Mechanical Writing.

tyunglebower ♦ February 21, 2024 ♦ Leave a comment

I do not mean tech writing here.

A lot of mechanics goes into good writing, writing that works well on the brain, writing that seems to have written itself.

Grammar. Syntax. Word count. Sentence length. Oxford comma’s and participles that do not do not dangle.

Significant concepts all.

Be that as it may, if i were given ten minutes only to advise any writer, especially those only starting out, I would include none of that.

That’s because writing advice can, and for whatever reason lately often seems to be too mechanical. Some approaches to writing education approach strangulation on rules and preferences, style manuals and 500 dollars for a proofreader. I am not at all suggesting you should ignore those things, but if this is the extent of the advice someone is giving, (or getting, for that matter), the very essence of writing–the emotional impact it has on both reader and writer is missing.

The heart as an organ may be pumping, but there is no blood to send anywhere.

Can you follow only the so-called algorithm, the pattern, the formula of readable writing and still succeed? Yes, it happens all the time. That may be the problem. Agents, magazines, conventions and forums all seem to advocate first and foremost to the craft, the tools, the procedure of writing, while giving the passion, yearning and drive to create for the world as a secondary consideration.

Follow these steps, and worry about the nuance later, is that in most cases they advocate. And I am here to tell you that is ass-backwards. Believe in it first, bring it to the page and then figure out the “industry standards.”

Or don’t.

If you converse with an obviously passionate person, and stop them to correct their misplaced modifier, you are choosing not to listen. There is a reason very few people in the heat of enthusiasm pause to remember not to rely on adverbs; they are trying to say something and say it now!

By all means be familiar with the mechanics for maintenance. Check the oil, kick the tires of your writing. Make sure it’s ready for the road trip. But removing the engine and taking it apart before every trip to the store is in fact an excellent plan for going absolutely no where.