Ten Lessons from "Good Writing"

Do your best in the classroom and on the court. Fill your toolbox. 

Good Writing by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott, shares 36 lessons for better writing. These ten hit home. 

1. The sentence carries structure...the "attack" of the hitter.

"Pass, set, hit."

2. Strong verbs sideline many adverbs and adjectives, driving action.

Don't play hard. "Compete." 

3. Whenever possible use active voice.

Don't be a winner. "Win." 

4. Limit "to be" and "to have" parts of speech.

"She carries the team," better than "she is good." 

5. Avoid long sentences. Allen shares a 280-word sentence as an example. Give him a 10-15 year sentence for that.

"Volleyball winners share" or "Talk energizes." Remember the six word story challenge. "For sale: baby shoes. Never worn."  

6. Avoid "showy offy" writing. Allen violates that with classical Greek references and a compulsion to use the word "ineffable." You know what I'm thinking.

"Belief" beats "Herculean confidence." 

7. Three word or phrase series land well, "tricolon" in rhetoric.

•  Three cheers for the red, white, and blue.
• "I came, I saw, I conquered." (Julius Caesar)
• "Duty, honor, country." (MacArthur speech to West Point graduates)

8. Write the hard stuff. "If it's hard to write, then it's probably worth writing." Women deliver memorable speeches. Hear them. 

"Ladies, be seen, be heard, and be valued." Potted plants? Never.

9. Remove the boring stuff. Don't go TLDR (too long, didn't read).

10.Trust your reader. Don't make them expend too much energy. 

Don't agree with him, while respect Hemingway, "There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games."

Bonus: Appeal to other senses beyond sight and sound. Explore taste, smell, and touch in your writing.