Good, powerful writing

The Roar for Powerful Words award

It’s a tag, and an award.

To be honest, I’ve been putting off responding to this tag from Erika Geiss, founder of WAHM Magazine, because I’m supposed to list the top three mostest importantest keys to good and powerful writing, and I’ve been having that kind of week where none of my writing seems good, much less powerful.

I’ll give it my best shot.

1. Powerful writing seems to tap into an emotional thread that is common to most readers. It resonates. Everything in it seems to echo the readers’ thoughts, or reverberate long after you put it down.
2. Good writing must be technically correct. Tat mean’s yu dont whant misspeelings tippos and grammar errors I think it lessons te writting. (MS Word tried to correct all my problems there. But it didn’t catch “lessons.” Let that be a lesson to you!)
3. Aside from having the universal theme and technically correct writing, you need to communicate. This is most difficult for me when something really stirs me. I feel the emotional thread, the universal truth, but grasping the exact right expression of it is what makes a writer’s work actually work. You choose the right words, avoid clichés, make seamless transitions. It’s craft and it’s art. It’s also the part that’s the most fun when you think you’ve nailed it. Want to read a great example? Check out Mir’s blog, Woulda Coulda Shoulda.

The biggest tip I have for producing that powerful and good writing is to write something you would enjoy reading. Write a first draft and, if at all possible, let it simmer for a day, then come back to it with the red pen. You are your own first audience, remember? While you may have to adjust it for your market, it is easier to do that on revision.

So these are my opinions about what makes good, powerful writing. My opinions are always subject to change, but that's where I stand today. Hope it helps.

Now for the rules and my tags:

Link back to the person who tagged you.
List three things that you believe are necessary to make writing good and powerful.
Tag five others and comment at their blog informing them that they’ve been tagged with this award: Tiff, whose story about why she cut her hair was very powerful. Heather, in whose writing I often hear echoes. Dej is off this week, so I’ll also tag Faten, Linda, and
Mir, who probably doesn’t even do these, but I want to hear her opinion.