100 ways to improve your
writing
Gary Provost
Nine ways to improve your writing
when you’re not writing
1.Get some reference books
2.Expand your vocabulary
3.Improve your spelling
4.Read
5.Take a class
6.Eavesdrop
7.Research
8.Write in your head
9.Choose a time and place
Nine ways to overcome writer’s
block
1.Copy something
2.Keep a journal
3.Talk about what you’re writing
4.Touch your toes
5.Do writing exercises
6.Organize your material
7.Make a list
8.Picture a reader
9.Ask yourself why you are writing
Five ways to write a strong
beginning
1.Find a slant
2.Write a strong lead
3.Don’t make promises you can’t keep
4.Set a tone and maintain it
5.Begin at the beginning
Nine ways to save time and energy
1.Use pyramid construction
2.Use topic sentences
3.Write short paragraphs
4.Use transitional phrases
5.Don’t explain when you don’t have to
6.Use bridge words
7.Avoid wordiness
8.Steal
9.Stop writing when you get to the end
Ten ways to develop style
1.Think about style
2.Listen to what you write
3.Mimic spoken language
4.Vary sentence length
5.Vary sentence construction
6.Write complete sentences
7.Show, Don’t tell
8.Keep related words together
9.Use parallel construction
10.Don’t force a personal style
Twelve ways to give your words
power
1.Use short words
2.Use dense words
3.Use familiar words
4.Use active verbs
5.Use strong verbs
6.Use specific nouns
7.Use the active voice…Most of the time
8.Say things in a positive way…Most of the
time
9.Be specific
10.Use statistics
11.Provide Facts
12.Put emphatic words at the end
Eleven ways to make people like
what you write
1.Make yourself likable
2.Write about people
3.Show your opinion
4.Obey your own rules
5.Use anecdotes
6.Use examples
7.Name your sources
8.Provide useful information
9.Use Quotations
10.Use Quotes
11.Create a strong title
Six ways to avoid punctuation
errors
1.Use orthodox punctuation
2.Know when to use a comma
3.Know when to use a semicolon
4.Know when to use a colon
5.Use exclamation points only when
exclaiming and question marks only when
asking questions
6.Know how to use quotation marks
Twelve ways to avoid making your
reader hate you
1.Avoid jargon
2.Avoid Cliches
3.Avoid parentheses
4.Avoid footnotes
5.Don’t use transitions to conceal
information
6.Don’t acknowledge when you should
explain
7.Don’t hide behind your words
8.Don’t intrude
9.Don’t play words games
10.Don’t play the Tom Wolfe Game
11.Don’t play mystery game
12.Don’t cheat
Seven ways to edit yourself
1.Read your work out loud
2.Cut unnecessary words
3.Think about what you have written
4.Ask yourself these questions
5.Follow these rules of form for titles
6.Prepare a perfect manuscript
7.Use common sense