The Audience and The Tools
So, we can find inspiration a number of ways and this gets us started. We need to know where to go once we have the inspiration. We've talked about having a plan, starting small, and keeping it simple. As long as we write, we're okay. Who are we writing for?
Many writers claim they write for themselves. I'm not sure if this is egotism or inexperience that makes these words spew forth. If we were only writing for ourselves, why preserve the words? Don't we really want others to read our work and get something from the magic we have spelled out?
Defining our audience might be one of the hardest building blocks to learn. If, for instance, we declare that our work is meant for the general population, we must strive to keep the language consistent with the audience. If our audience is more technical, then our language can change accordingly.
When we express opinions in our work, are we doing it so that the least number of people will be offended? Or, do we not care? If we don't care, we can almost guarantee that many of our readers won't give us a second chance. Be careful with your words.
Now would be a good time to remind you to use the tools available to you. Use a good word processor with a spellcheck. Remember, though, that there is no substitute for proofreading. Be careful here though, since you know what you are saying you might not actually "see" what you wrote. A spell check program won't tell you that you've used you instead of your or pubic instead of public. All four are legitimate words.
Don't be afraid to use a dictionary and thesaurus. They can do wonders to help us clarify our writing. Run your work through a grammar check as well. The grammar check normally has settings for reading level; you can set this in accordance with your audience.
The most important thing in writing is to actually write. Once we gat passed that point, there are many things to keep in mind. Your audience and your tools are just the beginning.
Many writers claim they write for themselves. I'm not sure if this is egotism or inexperience that makes these words spew forth. If we were only writing for ourselves, why preserve the words? Don't we really want others to read our work and get something from the magic we have spelled out?
Defining our audience might be one of the hardest building blocks to learn. If, for instance, we declare that our work is meant for the general population, we must strive to keep the language consistent with the audience. If our audience is more technical, then our language can change accordingly.
When we express opinions in our work, are we doing it so that the least number of people will be offended? Or, do we not care? If we don't care, we can almost guarantee that many of our readers won't give us a second chance. Be careful with your words.
Now would be a good time to remind you to use the tools available to you. Use a good word processor with a spellcheck. Remember, though, that there is no substitute for proofreading. Be careful here though, since you know what you are saying you might not actually "see" what you wrote. A spell check program won't tell you that you've used you instead of your or pubic instead of public. All four are legitimate words.
Don't be afraid to use a dictionary and thesaurus. They can do wonders to help us clarify our writing. Run your work through a grammar check as well. The grammar check normally has settings for reading level; you can set this in accordance with your audience.
The most important thing in writing is to actually write. Once we gat passed that point, there are many things to keep in mind. Your audience and your tools are just the beginning.
posted by Vickie at 10:56 PM
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