100 Ways to Improve Your Writing (Updated): Proven Professional Techniques for Writing with Style and PowerThe classic text on writing well, now refreshed and updated—an essential text for writers of all ages. This is the one guide that anyone who writes—whether student, businessperson, or professional writer—should keep on his or her desk. Filled with professional tips and a wealth of instructive examples, 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing can help solve any writing problem. In this compact, easy-to-use volume you'll find the eternal building blocks of good writing—from grammar and punctuation to topic sentences—as well as advice on challenges such as writer's block and creating a strong title. It is a must-have resource—perfect for reading cover to cover, or just for keeping on hand for instant reference—now updated and refreshed for the first time. |
Contents
Nine Ways to Overcome Writers Block | 17 |
Five Ways to Write a Strong Beginning | 27 |
Nine Ways to Save Time and Energy | 39 |
Ten Ways to Develop Style | 53 |
Twelve Ways to Give Your Words Power | 69 |
Use Strong Verbs | 74 |
Use Specific Nouns | 76 |
Use the Active Voice Most of the Time | 78 |
Avoid Shifts in Pronoun Forms | 113 |
Beware These Common Mistakes | 114 |
Be Sensitive to Changes in the Language | 116 |
Prefer Good Writing to Good Grammar | 117 |
Six Ways to Avoid Punctuation Errors | 121 |
Use Orthodox Punctuation | 123 |
Know When to Use a Comma | 124 |
Know When to Use a Semicolon | 128 |
Say Things in a Positive Way Most of the Time | 80 |
Be Specific | 81 |
Use Statistics | 83 |
Provide Facts | 84 |
Put Emphatic Words at the End | 85 |
Eleven Ways to Make People Like What You Write | 87 |
Make Yourself Likable | 89 |
Write About People | 90 |
Show Your Opinion | 91 |
Obey Your Own Rules | 93 |
Use Anecdotes | 94 |
Use Examples | 95 |
Name Your Sources | 96 |
Provide Useful Information | 98 |
Use Quotes | 99 |
Create a Strong Title | 102 |
Ten Ways to Avoid Grammatical Errors | 105 |
Respect the Rules of Grammar | 107 |
Do Not Change Tenses | 108 |
Know How to Use the Possessive Case | 109 |
Make Verbs Agree with Their Subjects | 111 |
Fix Dangling Modifiers | 112 |
Know When to Use a Colon | 129 |
Know How to Use Quotation Marks | 130 |
Twelve Ways to Avoid Making Your Reader Hate You | 135 |
Avoid Jargon | 137 |
Avoid Clichés | 138 |
Avoid Parentheses | 139 |
Avoid Footnotes | 140 |
Dont Use Transitions to Conceal Information | 141 |
Dont Hide Behind Your Words | 143 |
Dont Intrude | 144 |
Dont Play Word Games | 145 |
Dont Play the Tom Wolfe Game | 146 |
Dont Cheat | 148 |
Seven Ways to Edit Yourself | 151 |
Read Your Work Out Loud | 153 |
Cut Unnecessary Words | 154 |
Think About What You Have Written | 155 |
Ask Yourself These Questions | 156 |
Follow These Rules of Form for Titles | 157 |
Prepare a Perfect Manuscript | 158 |
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Common terms and phrases
22 wins active voice adverbs anecdote Avoid begin better Bridge Words church clause comma conversation Copyright create Dangling Modifiers dog park edition Ernest Hemingway example Excerpt fact feeling Gail Gary Provost going hitchhiking IMPROVE YOUR WRITING James Crumley jargon keep language Las Vegas lead LeBron James Listen look Mac Hyman magazine material mean memo mistakes nonrestrictive novel opinion paper paragraph Parentheses phrase poor grammar punctuation question quotation marks quote Ray Bradbury rule that says rules of grammar Scott Fitzgerald sentence constructions show the reader sound sources specific noun spell check steal Stepford Wives story strong nouns Strong Verbs Sturge Thibedeau Style talking teacher tell tence thesaurus thing tion tips Tom Wolfe tone topic sentence transition turned unreliable narrator Vegas vocabulary Wenfronckmonkin Wordiness writ written Wrong Right