3 ms·
A shortcut can be to write fiction. Even if it doesn't go anywhere publishable, even if you only write a sentence a week, regularly tackling the challenge of wr
by medstrom 5y ago
A shortcut can be to write fiction. Even if it doesn't go anywhere publishable, even if you only write a sentence a week, regularly tackling the challenge of writing well will naturally make you pay attention to how others write.
- jmd509 5y agoWholeheartedly agree. As you read, you'll notice yourself noticing - you're consciously processing the narrative but also semi-consciously reflecting on how the narrative is delivered. You wonder what made that line stick out, what made that dialogue feel authentic, what made that description compelling. It's like a casual fan watching MMA vs someone who practices martial arts. You attend not only to WHAT is done but HOW it is done, and what it means to be able to do it. You move beyond merely witnessing and start analyzing, learning, and appreciating.
- runevault 5y agoThis is very true. Though there are also books to read that can help see things more deeply. A couple I really found helpful here are Elements of Eloquence (gets into rhetorical tools, parallel structure as mentioned in the article being one of many such examples), and Writing Better Lyrics which gives a lot of tools that helps for all forms of writing not only song lyrics.