Writing Tips

Resources
by Laurie Beckelman Boston Chapter President
CO: C. Michael Curtis, an Atlantic magazine editor

1. Avoid the passive voice (but everyone knows that).

2. Avoid passive constructions-sentences that begin with an "it" or "there" that has no antecedent. Compare: "There were so many people at the beach that it was hard to see the sand" with "People crammed the beach, blanketing the sand with bright towels and wet bikinis." (Of course, you can forget this rule if you are Charles Dickens and writing A Tale of Two Cities.)

3. Avoid "smothered verbs," which are verbs turned into nouns: "Henry had the intention of eating nothing but peanut butter for a week" isn't as crisp as "Henry intended to eat nothing but peanut butter for a week."

4. Clarify antecedents. Writers often begin a sentence with a pronoun that sends readers scurrying back through a paragraph, wondering which he, she, it or they groused about the soupy eggs or broke under the weight of the unseasonable snows. Too often, the noun closest to the pronoun isn't the intended antecedent so the reader momentarily thinks the iris groused or the maiden aunt broke.

5. Mind your thats and whiches. "That" introduces a restrictive clause, one essential to the meaning of the sentence; "which" introduces a nonrestrictive clause, one you can lop off without altering meaning: "Gilda strode into the elevator that went directly to the penthouse." But "Gilda squeezed into the elevator, which was already crowded with tired shoppers."

Resources for Writers

Brush up on your skills or learn some new ones with a visit to a writing Web site. Check these out:

Absolute Write. Find industry news, markets and articles about writing fiction, nonfiction, screenplays and more. www.absolutewrite.com/

Women Writing. Read articles and book reviews and find links to many resources, including markets and reference sites. www.womenonwriting.com/

Writing.com. Get or give feedback on all types of writing. www.writing.com/

Zuzu's Petals Literary Resource. Find over 7000 links for writers, artists and other creative people. www.zuzu.com/

A subscription to a free writing newsletter can bring inspiration right to your desktop. Visit these sites to read a sample issue and find one that's right for you:

The Internet Writing Journal. www.writerswrite.com/

Money the Write Way. www.moneythewriteway.com/

The Write Line Newsletter. www.free-expressions.com/

The Write News Weekly. www.writenews.com/

Writing-world.com. Visit the site, too, for numerous articles about every aspect of the business of writing. www.writing-world.com/