Write on the Tablet

If you are certain that becoming an author is not in your distant future, you can become more proficient in your ability to craft your words together into a cohesive, appealing whole. The twenty tips below will help you in achieving this goal.

 Always prefer the…

1.   Active voice in your writing (as opposed to the passive voice).

2.   Avoidance of gibberish and slang.

3.   Avoidance of writing like someone else (instead of your own natural style).

4.   Changeability of your sentence length.

5.   Common word to the flowery one.

6.   Cutting of needless words, sentences, and paragraphs.

7.   Desire to write for understanding (rather than to make an impression).

8.   Familiar word to the unfamiliar one.

9.   Mastering of the simple declarative sentence.

10.         Necessity to write clearly.

11.         Noun and verb to adjective and adverb.

12.         Picture noun and action verb.

13.         Plain word to the fancy one.

14.         Short word when a long one is unneeded.

15.         Simple sentence to the complicated one.

16.         Statements you write to be put in a positive form.

17.         Use of plain, conversational language (just like you talk).

18.         Use of revising (as improvement is always possible).

19.         Use of short paragraphs.

20.         Words you want to emphasize (at either the beginning or end of the sentence).[i]

 

Whether you use the above guidelines (or not), the Almighty needs you to do the following for Him:

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”[ii]

Your character speaks volumes about who you really are to those in your life. What do others say about you? What are your Heavenly Father’s thoughts about you? When all is said and done, are pleased with who you are? Think about it.

---

[i] Adapted from “20 Rules for Good Writing” by Writer’s Digest School

 

[ii] Proverbs 3:3, NIV