5 Ways to Strengthen Your Prose[1]
We all have much more to learn about improving our writing. I have found the following five guidelines to be the most effective means of improving writing:
I. Avoid Passive Voice. Use Active Voice.
English is most efficient when you use a Subject—>Active Verb—>Object construction. It becomes convoluted, bogged down, and difficult to understand when you reverse the order of the sentence and make the verb passive.
Active: Jane hits Dick. Dick cried. Dick had kicked Spot.
Passive: Dick is hit by Jane. There was crying by Dick. Spot had been kicked by Dick.
Active: “After the ghost informs Hamlet that his uncle Claudius murdered his father, Hamlet feigns madness so that he can investigate the case without arousing suspicion.”
Passive: “After Hamlet is informed by the ghost that his father was murdered by Claudius, madness is feigned by Hamlet so that the case can be investigated without suspicion being aroused.”
II. Avoid Weak “To Be” Verbs.
Obviously, following Rule I. should greatly deter you from the temptation to use weak “verbs of being” or what you would probably call “to be” verbs. “To Be” verbs, by the way, include the following: is, are, am, were, has been, had been, is [blank]ing, etc. Usually, you can find a more robust verb to use, or else cut the “to be” verb out completely. You should only use a “to be” verb to say “A is B,” or “A will be B,” or “A might have been B,” Notice that in these cases the “to be” verb functions as a kind of “=” sign. As a general rule, however, avoid verbs of being, and try to rewrite sentences so that they no longer contain them.
III. Replace Clichés with New Vocabulary Words.
Everyone knows that if we “come to the table” and “look at the big picture” we will not only arrive at “the cutting edge” of this issue which “hangs in the balance” but we will also “get the ball rolling” and perhaps even “see the light at the end of the tunnel.” These are clichés—and nobody likes to read them because they don’t tell us anything new, they don’t teach us anything, and they certainly don’t spur a reader’s mind to think and respond to your writing. So try this, whenever you feel like using a cliché (or when you come across one while revising your work), try to replace it with a word that you don’t normally use. You accomplish two things by doing so: 1.) you make your writing more interesting, and 2.) you build your vocabulary. I would not advise that you should go hog-wild with the new thesaurus that Aunt Beatty bought you as a high school graduation present. Thesauruses can be dangerous animals if not handled with tender loving care (oops, cliché!), or rather with proper judgment and balance. In brief, aim for concise, descriptive words, phrases, and expressions.
IV. Experiment with your Syntax and Style.
We all get bogged down in familiar routines, and our writing is no different. Learn to recognize the patterns and repetitions in your own writing. That is not to say that convention and predictability are adverse qualities to your prose style. Often, quite the opposite is true—as Strunk & White explain: “Young writers often suppose that style is a garnish for the meat of prose, a sauce by which a dull dish is made palatable. Style has no such separate entity; it is nondetachable, unfilterable. The beginner should approach style warily, realizing that it is an expression of self, and should turn resolutely away from all devices that are popularly believed to indicate style—all mannerisms, tricks, adornments. The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, sincerity” (emphasis added) (69). It’s easy to read this advice too legalistically such that Strunk & White come off rather as rather stodgy old gatekeepers of boredom and convention. Carefully considered, they are strong proponents of sincere self-expression, and I want to encourage you, particularly at this stage of your writing, to find that voice, that style of prose writing, that best conveys your thoughts and imagination. Always write in a professional tone, of course, but don’t adopt prose styles simply to impress your audience. Instead, adopt the style that best suits you and the occasion.
At the level of syntax, learn to experiment with sentence structure, though you should never forget that in English nouns and verbs always drive the sentence. After some time, you may notice, for example, that your sentences often begin with participial phrases (as these last two sentences have done). If that’s the case, you should revise some of your sentences—particularly if you want to highlight a crucial element in your paragraph. Syntactical variation will invigorate your prose with greater robustness and color. Above all, as The Elements of Style advises, aim for “[c]larity, clarity, clarity. When you become hopelessly mired in a sentence, it is best to start fresh; do not try to fight your way through against the terrible odds of syntax. Usually what is wrong is that the construction has become too involved at some point; the sentence needs to be broken apart and replaced by two or more shorter sentences…. When you say something, make sure you have said it” (Strunk & White, 79).
V. Write by Reading.
Ok, here’s the dirty little secret about any writing course—no one can teach you how to write. Sure, we can advise you, but in order to truly become a good writer, you must read, read, read. Yet a certain kind of reading is implied: Pen in hand, you must actively engage with the best authors. Pull a random book off the shelf of the sharpest writer you know. Take a look inside the covers. A dime to a dollar says you’ll find it cut to pieces with marginalia, underlining, vehement arguments, diagrams, sketches, and mysterious folded-up pieces of paper crammed throughout its pages. Likewise, this person’s writings doubtless reflect what he or she has read: from direct quotation to paraphrase to likenesses of style and phrasing, one writer’s prose contains within it links to the whole body of work he or she has digested and continues to digest. So, in your own writing, get in the habit of engaging your reading as a writer. Read with a pen!
[1] Adapted from and inspired by Michael Gamer, Jack Lynch, Jeff Allred, Cy Mulready, and other Penn Luminaries.