Strong Words: Tips for Strengthening Your Writing

It's unlikely that anyone who chooses to write would intentionally sling words without clarity and purpose. It's far more likely that writers are surprised when words don't seem to land with their intended meaning. Victor Klmoski has been a student and teacher of the writing process for decades and understands the importance of carefully chosen words. Whether you write poetry, letters, blogs, essays, or in another form, you will likely find his 5 Tips for Stronger Writing to be a practical and meaningful guide for your next piece.

 1. Choose Words Wisely.  Word choice is part of the artistry of writing.  The right word can often make plain-Jane writing suddenly snap awake.  Stale and clichéd language or using an “adequate” word miss the chance to breathe life into a line or paragraph.

 2. Attend To Grammatical Choices. Know when the tense of a verb illuminates meaning or puts the reader to sleep. While grammar is not a set of handcuffs, its rules provide a discipline to our writing. The same for punctuation. It is not a substitute for imagination, but it also a way to maintain clarity.

 3. Avoid bloat. Overusing adjectives and modifying phrases can sometimes make a piece of writing cumbersome, confuse where the real meaning lies, and decrease the beauty of what you have to say. Excessive detail has the same effect.

4. Let Readers See What You Say. Using evocative images, metaphors, and examples engages the reader’s imagination and often more deeply grounds the writer’s ideas.

5. Create the Right Home For Your Ideas. The form you choose is no small matter. Sometimes a short story is better than an essay or an inspiration needs the crispness demanded by a poem. Or a poem is not working because it needs to be a short essay. Ask yourself: Is this the best form for carrying my meaning?

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Victor Klimoski is the former Director of Lifelong Learning at Saint John’s School of Theology lifelong teacher. He holds a doctorate in adult education from the University of Minnesota and works extensively as a group facilitator and project consultant. He is also author of a number of poetry collections, most recently Revisited, Gleanings (contributing editor), Margin Notes and Lamentation for the Written Word.