Study and Writing Secrets

"There is no ability without eligibility."

School starts tomorrow, a blend of anticipation and frustration at the end of summer. Be excited for learning, the foundation for your future success.

Learn better.

1) Pomodoro technique - 25 minutes on, 5 minute break

2) Spaced repetition - don't cram, study over time

3) Self-testing - what did I learn from this? What was the author's point?

4) Analogy - what does this resemble? Short-term projects are sprints, long-term ones are marathons. 

5) Persistence - training bodies and brains takes time and grind. 

Write better. 

1) Know you audience.

2) Outline 

3) Message - tell them what you intend to say, say it, and summarize it. 

4) Benefit from storytelling - SUCCESS - simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, stories ("Made to Stick"...it's worth your effort)

5) Understand the structure - plot, characters, dialogue 

Study writers. 

Whom do you like to read? Why? 

Hemingway informs a great example of clarity, simplicity, and beauty as in The Old Man and the Sea. “But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.” 

Copy a writer's style. "She ran the hill, again and again, gaining speed, strength and will. Would anyone notice? That did not matter. She knew, and knew that those who decided her future would know."

Get a how-to book.

I recommend 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost

The Five Big Ideas

1. A writer’s most important vocabulary is the one he or she already has. 
2. A lead should have energy, excitement, an implicit promise that something is going to happen or that some interesting information will be revealed.
3. When writing a beginning, remove every sentence until you come to one you cannot do without. 
4. Style is form, not content.
5. To write is to create music.

Become your own coach, your personal trainer, your teacher. That will pay you for life.

Lagniappe. Find what works for you.