for word nerds (and anyone else who likes to communicate well)

If you're a word nerd, read on...and if you're not -- then go ahead and read anyway. It might give you the power to wield words that you've wanted.

Note: This is more than a language lesson. Look for the nuances here that make the info upper-level...so that your writing can be upper-level.

To wield more power in your words, you'll want to first know the four basic word types and what they do.

#1 -- Concrete Nouns. Concrete nouns are your persons, places, things, and ideas. What is it? Who is it? What's it about? Weak nouns are blase. Strong nouns are memorable. Dog can be a weak noun; Tibetan Mastiff is a strong noun. See the difference? If you've had a Mastiff drool on your arm, the picture in your mind is vivid. A strong noun cements your sentences in a way that makes the reader want to stay with you. Search for concrete nouns and use them, and your writing can become powerful.

#2 -- Vibrant Verbs. Vibrant verbs are actions that push your ideas forward. What happened? Did it fall or careen? Was it placed or flung? Did you see, observe, or perceive, or distinguish? Each word is a different flavor, hue, or pitch on the scale of intensity. Pick the word with the timbre giving the meaning closest to your intention. And while you're at it, ing means that it's happening right now, so ing words can be strong.

#3 -- Well-placed adjectives. Well-placed adjectives are words that give details about nouns -- those people, places, things, and ideas that you want to get across. Adjectives add a pinch and a dash of meaning. If you're talking about a strong person, is the person powerful? Brawny, strapping, or well-built? If you're describing a strong smell, is it intense, pungent, or rancid? Variations of words bring slight changes in meaning. A well-chosen word can engender the reader to your ideas though the evoking of a strong memory that's attached to the word. But Writers Beware: William Zinnser, author of On Writing Well, said, "The adjective that exists solely as decoration is a self-indulgence for the writer and a burden for the reader." If you can write meaning through action, without adjectives, then try to do so.

#4 --  Sparsely-laid Adverbs. Sparsely-laid adverbs -- words that describe the action -- can make your reader feel connected and give feeling. Adverbs are "ly" words, like swiftly. The swiftly-falling snow is poetic, and poems can use adverbs melodically to create a feeling. If you're a speaker telling your audience a story, using the words thumbing quickly through the files evokes an audience emotion that is different from thumbing slowly through the files. However, for fiction writing, adverbs carry the same warning tag as adjectives: Avoid them. Write through action and dialogue. Hence the title for #4, Sparsely Laid Adverbs. But speakers and poets, adverb away ... in all the right places. (Yep. Less is still more.)

In fiction writing, the fancified parts of speech are often thrown out. Expelled. Banished forever to a dark corner of the dictionary. But I believe that these little babies do have a place in our writing. All words are good, in the right place, at the right time. The strongest writing is concise, direct, and clear. No fancification.

If you're not a word nerd, and you read to the end of this post anyway, bravo. You're most likely the curious type, and (contrary to the old saying) curiosity didn't kill the cat. Vast worlds of words are available for us to use -- words to make writing rich. Curiosity makes you rich with ideas and possibilities. Rich is good.

Share your ideas. Enjoy the wealth of words.

How to Be a Good Writer (Part 1)

Good writing is like a good outfit: You need all of the right pieces in the right places, to be fully clothed. If something's missing, your writing will be naked and drafty. No one wants to be naked.

This post is the beginning of a little series on what you need in your closet, to write well. If you want others to understand your writing -- and to act on your ideas -- then you'll need a few things.

The first thing you'll need is words -- Not a few words, but bunches of them ... a working vocabulary that you can pull from, at will. Words in your head, ready to go. Lots. Many. Several. A ton. Gobs. Oodles and oodles. See, I'm doing it, here.

Allow me to go on an analogy binge: Your words are crayons:: the more colors in your box, the more elaborate the possibilities for your picture. Your words are Legos: the more Legos in your bucket, the taller your tower to build. Your words are wood for the bonfire: the more logs you can throw on, the bigger the flame. Your words are liters of gasoline in your car: the more gas, the farther you go. Okay, you get it. Words are your base supplies. (Sorry, I had to do one more.) Bottom line: You need a diverse vocabulary.

How do you get a diverse vocabulary? Repeat after me: The thesaurus is my friend. That little right-click drop-down box in Word drives you into synonym land -- a land flowing with hues of words that you didn't even knew existed -- or if you did, probably wouldn't think of, on your own (I'm talking from experience). There is no shame in looking up variations of words. In fact, there's a whole lot of wisdom in searching for -- and capturing -- new words.

So gather words. Tons of them. Words are your foundation.

Writing together,
Erin

What first inspired you?

Everyone has experienced a "magic moment" -- a realization or idea that positively influences and transforms your future. Something touched you, making your mind and heart burn in flames that couldn't be quenched. Colors became more vibrant, sounds became more intense, and the air became palpable with energy that brought life to a whole new level. Face turned upward, it felt like nothing could stop you, if you just moved forward into that magical idea.

There are three crazy truths about magic moments:

1. Magic moments can happen at any age. Many -- if not most -- happen when we're small. As a child, an idea fascinates, awes, and draws us into possibilities for the future. Our dreams and passions come from early magic moments, don't they?

2. Magic moments can be small, but their impact is huge. One word, one conversation, or one encounter changes our perspective forever. The moment moves us, seeping into who we are -- guiding us through our entire lives. Some of us have careers that began with a magic moment.

