Using Words Effectively to Convey Meaning
March 7th 2008 11:37
Cartoon used with permission of Brad Shorr, Word Sell, Inc.
Words: A Writer’s Perspective
Words: the writer’s stock-in-trade…the intellectual currency with which we transact our business of touching the hearts and minds of those for whom we write
Words: the attire with which we dress our thoughts before sending them forth to greet our reader, make his or her acquaintance, and hopefully create a wonderful first—and lasting—impression
Words: the vehicles which transport ideas across streets or across continents, spreading them far and wide for all to encounter on near or foreign mental soil
Words: the soul-fed fires which ignite emotions…passions…hopes…and dreams…inspiring action while themselves sitting dormant on the page…or, no sooner spoken, dissipating, like a cooling summer’s breeze
Words: the silken threads of color woven artfully into tapestries of beauty, strength, and grace by artisans who patiently hone their skills and ply their craft with care
Words.
Using Words Effectively
As writers, we are intimately involved with words. We use them every day to convey meaning. Yet, the degree of meaning we succeed in imparting to our readers through our words is directly proportional to the degree of skill with which we use them.
The Book of Proverbs contains a wonderful saying about using words effectively:
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” –Proverbs 25:11 (NKJV*)
What a lovely picture of the carefully chosen word!
The Writer’s Job
Our job as writers is to continually seek the best possible words to convey the precise thoughts we intend our reader to take away from our work. At times these words won’t come immediately, or easily, and we’ll have little choice but to think a while longer—maybe even to go back to that section later, or even tomorrow, looking at it with fresh eyes, a fresh perspective, and a fresh infusion of thought and inspiration.
Don't Let Deadlines Create Carelessness
Yet, when we face a deadline and have no time to wait for inspiration to strike—no time to let our writing “age” and return to it tomorrow—we simply have to tough it out. We must refuse to give in to the temptation to use a careless word or phrase—one that we know deep inside just isn’t “right.” (And the temptation to do so can be strong.) We need, instead, to mentally wrestle with the thought, to visualize the image we hope to convey, and pull from somewhere within ourselves—or if need be our thesauruses—the word that paints the most vivid picture of the thought we’re envisioning so the world can see it, too.
Poorly Chosen Words Create Misunderstanding
When we refuse to take the time to choose our words with care—and no doubt about it, that’s hard work—we’re often misunderstood. Our job as writers, then, is to anticipate the information the reader will require for accurately processing our ideas and then distill that information into a form (word, phrase, sentence, line) that the reader can grab hold of mentally and make sense of. This gives our readers satisfaction as they read our work—a sense of connection with our own thought process which helps them relate to our words and appropriate their meaning for themselves.
The Final Read-Through and Revision
When we’ve come to the end of a piece of writing (a blog post, article, chapter, or poem), we still aren’t finished yet. No matter how wonderful we feel about the job we’ve done, how clever we think our work is, or how pleased we are with ourselves, there’s one more step that we ignore to our peril: We absolutely must reread our work for structure, rhythm, sense, and flow. The very best way to do this is aloud, because sound is an important indicator of trouble in one or more of these areas.
Finishing Touches
As you read, look—or better yet, listen—for awkward phrasing, confusing sentence structure, unclear meaning, or unpleasing, abrupt, or non-melodious language. Be sure you’ve used transitions that draw your reader smoothly and effortlessly through your text, creating literary bridges from one paragraph or sentence to the next. Take special note of the word order you’ve chosen and the rhythmic effect it creates, and when needed, reorder your words to give your writing a smoother, more fluid quality.
Ruthless Revision
You’ll nearly always find sections you thought were absolutely brilliant while writing them that on final read-through sound confusing and unclear. Please do your readers a favor and revise them—regardless of how clever or inspired they may have seemed at the time. We often become enamored with our phrasing, and convincing ourselves to let it go can be a struggle. But always remember that there’s lots more inspiration where that came from, so you can afford to cut a clever phrase for the sake of clarity.
