Writing Naturally

Abraham Lincoln was once asked how long a woman’s skirt should be. He replied, "Long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting." Lincoln’s statement would be a good guide for any writer. Don’t be concerned with length in your first rough drafts. Let your thoughts flow without interruption. You can always edit this later to remove needless words and paragraphs. Your complete story can be as big or as small as you want it to be. First and foremost, though, it should communicate that most important facts about your life and times.

Someone asked me once, "Should I write as I talk?" Spoken language transferred to paper can sound choppy, with many contractions, incomplete sentences, vague words and repetitions. My advice is this: instead of writing as you talk, try writing as you think. If you do this, your writing will have more clarity and depth, and you will derive still another bonus – you will find you are putting more of your feelings into your writing.

Some of your readers might be children. In fact, you hope this is the case. Even adults are more likely to finish reading what you have written if it is easy to read and sounds natural. Your readers want your history to sound like you.

Use simple, easily understood words. They will help you to express yourself clearly, and your meaning will be better understood by the reader.

Use picture words. Try to get a touch of color into your writing. It takes a little extra effort to turn a plain, general word into one that can come alive in the mind of the reader. It is not just a bird, it is a meadowlark. It is not just a sky, it is a cloudless, azure sky. It is not just a tree, it is a graceful elm. (You get the idea.) Wilfred J. Funk, editor and author, was once asked to choose 10 words in the English language he thought were the most beautiful. He chose: chimes, dawn, golden, hush, lullaby, luminous, melody, mist, murmuring, and tranquil. Note that many of them bring images to the mind.

Look through your writing to find where you simply told the reader what happened. Rewrite that portion, using words that appeal to the readers senses: what the reader can see, hear, feel, smell and taste.

You want your writing to sound natural, you want it to reflect who you are. Here is an activity to help make your writing "natural." Read your writing out loud. Does it feel natural to you? Ask someone else to read aloud what you have written. Did your writing sound the way you wanted it to sound? If some part of what you have written feels awkward, change it until it feels right.

There is no right or wrong way to write your history. The important thing is that you share your experiences, your feelings, and your observations of life. We all hope our readers will find our histories "hard to put down" rather than "hard to pick up," but regardless of our writing style hopefully our stories and experiences enlighten, uplift, and inspire our readers.