ART OF GOOD WRITING

CREATIVITY IS CONTAGIOUS. PASS IT ON – ALBERT EINSTEIN

All of us wish to express.  All of us long to be heard.  All of us look forward to be appreciated.  It is very natural. 

I am not an accomplished writer.  Except for my blog and for a few radio programmes, I have not written much  In fact, I am not even well read. But my friend Divya, considers me good enough to give her tips for writing and I dedicate this blog to her.

I have always been a storyteller.  But never dared to write.  I had inhibitions. "Will I be able to write?  How would people receive it? What if there are errors?  Will my perception and the readers’ perception be the same? Will I be criticized? Will I be ridiculed?"  These were some of the thoughts that bothered me. 

In the mid 90’s, in one of the episodes of Cadbury’s Bournvita Quiz Contest, Vir Sanghvi was the guest.  His brief speech after the contest for the budding writers was so inspiring, I started writing. I don’t remember the full speech.  But he mentioned that, writing is all about organizing one’s thoughts.  So let me start from there.

It is very important for the writer to think clearly and organize the thoughts in a logical sequence.  There has to be an introduction, the main part and the conclusion.

Maintaining a uniform rhythm is important.

ABCs of communication viz., accuracy, brevity and clarity have to be taken care of.  This helps in retaining attention span of the readers.

The story, essay, report or the article has to be error free.  Grammar and punctuation have to be taken care of.

Information, phrases or even words should not be repeated.

Usage of appropriate quotes, idioms and phrases will add value.

Read a lot.  It not only improves vocabulary, but also opens many 

avenues.  . 

The hints of the basic story/essay have to be jotted down and 

 then developed. A rough draft to be made and read again and 

again for modification.

Every person is unique and the originality should always be maintained.  More important is passion.