The Finished Product
When we’ve finished revising our work, our goal is to have a piece of writing that’s clear, engaging, and easy for our audience to read, understand, and enjoy. And at all costs, we want to avoid repeating the mistake made by our friend in the above cartoon. He either didn’t give enough advance thought to the wording of his sign, or he didn’t reread it before posting it. (If he did reread it, he did so without considering the possible ways the public might construe it.) And that’s a mistake we never want to make with our writing.
Happy revising!
Jeanne
* New King James Version
This post is my entry to Brad Shorr's Word Sell Writing Contest.
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Has Brad's cartoon inspired any thoughts? If so, we'd love to hear them!
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Comment by Brad Shorr
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I appreciate all those wonderful words about my post! I do admit, I got into "the zone" with those definitions--and had a great time composing them! Thanks for noticing! And thanks for your compliments about my description of the writing process! (I always feel a great responsibility to write well whenever I'm telling other people how to write!)
Jeanne
Comment by Joanna Young
I normally try and go for the plainest words that I can, and to use as few as i can, but Brad's post has really got me thinking because the sign uses plain language, and I think the solution has to be to add more words in.
In fact Brad maybe you should make that an extra part of the contest - to create a sign with the minimum number of words and leaving zero room for confusion!
I enjoyed reading your piece Jeanne and I hope it means you have been able to get your head further above water this week
Joanna
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I have to confess that even in my business writing, I often don't choose the plainest words, but I do always try to make my meaning as plain as I can.
Your idea for Brad's "new contest" is a fascinating one and would be a great exercise in making every word count!
Glad you enjoyed my post! Unfortunately, though, it doesn't really indicate that my head is any further above water than it was before, but only that I burned the midnight oil last night!
Now, all I've got to do is find the time to read everyone else's entries--which I know, from past experience, will be fabulous!
Thanks for the visit!
Jeanne
Comment by AmyHuang
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Comment by tlcorbin
Poor spelling I can deal with, cloudy thinking is all good, but convoluted phrases drive me nuts and if I have to choose interpretations of a piece to mine out its meaning, I get surely. So, I've quit reading my own work, hahaha. Raven
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks for stopping by to read and comment! Glad you took something away from this piece! That helps make it worth all the work it took to write it!
Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
That final read-through and analysis is so important to the writing process! Yet so many overlook it.
But, refusing to read your own work is definitely one way to save yourself a lot of it!
Jeanne
Comment by Anonymous
And, when you consider, "In the beginning was the word, the word was made flesh and the word was God," you realize the power of words. They are one of the only ways we share our innermost thought with others - they represent us.
And since I've had courses in discourse analysis, I have come to learn more about how much they do reveal about us.
I think you developed a very powerful article here, Jeanne. Very thorough!
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks for the quote from John 1! It does indeed illustrate the incredible power of words! How wonderful it is that the Creator would allow us to share in the creative process that originates with Him!
Thanks so much for your very kind words about my post/article, as well as your own insightful thoughts on the topic! I truly appreciate them! They are a true example of the power of words to edify and encourage!
Glad you stopped by!
Jeanne
Comment by Lillie Ammann
I agree that we often need to cut the words we think are golden, but sometimes it's helpful to save phrases, paragraphs, etc. if they're cut because they don't fit the context rather than because they are awkward or confusing. Put them into an idea file, and you just may find a home for them in another post or article somewhere down the line.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I admit I really did "enter in" while composing those definitions--and enjoyed it immensely! Glad you, too, enjoyed the "fruits of my creative labors"!
Wonderful idea to keep a file for our favorite phrases, paragraphs, etc. Often clever or inspired wordings are very satisfying yet not quite appropriate to the current work-in-progress. Your idea certainly solves the problem--and makes it easier to let them go, because we know we'll be able to use them later, should we be so inclined.
Thanks for your excellent feedback!
Jeanne