50 Tools that can Improve your Writing Skills [Archive]

aaron

07-19-2007, 04:00 PM

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/samjudson/99607587/"><img style="margin:0pt 0pt 10px 10px;float:right" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/Rp9gYHUZuAI/AAAAAAAAAvE/zlqpf_GwqWA/s320/writing.jpg" alt="Writing" border="0"></a>Last year we posted a large list of tips aimed at improving your writing skills. Since then, the site that we referenced changed all of the links and our post was rendered useless. That is until today. Rory Sullivan, the creator of <a href="http://cleancutblog.com/">Clean Cut Blog</a> displayed some remarkable generosity (that he calls nerdishness). He took the time to update all 50 of the links and he asked that Dumb Little Man republish this great list. The decision was pretty simple for me because I actually use these sites as reference for my own writing. So with that, here is the original list with the updated URLs. Before you start firing off emails to your customers or you embark on that eBook writing project, do yourself a favor and review. <ul><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060109200343/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=62027">Writing Tool #1: Branch to the Right</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190019/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=62588">Writing Tool #2: Use Strong Verbs</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108175339/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=62969">Writing Tool #3: Beware of Adverbs</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108175033/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=62972">Writing Tool #4: Period As a Stop Sign</a> </li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108175033/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=62972"></a><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108183811/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=63482">Writing Tool #5: Observe Word Territory</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108184819/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=64346">Writing Tool #6: Play with Words</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108182539/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=64349">Writing Tool #7: Dig for the Concrete and Specific</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181801/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=64580">Writing Tool #8: Seek Original Images</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108184907/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=66044">Writing Tool #9: Prefer Simple to Technical</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108182044/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=66041">Writing Tool #10: Recognize Your Story’s Roots</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108183838/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=65648">Writing Tool #11 Back Off or Show Off</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108183908/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=65975">Writing Tool #12: Control the Pace</a> </li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108183908/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=65975"></a><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181738/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=65978">Writing Tool #13: Show and Tell</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108182658/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=66395">Writing Tool #14: Interesting Names</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060101113741/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=66542">Writing Tool #15: Reveal Character Traits</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108184932/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=66914">Writing Tool #16: Odd and Interesting Things</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060109200634/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=67835">Writing Tool #17: The Number of Elements</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108184956/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=67379">Writing Tool #18: Internal Cliffhangers</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108180613/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=68795">Writing Tool #19: Tune Your Voice</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060213144830/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=70403">Writing Tool #20: Narrative Opportunities</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108180937/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=68801">Writing Tool #21: Quotes and Dialogue</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181306/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=70451">Writing Tool #22: Get Ready</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108185245/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=70721">Writing Tool #23: Place Gold Coins Along the Path</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190108/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=71147">Writing Tool #24: Name the Big Parts</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108185133/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=71165">Writing Tool #25: Repeat</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108185157/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=72038">Writing Tool #26: Fear Not the Long Sentence</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181001/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=72506">Writing Tool #27: Riffing for Originality</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190144/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=72080">Writing Tool #28: Writing Cinematically</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181331/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=72434">Writing Tool #29: Report for Scenes</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108175442/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=73058">Writing Tool #30: Write Endings to Lock the Box</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108182513/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=74453">Writing Tool #31: Parallel Lines</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108175100/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=73688">Writing Tool #32: Let It Flow</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190208/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=74783">Writing Tool #33: Rehearsal</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190232/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=74825">Writing Tool #34: Cut Big, Then Small</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190257/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=75398">Writing Tool #35: Use Punctuation</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181053/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=75509">Writing Tool #36: Write A Mission Statement for Your Story</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181027/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=75827">Writing Tool #37: Long Projects</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190340/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=76058">Writing Tool #38: Polish Your Jewels</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190406/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=76274">Writing Tool #39: The Voice of Verbs</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181600/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=76307">Writing Tool #40: The Broken Line</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108175239/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=76919">Writing Tool #41: X-Ray Reading</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190433/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=77213">Writing Tool #42: Paragraphs</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181418/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=77483">Writing Tool #43: Self-criticism</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060111015333/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=77552">Writing Tool #44: Save String</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108180205/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=77891">Writing Tool #45: Foreshadow</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108174917/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=77897">Writing Tool #46: Storytellers, Start Your Engines</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108174427/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=78554">Writing Tool #47: Collaboration</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108181443/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=79049">Writing Tool #48: Create An Editing Support Group</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060108190458/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=79160">Writing Tool #49: Learn from Criticism</a> </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060110002436/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=79244">Writing Tool #50: The Writing Process</a></li> </ul>For those that missed the post from last year. All of these tools come various sections of <a href="http://www.poynter.org/">Poynter Online</a> which is a rich resource for journalists. If for some reason you want to see last year's post (for the comments perhaps), you can do so <a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2006/10/50-tools-that-can-increase-your-writing.html">here</a>. You can also visit our previous post on <a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2006/12/40-tips-to-improve-your-grammar-and.html">Grammar and Punctuation Rules</a> if you really want to sharpen your skills.<div>{Ad} Get all of those old family photos digitized at <a href="http://www.photoscanclub.com/">Photo Scan Club</a>. Just send us your old pictures and we'll professionally scan them to a Gold Kodak Preservation Disc, insuring they outlive you! <a href="http://www.photoscanclub.com/partners/idevaffiliate.php?id=104">Get started.</a></div>
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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DumbLittleMan/~3/135274854/50-tools-that-can-improve-your-writing.html

