A learning project to write better, faster, and clearer

Photo by andyp_uk

Writing is easy - it's writing well that is difficult. At the end of a recent workshop on blogging, the final discussions showed that participants were still seeking resources to continue to improve and to address the concern, 'How do I get started writing"? As usual, the wise answer was "the best way to become a better writer is to write a lot" and "just start writing - it will get easier with time". Although this is standard advice from many successful writers it didn't seem to be enough to bolster the fragile confidence of the participants about to leave the shelter of the workshop's supportive environment.

Stephen King, in his book On Writing uses the concept of a toolbox to provide more specific advice. Roy Peter Clark, is another author who refers to the writing techniques he shares as tools. Roy is vice-president and senior scholar of the Poynter Institute school for journalists. He is described as "a writer who teaches and a teacher who writes". Roy believes writers need tools, not rules and he generously shares his workbench of fifty specific writing tools in book or online format.

Here's the learning project - try out each of the fifty tools and add the ones you find useful to your own workbench. Because each of the fifty are complete "micro-lessons" you can consume them as snacks or multi-course meals. They are concise. The format of each starts with a clear description of one specific tip illustrated by several examples and followed by a learning activity to build your skill at recognizing and using the technique.

The tools are available in several formats - articles on the web, downloadable podcasts (click on the link to Roy's Writing Tools), or an inexpensive paperback, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. You can choose the format the fits with your preferred learning style (as described in my previous post What's your learning style - Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic?)

Whether you are a professional writer, an occasional freelancer or someone who just needs to handle emails, write presentations and fill out forms, wouldn't it be helpful to be able to create clear prose consistently with less effort? I hope you invest some time and give this learning project a try. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions too.

...writing is thinking on paper in which both writer and reader are witnesses to

meaning-in-the-making, a meaning that the writer creates and the reader

attempts to re-create.

V.A. Howard and J.H. Barton, Thinking on Paper

What can we learn from word clouds?

Word Cloud of this post created with Wordle

Reflecting on how I could ensure my writing stayed aligned to my blog's scope, I recently learned how easy and helpful it was to create a word cloud out of my posts. The word cloud proved to be a useful way to verify if the actual language I used was a match with my intended theme and title. This article will show you how to create word clouds and how they can be used to increase your understanding and communicating skills.

What is a word cloud? A word cloud is a colourful graphic created from the actual words in text or a URL that you input. The frequency of each word determines the size used in the graphic. You are able to select from a wide range of fonts, colour schemes and layout orientations to customize your cloud. Here's an example of the word cloud I created based on a previous post, What's your learning style - Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic? using the instructions found at www.wordle.net.

Word Cloud created using Wordle

How I used this word cloud - I used this graphic version of my writing to self-critique my post. First off, it was obvious from the sizing of the word information that it was the most frequent. This surprised me a little since the focus of my post was learning styles and learners. I went back to the text of the article to review each use of the word information and see if a synonym such as facts could be appropriately substituted.

Another quick test was to review the size of terms that were intended to be equivalent, such as the four learning style terms. If they were not shown as similar sizes in the word cloud I went back to the text to ensure I had provided balanced details about each.

This doesn't provide a rigorous edit, but I appreciated seeing the written text from a different perspective. It gave me some ideas for improving future writing and was quick, easy and fun. I plan to use this technique before I publish future posts. Give it a try.

How you can create a word cloud - Go to www.wordle.net, view the samples and read the terms of use. This is free to use and you can print, save, and use your creation under a Creative Commons License.

Using the Create page, paste your selected text to submit it. Or you can enter a URL to base your word cloud on an entire blog or web site. The amount of written text influences the time it takes for the word cloud to be created so I suggest that you start with a small article for your first one.

Once your word cloud is created, experiment with fonts, colours and orientation. The FAQ pages will provide extra details to help you save or print your creation.

Examples of using word clouds to increase understanding, to communicate better, or for fun:

• A history scholar uses a word cloud when planning his dissertation in order to refine his thesis.
• A political observer creates word clouds based on the speeches by three mayoralty candidates as a way to understand and compare their positions.
• Publishers of children's books share tips about using word clouds in the writing process.
• A writer compiles lists of words with planned repetition to create a word cloud for advertising messages. You could use the same approach to create visuals for presentations.
• A textile crafter blogs about how she transferred a word cloud to fabric as art.

Consider word clouds next time you are facing writer's block, trying to clarify your draft when it has weak themes, or are stalled in trying to understand a long piece of written text. Whether you take a break by studying nature's clouds or you create word clouds, these just might provide the creative jolt you need.

Photo by D. Reichardt