Writing

Most writers try to avoid it, but when should you use the passive voice in your writing? The best answer is when you have a good reason for doing so. I’m sure you have read a lot of advice about using the active voice as much as possible, and this is true. But there are…

What are vague or unclear words? They are words that are imprecise, undefined, or lack explicitness, which can fail to convey a clear meaning and may lead to misunderstandings or confusion for a reader. Depending on the context, they can sometimes make it challenging for readers to understand your message clearly. You can improve the…

All writers know that confusion in writing can cause a lot of annoyance or frustration for readers. When parts of a text are unclear or difficult to understand, it weakens your message or story. However, most of the leading causes of confusion are usually relatively easy to fix. The key to solving most problems and…

Neutral language register, sometimes called objective writing, is a style of writing that presents facts in a non-emotional and business-like form. Its most common use is in scientific or academic texts and also for business and technical writing. The main characteristics are that it is objective and contains no personal opinion or emotion. On the…

Clarity in writing helps make what you write easy to read and understand. You want to eliminate possible ambiguities or confusion to convey your ideas to your readers more clearly. But it doesn’t mean simplifying so far that your writing lacks depth and substance. You want your writing to remain intelligent and informative. Writing clearly…

We all know that palindromes read the same in either direction. The most common forms are words like civic, mom, or mum and dad. But as a literary device, a palindrome can be far more complex than single words. It can also be phrases, sequences, or word-playful poems. I doubt that you would give them…

The questions new writers ask usually fall into two general categories. The first is about trying to find a starting point. In other words, how can I become a writer? The second group of questions is often about confidence. Am I good enough? Over the years, new writers have asked me so many questions that…

When you describe the weather in writing, you set the scene for your story or a part of your story. It’s an opportunity to show readers the setting rather than tell them about the weather using a couple of quick adjectives. Using highly descriptive or figurative language and a variety of grammar structures helps you…

Is it a good idea to keep everything you write? Yes, definitely. Words have value, even if you might not think so at the time. What you might think is a failure today could be the germ of a terrific idea tomorrow. If you are a new, young writer, make it a habit to save…

What is fluff in writing? It is when you use words that add little or no value to a text for a reader. Fluff can be words and phrases that are off-topic, hard to understand, unclear, unnecessary, boring, or added only to increase the word count. Every writer uses a bit of fluff in the…