Embracing Structure

While discussing MLA and APA format guidelines with students recently, a student asked: Why do all these format rules even matter? She was obviously feeling frustrated and overwhelmed with the number of writing formats she's faced with in college writing. Why does format matter? Even the simplest of writing tasks follows some kind of format. For example, a recipe has a set format. When writing recipes, you list the ingredients before you give the cooking directions. Why is this format required? Because it makes sense to do it that way. We would quickly abandon a recipe that began with cooking directions before we even knew what ingredients we would need. The same is true for any writing. There is a sensible way to go about writing tasks in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. Whether you're writing a college essay or a poem, certain standards are expected of you. These standards, or formats, give structure to the writing so that readers recognize it, understand it, and respond to it. Without these standards, writing would be chaotic, confusing and ineffective. This applies even to creative writing. Out of the swirling soup of a writer's thoughts must come order that takes shape on the written page, and it is out of that order that the true magic of writing is born - the ability to move and change readers in unexpected ways. It is by embracing structure, format and standards that writers find the freedom to create their own voice, message and style, much as the skeleton provides the framework for the heart. Structure doesn't limit writers - it supports them.

Writing With Purpose

Everything you write has a purpose and it's your challenge to tailor your writing to that purpose. Sometimes writers choose to ignore purpose and do so at their own peril. They throw words at the page hoping that something will stick and pass as good enough. They write haphazardly, not really clear about what they're writing and why. This results in writing that is muddled, confusing, and ineffective. Purpose should be the driver that gives your writing momentum and structure. Being clear on your purpose helps you stay on track with content, tone and slant. It helps you achieve your writing goals concisely and effectively. If your purpose is to convince readers of a certain point of view, for instance, then that dictates everything that goes into that particular piece, from word choice to rhythm to syntax. Without being clear about your purpose, you're writing blindfolded. Editors, publishers, and readers are keenly tuned into what is expected from a piece of writing. And to the extent that you can deliver what is expected, you will be able to achieve amazing results. Before you begin any work, first be crystal clear about your purpose. Then write. The rest will take care of itself.

The Art of Writing

Shouldn't your writing reflect the hard work you put into it? Shouldn't readers know how you struggled and fought and scrapped to make your writing the best you could make it? Actually, it should be just the opposite. If readers can see that you've struggled, then your writing is not as polished as it should be. If they can see the cracks and chips, then you've not yet done enough to hone your writing. You want your finished work to be so good that readers don't notice the writing itself. That's right. You don't want readers to notice your writing. If they do, there's something amiss. Instead, you want them to be so absorbed, so transported by your words that they're not even aware of the vehicle that is moving them. You want the mechanics of how you move them to be invisible. Readers should be aware of the impact of your writing, not the structure of it. You want your writing to be so seamless that it looks to readers as if it was very easy for you to write, that it took no time at all, that the words just flowed from your mind to paper. And when you get that kind of feedback, you just smile, because that means you've done your job. You've created your work without revealing your tools, and that's what makes you an artist.

Paragraph Parts

In prose writing, a good paragraph is like a good story. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. Just throwing a few related sentences together does not a paragraph make. There must be structure to it, a framework that holds the content. The beginning of a paragraph should lead readers in to the paragraph by providing a transition from the previous paragraph, by providing some kind of hook to snag readers' interest, and by announcing the subject of the paragraph. The meat or middle of the paragraph is the ideas, details and examples that support, explain and develop the subject of the paragraph. Everything in this section of the paragraph should relate to the subject, should flow smoothly from one sentence to the next, and should adequately support the key idea. Like a story, a paragraph should have an ending that gives it a finished feel. The ending should summarize the rest of the paragraph and leave readers with a parting thought that will create an effective transition into the next paragraph. With all parts of a paragraph working together, it will be a coherent unit of writing that contributes effectively to the overall purpose of the piece. And like a good story, it will leave readers wanting to read more.

Selecting Examples

One of the most common lead-ins in prose writing is "for example." But how much thought do you put into the examples you use? Examples illustrate and clarify your ideas. They develop and support your main points and they give concreteness to your ideas. But they need to be selected with care. There are several issues to consider. Are your examples relevant to your topic or tangential? Do they contain accurate, credible information? Are they representative of how things usually are rather than being rare or obscure examples? Secondary to this last question, are your examples within the realm of normal or general experience and do they represent a good cross-section of your subject? The examples you use can make or break your article or essay. They can either make things crystal clear for readers or they can muddy the waters. You want to think about the impact of factual examples vs. hypothetical examples. Also, the way you arrange examples is important. Should you arrange them spatially or by chronology? Should you save your best example for last in order to achieve a dramatic conclusion? Examples may seem like a small part of any writing project, but they are powerful pieces of your work that can either carry a wallop or cause your writing to fall flat. There is more to selecting examples than it may seem, but selecting them carefully and employing them artfully can help you create poignant, effective prose.

Story Pacing

Using scene and summary are bedrocks of storytelling. But the artful mixing of the two is what makes the difference between a mediocre story and a great story. Scene is where all the excitement is. It's action and dialogue and suspense. Summary is the background information that sets up scenes and fills in the gaps for readers. Good storytelling uses a combination of the two, weaving from scene to summary and back to scene again to keep readers riveted. The routine parts of a story should be shortened and summarized. Too much explaining and background detail will bore readers and detract from the storyline. These parts are necessary, but they should be kept to a minimum. The exciting parts of a story should be prolonged and dramatized with action and dialogue. However, readers need a break from the drama occasionally, and this is where summary comes in to provide relief. Readers will feel exhausted with too much non-stop action. They need pauses to absorb what they've read and gear up for what's coming. Scene and summary are the rhythms of a story, surging forward and pulling back, all the while weaving in the details that flesh out the story. The combination of both allows a writer to pace a story, build momentum, and keep readers hooked.