just-Wynn

07-19-2007, 04:05 PM

#51 Use a genuine feather pen.
http://static.flickr.com/224/524998122_ed5670a756_m.jpg

wilebill

07-19-2007, 04:13 PM

#52 Hire somebody to do it for you, or threaten someone in such a way that they'll do it for you (2 options combined for brevity).

Fish-Bait

07-19-2007, 04:20 PM

#53 Plagarize, somebody has already wrote it by now anyways.

Hermione

07-19-2007, 04:25 PM

#51 Use a genuine feather pen.
http://static.flickr.com/224/524998122_ed5670a756_m.jpg

I actually HAVE a set of genuine feather pens, which a friend brought me from England last year. Haven't tried to write with them, however. They came with a set of metal nibs and an inkwell, but I've never bought any ink. Anybody else tried to use them?

fuzzis

07-19-2007, 04:27 PM

I actually HAVE a set of genuine feather pens, which a friend brought me from England last year. Haven't tried to write with them, however. They came with a set of metal nibs and an inkwell, but I've never bought any ink. Anybody else tried to use them?

Not for writing, but when I spent time drawing, pen and ink was my medium.

Pop

07-19-2007, 04:44 PM

I remember the old cartridge pens in school with the little plastic tubes of ink, God what a mess!!

Hermione

07-19-2007, 05:16 PM

I remember the ones you fill from a bottle of ink. Now there's a mess!

Guru

07-19-2007, 08:07 PM

#54 Lay off the long fancy words, write as you would prefer to hear what someone else is saying and don't be afraid of slang.

wilebill

07-19-2007, 09:47 PM

#54 Lay off the long fancy words, write as you would prefer to hear what someone else is saying and don't be afraid of slang.I'm sure you broke some rule by incorporating 3 rules into one.

C-

Hermione

07-19-2007, 10:05 PM

In expository writing (that's essays, formal reports, etc.) avoid phrases like "I think" or "I believe" or "in my opinion." They weaken the statement which follows. I had a rule against them, in fact. However, we all say them in email and casual writing like this. The object is just to say what you gotta say.
Wilebill, you were generous with your C-. Guru's second clause didn't even make sense. However, Guru generally writes well and would probably get a higher grade than that for the class. ;)

PS There are some excellent writers on this board.

Astra

07-20-2007, 12:29 AM

That's odd. I had English teachers tear me up if I did not use "in my opinion" when I was expressing an opinion in formal writing. It always seemed obvious to me where my thoughts ended and the cited facts began, but they regarded that phrase as necessary.

bpitt

07-20-2007, 09:29 AM

How about going back to school!

Guru

07-21-2007, 10:25 PM

I'm sure you broke some rule by incorporating 3 rules into one.

C-

* Yeah, but I believe in more bang for your buck!

Baloo

07-22-2007, 12:59 AM

Thanks for posting all of those Aaron!

Hermione, you are right, we do have some very good writers on the board and I completely enjoy reading their posts...

I have written with a real feather pen before and made such a mess that you could not really even tell what I had written.

Hermione

07-22-2007, 03:08 PM

That's odd. I had English teachers tear me up if I did not use "in my opinion" when I was expressing an opinion in formal writing. It always seemed obvious to me where my thoughts ended and the cited facts began, but they regarded that phrase as necessary.

I guess it's all about context. In a research paper, it would be more important to delineate your personal opinion. I've only taught the research paper course once and hated it. Most of my classes have involved personal essays. With freshmen, the struggle is to break their bad habits. It's depressing to see how poor most students are at forming and presenting an argument. I've always stressed getting beyond the "because that's what I think" statements and making them form some kind of logical argument.