Comments on: Strength

By: robert

robert — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:54:46 +0000

I am so guilty of these things. I’ve completed four novels (none published). Agents say they are well crafted, even “compelling” but I think, no, wait!, know these above little sins contribute to the over-all effect of weak writing.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:11:56 +0000

Being a former technical writer, I am all about strong writing. I still to this day, find myself writing sentences like: “Look for the street on which you will turn.” Go active verbs!!!! My handy-dandy tip is this: Avoid using the word “populate” when writing about technical (computer) related topics (i.e. Once the user enters the employee ID, their information will populate the remainder of the fields) one editor told me that unless a man and a woman are involved there is no population happening……

By: Chappysmom » Static

Chappysmom » Static — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:20:47 +0000

[...] Over at Punctuality Rules!, though, I tend to hit around 100 readers a day or so . . . except for those huge spikes when the occasional post gets Stumbled. That big jump up to 1100 readers? That was for my post on Strong Writing. [...]

By: Punctuality Rules! » Blog Archive » Weakness is Strength (Sometimes)

Punctuality Rules! » Blog Archive » Weakness is Strength (Sometimes) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:25:48 +0000

[...] talked about the importance of strong, active writing, but what about those times when a passive voice is actually a better [...]

By: Karen (Karooch from Scraps of Mind)

Karen (Karooch from Scraps of Mind) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:44:15 +0000

Thanks for the great writing advice Deb. So much of this stuff you just don’t think about when you’re writing your own articles. it’s great to have the reminders to keep it to the point and strongly focussed.

And I’m glad we still have permission to use adverbs now and again. i think I’d feel the gap if I lost them entirely.

By: Raymond Chua

Raymond Chua — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 15:08:31 +0000

Hi Deb,

Excellent! I learned so much from this post.

Thanks for sharing it.

By: Sherrie

Sherrie — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:41:30 +0000

BTW, if you can explain commas clearly, I’ll read every word you write from now on!

By: Sherrie

Sherrie — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:40:32 +0000

A reminder most writers need frequently – thanks for the nudge!

By: Cindy

Cindy — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:40:15 +0000

Excellent tips. I use adverbs too much and run into problems avoiding passive voice. Thank you for the reminder.

By: MichelleVan

MichelleVan — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:33:09 +0000

Thanks for the explanation, but I’m always confused (and still) about active and passive verbs. I loved your example and I’d love 20 more. I’ve written for a while now, but still have trouble with this one.. Nice site, I’ll look around some more!