what you’re writing about, it will come through in a way that no amount of theory or proper form can express. Exuberance is the lifeblood of good writing (no matter how.

b.      It will make the whole exercise a lot more enjoyable for you! I know it’s hard to enjoy some writing tasks (especially assignments, if you’re a student), but in that case, find a way to reward yourself, and keep yourself motivated.

F)     The golden rule: do not assume that there is a golden rule!

a.       Writing will be different from person to person because people are different. There is no ONE right way to write.

b.      There is no formula for good writing. All of these points are ultimately opinion (but an educated opinion, if I may say so).

c.       Focusing on just one aspect of your writing will inevitably weaken you in other areas. Writing is as much an art as it is a machine — it needs more than just one good part to work well.

d.      Keep learning. Never be satisfied with what you already know. If there’s anything you can know, it’s that you know don’t know anything.