Wednesday 1 September 2010

THE FIRST 6 QUESTIONS WRITERS SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES

Every Wednesday I try to post some words of wisdom on the subject of writing, this Wednesday is no different.

A wiser writer than I distilled his writing advice down to these six questions everyone should ask themselves when writing. 

Nothing I could add could make it a more effective.

What every writer should be thinking while they are writing by George Orwell:

1 What am I trying to say?
2 Which word will express it?
3 What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4 Is the image fresh enough to have an effect?
5 Could I have written it more succinctly?
6 Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly? 

My favourite rule is number six. Is something I have written avoidably ugly? If it is unavoidably ugly I think I'd write it again.


4 comments:

  1. I like those!

    But #6 confuses me. LOL

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  2. Hi Jennifer
    The cleverest word combinations are avoidable - perhaps this avoidability is ugly.

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  3. Oh, I like those rules. Except #6.

    It says to me that the author is unduly worried about offending his readers.

    Some topics are "ugly". Some words - verbiage - are ugly. That one is just tooo interpretive.

    But I can relate to the other five :)

    ........dhole

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  4. Hi Donna
    I agree some topics and combinations of letters are ugly. I wonder if he meant messy alliteration, difficult and ugly when spoken.

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