3. Magic moments can be huge, but their impact is small. Like fireworks on a dark summer night, a bright realization explodes. But because we don't do anything with the idea, the idea fizzles, leaving only traces in our mind's eye as to where the color once raced through the sky. We look away; we put our heads down; and we get lost in the mundane.

The magic seems lost. But it's not. It's still there.

Can you remember your magic moment? That moment when an inspired idea burst into your life, and great things happened? Magic moments aren't lost. They're just waiting to be rediscovered. No matter what you do -- write, create, lead, serve -- inspiration brought you here.

I've reconnected with my magic moment for writing: I'm reading again my "magic book" -- that book/series that inspired me to write fiction. Through each page, each scene, and each moment side by side with the main character, I'm realizing again what gives that story its magic -- and what made me feel the magic. The connection is nothing less than golden.

What inspired you before? What have you lost connection with, that would be great to rediscover? My guess is that it's something that's not too far away from your heart, right now.

So here's a challenge: In your mind, go to that magic moment and reconnect with it in a way that stokes the inspiration fire. There's not reason why it can't be: this is the year where magic multiplies.

Writing beside you,
Erin

Writing non-fiction: Who's it about?

When you write, who is it about? Where is the focus -- on me or on you?

Most of us write with the focus on ME. I did this, I did that -- I think this, I think that. I, me, and my abound in the text. But if you want to gather a following as an author, create loyal followers to your blog, or have a website that others read (and buy from), it has to be about them. Okay -- enough pronouns. Let's get to the point.

It's not about me telling you about my experience. It's about your experience. It's about how the words and ideas that I'm sharing fit into your world.

It's about the reader's benefit: what the reader gets.What is it that your reader wants, from reading your stuff? Give it to them. It's not about information only; it's about feelings. How does the reader want to feel, after interacting with you? Be aware of the feelings that your words evoke, and write intentionally to bring out those exact feelings.

The reader is always asking, what's in this for me? So try something. Stop writing with I, me, and my.  Present ideas that are statements toward the idea, not personal soliloquies on your thoughts, feelings, and daily ins-and-outs. Sure, you can share a personal story. But give the story a point that's about the reader. 

Start with questions. Before you write, ask your imaginary reader, what is it that you desire? How can I help you to do x, y, or z? Then write the answers. In your text, write a question to the reader. Questions get him or her thinking, before you give the answer to the question. And in all, focus on the reader's perspective. It's all about how the information shared works for their world.

Finally, make sure that you have a single point. A bottom line. A take-home that the reader can grab onto and walk away with. Simple, concise, and direct, so that the idea is remembered.

There are quite a few take-homes, here. It's about the reader. Avoid I, me, and my words. Focus on your audience. Find their benefit, their bottom line, and give it to them. If you decide to focus on the reader, people will want to be around you and your words -- because they'll find value residing there.

Write concise, powerful words that meet your reader's needs. When you focus on the reader, everyone wins.

To writing together,
Erin

When writing (anything) non-fiction...

Get to the point. Most people don't have time to meander. They want to know the bottom line benefit from reading your stuff.

I don't want to sound cold; I simply want to help you get your ideas read. I know, I know: In order to make writing personal, we have to put a bit of ourselves in -- which takes up letters and spaces. Sincere, warm words let you through my personal door. Warmth is important, for you to know me.

But short vs. long can make or break your readership.

For anything that's not fiction (that's anything that's not a story, screenplay, or narrative), make your writing concise. Direct. Clear. Twitter and Facebook have helped people learn how to get to the point. (Maximum word count has a way of making you a better writer, and anyone writing a college paper or news/magazine article knows what I'm talking about.)

No maximum word count (no limit on the number of words that you can use) can get you in trouble. We tend to write too much, because we love our words (yes we do, much more than the reader loves them). But by the end of paragraph one, if your reader doesn't get the point, he or she skims, looking for the point -- and when it's not found, closes out the page. Bam. Like a heavy oak door that the reader's hesitant to re-open.

Most everyone writes long. My writing students mess up the less-is-more guideline constantly: students use big words and long sentences that muddy the point, with college papers rambling on and on and on like this sentence. Professionals do it all the time: emails sound like a stiff-collared prude talking to himself at a party where, truth be known, everyone wants to leave. Bloggers are the worst offenders: Blogs drone great ideas, followed by not-so-great ideas, followed by personal stories ... and the reader leaves.Whoosh, click; clop, clop, clop. That's the sound of the laptop closing and the reader walking away.

I'm not the only one touting "concise." Read Strunk and White's The Elements of Style (written in 1918); read George Orwell's six rules from Politics and the English Language (written in 1946); read William Zinsser's On Writing Well (written over 35 years ago and in its 7th edition); read Stephen King's On Writing (written 12 years ago and used in MFA programs.) My friend, Phil Bell, just came up to me here at Starbucks ... and guess what? The first thing that he talked about was how he'd heard recently that blogs "should be around 500 words." Hmm. (His blog just won the national "Best Youth Ministry Blog of 2012.") Seems to be, quite a few writers are talking more about writing less.

I say this with sincerity, warmth, good intentions, and a smile: You want someone to read your stuff? Then change your writing. Get to the point. Less is more.