It’s All in How You Say It, Not What You Say

Clarity is all important to a writer. You must make sure that what you say is clear to your readers because, even in this age of technology, they can’t always contact you easily and ask a question about what you wrote.

All writers come out of the educational system which emphasized that more complex words showed a higher level of intelligence. After all, as a professional writer, shouldn’t your vocabulary be better than that of your readers? The answer is an emphatic no.

It’s not about how many words you know but how many common words you can use to express yourself.  Complex or $25 words—they used to be $20 but inflation has caught up to them—are words beyond the average reader’s vocabulary for which they can’t get the meaning from the context. So the first rule of clarity is to stay away from #25 words. But there’s another side to clarity.

Readers are constantly bombarded with  deceiving wording in the weekly supermarket brochures where they purchase their groceries. Sometimes, it’s the fine print—they must buy four of something selling for 4 for $10 to get the discounted price. Another ploy is that an item is only for sale at that price on a particular day of the week. But the latest has been the lack of clarity in the ads in the weekly circular. Often shoppers don’t know what to expect until they get to checkout and end up paying a higher price because they didn’t understand the ad in the first place.

Dunkin Donuts recently offered their customers on their rewards program, “Dunkin Perks,” 50 bonus points if they spent $4 using their Dunkin Donuts debit card. What they failed to mention was that customers had to spend $4 before taxes. Now that seems like a simple omission, but many customers probably got caught spending only $3.99, plus tax which brought them over $4. While they thought they would get the extra points, the company denied them their bonus points for one penny. Here, clarity was the key. And unhappy customers equals bad press more so today than previously.

Sure, what you say is important, but how you say it to your readers is just as important, if not more so. Don’t expect your readers to make a leap. What you perceive as clear to you may not be to them. This could be a leap in time, a leap in place, or a leap in understanding. How many times have you said something to someone, who is obviously hurt by your comment, only to quickly add, “I didn’t mean that.” If you didn’t mean what you said, then you should have said it another way. The same applies to writing. But it’s even more critical here because you can’t say, “I didn’t mean that” to a reader you don’t know and can’t see.

Tapping Into a World of Ideas

Ideas are around you all the time. As a busy freelancer, you’ll discover that as you get on a regular schedule of researching and querying markets, you’ll uncover an abundance of ideas and places to offer them. Your problem, however, is to keep your workable ideas in perspective and to discard or file for later use those that aren't ripe yet.

So where do you get your ideas? There’s a whole world out there just filled with ideas. All you have to do is tap into them. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But you’d be surprised how many writers find it hard to come up with good ideas. Would-be freelancers often find it difficult to recognize the right idea or angle.

Look first at what constitutes a good idea—a subject and a specific angle on that subject. The same applies to fiction as well as non-fiction. Fiction writers come up with a premise on which to build a story while non-fiction writers come up with an angle, based on who will be reading an article. Knowing who the reader will be in an important part of non-fiction writing. And while it’s also important when writing fiction, a fiction writer doesn’t have to be as targeted.

Take the subject of retirement, for instance. A non-fiction writer might think of a number of possible article ideas that will be of interest to retirees. However, knowing which group of retirees will be reading the article will further help to focus or slant it to them. Will the article be aimed at those who want to travel or will it be aimed at starting a new business? A fiction writer, on the other hand, might write a story about how a particular person dealt with being "put out to pasture" or the idea of not being useful to anyone anymore.

Also, an article idea will sell more quickly if it’s important and timely. A good idea should take into consideration basic human drives—sexual gratification, maternal love, self-preservation, greed, acquisitiveness, ambition, etc. These selling ideas, which are of vital interest to readers, should also offer something extra—new details on an old story or added insight into an age-old problem.

Since ideas are everywhere, you should be looking for them wherever you go—at the supermarket, at professional meetings, at the bank, at the doctor’s or dentist’s office. There’s an idea hidden in everything you do—cashing your checks, doing laundromat, cooking dinner, or traveling to a relative's.

But observing isn't enough. Once an idea has clicked in your mind, jot a note to yourself so that you're clearly reminded of it when you need it (See the previous blog on creating an idea book from Dec. 11, 2009).  Otherwise the clever notion will disappear with yesterday's online news or in the heat of today's frantic schedule. And as soon as possible, draft a query about your idea and the angle you'd follow—a couple of brief but very specific paragraphs will suffice at this point—and list at least six possible markets for the story. If you’re writing a short story, create a synopsis of several paragraphs telling yourself what the story will be about. Then list 10 possible markets.

With this plan, you have already conquered the vagueness that surrounds most beginners' writing wishes, and have committed yourself to a professionally conceived follow-through.

Remember, there are two kinds of writers—the first writes whatever comes out of their head without much thought or planning (the “I-have-a-book-in-me crowd”) while the second comes up with lots of ideas that will keep them writing for a long time to come.

It’s Not What You Say But How You Say It

Clarity is very important to a writer. I have to make sure that what I say is clear to my readers because, even in this age of technology, they can’t contact me easily and ask a question about what I wrote. In a previous post I spoke about $20 words–those words that are beyond the average reader’s vocabulary and which they can’t get the meaning from the context. But there’s another side to clarity.

Since the economic downturn and last year’s fluctuating gasoline prices, I’ve noticed a marked increase in deceiving wording in the weekly brochures of the supermarket where I buy my groceries. Sometimes, it’s the fine print–I must buy four of something selling for 4 for $10 to get the discounted price. Another ploy is that an item is only for sale at that price on a particular day of the week. But the latest has been the lack of clarity in the ads in the weekly circular. Many times I’m not sure what to expect until I get to checkout.  And often I end up paying a higher price because I didn’t understand the ad in the first place.

Sure, what you say is important, but how you say it to your readers is just as important, if not more so. Don’t expect your readers to make a leap. What you perceive as clear to you may not be to them. This could be leap in time, a leap in place, or a leap in understanding. How many times have you said something to someone, who is obviously hurt by your comment, only to quickly add, “I didn’t mean that.” If you didn’t mean what you said, then you should have said it another way. The same applies to writing. But it’s even more critical here because you can’t say, “I didn’t mean that” to a reader you don’t know and can’t see.