Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Eagle has landed

Joe's 5 tips for better writing - the nasty version

March 20, 2008. Joe gave 5 tips for better writing during our class discussion. He said he would make a better version for us, but for those of us who appreciate the spontaneous nature of what he said in class, here is the unedited version taken from my notes:

1. Use active voice
2. Be detailed
3. Vary sentence structure
4. Write as though you are talking to someone
5. Use examples


and the free, bonus tips:

1. Put the main point at the beginning of the sentence
2. Don't use big words you don't understand
3. Be assertive, unequivocal in your writing


but wait, one cool quote
Sartre about Giacometti: "It was like he was trying to cut fat out of space." Meaning, I think, edit your writing, rinse and repeat until squeaky clean.