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ZEN AND THE ART OF WRITING

ZEN AND THE ART OF WRITING. Are you ready to unlearn and swim against the tide?. Are writers born or made??. Can one learn how to write? Creative writing? For a living?. Some golden rules of effective writing!. # 1. Don’t be stuffy. Use language of every day speech,

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ZEN AND THE ART OF WRITING

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  1. ZEN AND THE ART OF WRITING

  2. Are you ready to unlearn and swim against the tide?

  3. Are writers born or made??

  4. Can one learn how to write?Creative writing?For a living?

  5. Some golden rules of effective writing!

  6. # 1. Don’t be stuffy Use language of every day speech, not that of spokesmen, lawyers and bureaucrats!

  7. # 2 Do not be arrogant When you express opinions/views do not simply make assertions and assumptions

  8. # 3 Do not be didactic! Avoid text book language

  9. # 4 Do your best to be lucid Simple sentences help. Avoid long winded, complicated constructions and gimmicks Short paras. One thought in per para

  10. # 5 Don’t be too pleased with yourself Take critical look. Put yourself in the reader shoes

  11. Clear thinking is key toclear (good) writing!

  12. Ask yourself these questions • What am I trying to say? • What words will express it best? • What image or idoms will enhance clarity? • Will it have a desired effect? • Can it be said succinctly? • Is there anything offensive in what I say?

  13. Avoid clichés and jargon Simplicity is the key to good writing: Words, thoughts and expressions

  14. Kill the cliché “ At the end of the day….” “With all due respects….” “Last but not least….” “At this point of time….” “ …. etc.”

  15. Jargon obscures meaning Complicates. Difficult to comprehend. “These grants will incentivise administrators and educators to apply relevant metrics to assess achievement in the competencies they seek to develop.”

  16. Like everything else, practice makes perfect! So write, write and write!

  17. And read and read and read!

  18. Some useful ways:

  19. Invite someone for lunch And write a profile of the person!

  20. Write letters to editors! On social issues that concern you, and others around you

  21. Condense a long report to an executive summary Edit a piece of writing, report or article Re-write the theme of a piece

  22. Write a new (better) headline for an item An ad A base line/slogan

  23. Write captions for photos Write words in balloon in a picture Write a small story – description/travelogue Write a poem

  24. Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it, and above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light. --Joseph Pulitzer

  25. Google is searching for writers who choose their words carefully and relish the spirit of competition

  26. Seen on a T-shirt: Brain Dead 9 to 5 Monday to Friday!

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