Jack Hart whose work as writing coach and editor at large for The Oregonian helped writers go on to win Pulitzer Prizes offers some gems in his book A Writer’s Coach. He asserts that:
Talent matters…But the writers who can manage their time and energy well will show the best results in the long run.
Their secret according to Hart?
A productive, efficient process that consistently turns out great work.
Great writers, he insists, don’t try for anything close to a perfect rough or first draft. They just get the basics down because they know they’ll go back multiple times until it’s right. He talks about Oregonian staff writer’s Tom Hellman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning article’s first draft, which was:
an initial run at the story that mixed great promise with plenty of disappointments. The second draft tied up loose ends, tweaked the structure, and sharpened the character development. The third polished the language, refined the imagery and pushed through to the final level of excellence.
I love Hart’s rundown of the characteristics of a well-written piece. Good writing, he says:
- radiates energy, crackling with a vigor that pulls readers along. It has internal strength, an inherent force that moves readers.
- gets to the point, regardless of what the point may be. Good writers don’t waste their readers’ time.
- transports them, putting them into a scene where they can see the autumn light and smell the fallen leaves crunching underfoot. It’s rich, in other words, in what journalists call color.
- has a personality, a tone both appropriate to the subject and inviting for the reader. The words sound right. They fit with one another and the mood of the reading occasion.
- can dance. Good writing has a rhythm that pleases in its won right, creating cadences that give pleasure regardless of content.
- is clear. You never have to read a well-written sentence twice—unless it’s for the sheer pleasure of the experience.
- is mechanically correct. Good writers know their tools, and they never trip readers up with lapses of grammar, usage, or style.
Here’s to all of us improving our craft.
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