Show Who You Are
In his book, On Writing Well, William Zinnser posits that the average reader has a twenty-to thirty-second attention span. He therefore asks that our writing be concise. Concision, Zinnser argues, holds the reader’s attention. To back up his argument, Zinnser shows us William Strunk JR and EB White’s principle of “Omit Needless Words”:
"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. . . .Every word [must] tell."
Here’s the best way to make your words “tell”: Write with strong nouns and colorful verbs. Let’s look at an example:
Jethro is eating his sandwich.
Not a bad sentence, yet it’s generic. It tells us little. It describes a scene, but it doesn’t paint a picture. Now, let's look at what happens when we add some strong nouns and colorful verbs to this sentence:
Jethro gobbles his hoagie.
Get it? Can you see the difference? The above example goes overboard to make a point: we replaced the passive, "is eating," with the colorful verb, "gobbles," and the all-encompassing noun, "sandwich" with the strong, specific noun, "hoagie." And guess what? We even shortened the original sentence by one word! You see? Vigorous writing is concise!
For today's blog, please write a vigorous and concise account of your most memorable evening.
Freewriting
Freewriting is a great way to get started on any paper.
Begin with the basic idea or concept of what you want to write about. If you don't have a basic idea, that's ok. An idea will come to you as you freewrite.
Now, set your timer for seven minutes. Some say ten minutes is best. It's up to you. I find that the shorter amount of time doesn't allow too many educated thoughts to invade the intuitive mindset you're about to enter. This excercise is not about what's right. It's about putting your educated mind aside, giving yourself up to the universe, and allowing your cosmic AT&T line to connect with the blank page or screen in front of you.
Start your timer and write without stopping for seven minutes. Whether you believe your writing is good or bad, don’t stop. If you run out of thoughts, stay positive. Write “yes” or “a new thought will come in a moment,” or “I can do this.” Repeat until a new thought comes. It will.
You must not stop. That is the goal. You are forcing your innate intelligence to override your educated intelligence. You are turning on your creative engine by allowing your intuitive mind to take over.
Freewriting is a great way to get started on any paper.
Begin with the basic idea or concept of what you want to write about. If you don't have a basic idea, that's ok. An idea will come to you as you freewrite.
Now, set your timer for seven minutes. Some say ten minutes is best. It's up to you. I find that the shorter amount of time doesn't allow too many educated thoughts to invade the intuitive mindset you're about to enter. This excercise is not about what's right. It's about putting your educated mind aside, giving yourself up to the universe, and allowing your cosmic AT&T line to connect with the blank page or screen in front of you.
Start your timer and write without stopping for seven minutes. Whether you believe your writing is good or bad, don’t stop. If you run out of thoughts, stay positive. Write “yes” or “a new thought will come in a moment,” or “I can do this.” Repeat until a new thought comes. It will.
You must not stop. That is the goal. You are forcing your innate intelligence to override your educated intelligence. You are turning on your creative engine by allowing your intuitive mind to take over.
14 comments:
I was sprang from jail; I searched yellow pages online for my father and i miraculoously found him. Now i am living with him in Va.
My final day on the flight deck. The blazing hot sun of the Persian Gulf demanded a perspirous response that no man could escape. I polished my pilot’s canopy to a crystal, and patiently awaited the arrival of the rear admiral that I would be launching of the deck for my last launch ever. The F14D Tomcat slowing approached the cat with the guided precision from the ships most senior yellow shirt.
All signs were a go and the jet was clear for take off. She screamed with power that shook the hearts of the nearby sailors. With a final thumbs up she was off in a blink of an eye into the endless blue sky.
Thanks for stopping bye
It was the evening before I left home for the Navy. I was extremely nervous. I was leaving behind my sister and step-father, but I was escaping my mother. A new life was unfolding--a new path manifesting. I was becoming something more. I was growing as a man.
So there I was grappling with a powerful and angry grizzly..... needless to say, things did not end well for me that night :(
One romantic evening I had the opportunity to enjoy a mid-night curse aboard a private boat with my ex-husband. Stars in the night skies twinkling so bright. That was the only thing twinkling because he was a dud –spud and I wanted a greater potato. Romance is just in a novel I’ve come to believe
In the brilliantly blue water of the Gulf of Mexico, I waited out my decompression stop at sixty feet below the surface. The algae floating by in the black water like thousands of lighting bugs flickering all at the same time. It was as if it was snowing, but with bright green snow flakes.
The day I saw a ghost was November 16, 1995. I was over a friend house waiting for him to get ready. I was downstairs sitting in a chair facing the hallway. I notice something was moving in the hallway, so I look and I saw an image of a old woman walking in the bathroom. I said," hello how are you doing" the lady replied I'm fine then entered the bathroom. When my friend finally came downstairs I asked him," who is that old lady that went to the bathroom, your grandmother?" My friend said, "my grandmother use to live here she died two days ago. Then I jumped out of the chair ran to his bathroom and saw nothing. I tried to explain to my friend I saw his grandmother go inside of the bathroom. He said," what did she look like"? I told him what she look like and he broke down crying because he knew I never met his grandmother before. After that I left and never went back.
I finally gathered up the courage to ask my wonderful girlfriend out to a glorious night on the town. We've been together for two fabulous years now through good times and bad.
It was a dark and dry night. Death was lurking in the air. This would be the day most dreaded, known as Friday the 13th. This is the night the unstoppable beast proclaimed as Jason comes home
One evening when I was living in California I went to the gas lamp district it was beautiful the lights were luminous and the lambent moonlight shined and reflected on my glass. I was thinking of how pulchritudinous the water looked. My husband who was devouring his self in a bowl of chicken wings made me cachinnate. I had a marvelous night, I will never forget that night.
When I was in the ninth grade (in 1996), I got asked to the senior prom. My date and I went only as friends, but I was excited! What senior in their right mind asks a ninth grader to the prom? I was pretty stoked about it.
The invitation was pretty last minute so I didn't have a dress. I ended up borrowing an old pageant dress from my date's mom who used to compete in pageants. Very stylish, if I could say so myself. It was an all white A-line, with a beaded bodice and slightly off the shoulder sleeves. Silver pumps and white gloves accompanied, and we completed the look with my hair in an high bun and decorated with baby's breath. It almost looked like a wedding dress! I'd never dressed in a really fancy dress before, so I was really uncomfortable at first. It took some getting used to.
We went to dinner at Cheer's in Greenbrier, then headed to the prom. I decided I was going to take mental notes-since this was the very first "real" dance that I had ever gone to with a date. I wanted to see everything I could so I knew what to do at my own prom! I totally made this a learning experience for me.
After prom, we attended the post-prom at the bowling alley. It was great! I felt 'cool' because some of the seniors thought I was a senior, too. They asked lots of questions like if I was graduating honors and which college I was going to. Some people even asked if I needed a room-mate after graduation! It was quite a shock when they all learned I was only a freshman, but they seemed to have taken to it quite well.
When post-prom was dwindling down, we had breakfast at IHOP. Then eventually, I had to go home. It was a great night, though.
Sadly, I never made it to my own prom but, I did make it to many other dances and formals throughout high school. Still, I just don't think I had as much fun at any of them as I did at the 1996 senior prom. :)
When i am starving i go to all you can eat restaurants. People tend to stare at me because i eat so much for such a little person.
It was extremely late. Groggy and tired I tried to stand up. The world spun in 20 different directions. I knew nothing of up or down. Left or right. Nothing made sense. There was a putrid smell from my chest. Unable to think, nothing processing. I felt more alone than any other time in my life. There were not as many people there as I remembered and I did not recognize anyone. I called my friends names out and no one responded. I looked hopelessly around for some one that I could trust to help. Useless. Everyone else looked as warped as I felt. Some how I stumbled to a couch and dropped like a stone over a cliff. My watch told me 3:00 am. I slept. The hours raced, and I did not feel like 10 had gone by. My head pounded and stomach churned. The world had been righted. No more was the confusion running rampant. I walk outside and the sun burned my skin, eyes, and mind. The car was hard to use, but I had to get home.
So was the first time I drank too much.
Post a Comment