This refers to the habit of saying what you’re going to say, saying it, and then saying what you’ve said.One way to introduce a topic without signposting is to open with a question. Observe the following example: This chapter discusses the factors that cause names to rise and fall in popularity.vs.What makes a name rise and fall in popularity? The art of classic prose is to signpost sparingly, as we do in conversation, and with a minimum of metadiscourse.

1. Signposting

Writers live in two universes. One is the world of the thing they study. The other is the world of their profession. Most of a researcher’s waking hours are spent in the second world, and it’s easy for him to confuse the two.Example:In recent years, an increasing number of psychologists and linguists have turned their attention to the problem of child language acquisition. In this article, recent research on this process will be reviewed.vs. All children acquire the ability to speak a language without explicit lessons. How do they accomplish this feat?

2. Focusing On The Profession Instead Of The Subject

For example: It began as a movement led by a few “young turks” against an “old guard” who dominated the profession. Classic style is confident about its own voice. If you’re not comfortable using an expression without apologetic quotation marks, you probably shouldn’t be using it at all.

3. Misusing Quotation Marks

This refers to the use of words such as: virtually, almost, apparently, comparatively, fairly, in part, nearly, partially, predominantly, presumably, rather, relatively, seemingly, so to speak, somewhat, sort of, to a certain degree, to some extent, I would argue Writers acquire the hedge habit in hopes that it will get them off the hook, or at least allow them to plead guilty to a lesser charge, should a critic ever try to prove them wrong.

4. Hedging

When a reader is forced to work through one stale idiom after another, she stops converting the language into mental images and slips back into just mouthing the words.Examples: Bread and butterCoasting on its laurelsRenaissance manBite the bulletKnock people's socks offSky's the limitThrow the baby with the bathwaterElephant in the room Even when a shopworn image is the best way to convey an idea, a classic writer can keep his reader engaged by remembering what the idiom literally refers to and playing with the image to keep it in her mind’s eye.

5. Clichés

Metaconcepts are ineffective because they are abstractions, which cannot be seen with the naked eye.Could you recognize a “level” or a “perspective” if you met one on the street? Could you point it out to someone else? What about an approach, an assumption, a concept, a condition, a context, a framework, an issue, a model, a process, a range, a role, a strategy, a tendency, or a variable? These are metaconcepts: concepts about concepts.

6. Metaconcepts

I have serious doubts that trying to amend the Constitution would work on an actual level. On the aspirational level, however, a constitutional amendment strategy may be more valuable.
vs.
I doubt that trying to amend the Constitution would actually succeed, but it may be valuable to aspire to it.

Example 1:

What are the prospects for reconciling a prejudice reduction model of change, designed to get people to like one another more, with a collective action model of change, designed to ignite struggles to achieve intergroup equality?
vs.
Should we try to change society by reducing prejudice, that is, by getting people to like one another? Or should we encourage disadvantaged groups to struggle for equality through collective action? Or can we do both?

Example 2:

These are nouns and adjectives that lumber across the scene without a conscious agent directing their motion.

7. Zombie Nouns and Adjectives

Nominalization: turning a verb into a lifeless noun, by adding a suffix, e.g. –ance, –ment, –ation, or –ing.
Example:
Prevention of neurogenesis diminished social avoidance.
vs.
When we prevented neurogenesis, the mice no longer avoided other mice.

Zombie 1

Turning verbs into adjectives
Example:
It may be that some missing genes are more contributive to the spatial deficit.
vs.
Perhaps some missing genes contribute to the spatial deficit.

Zombie 2

The passive voice, when misused, can read like an evasive maneuver, take away urgency, or draw attention away from the subject.Examples: Extreme Exposure to CO may rapidly be fatal without producing significant warning symptoms.vs.Generator exhaust contains carbon monoxide. This is a poison you cannot see or smell. Using the wrong voice can make the reader's focus crane back and forth.

8. Unnecessary Passive Voice

But it’s an ideal that can pull writers away from many of their worst habits, and it works particularly well because it makes the unnatural act of writing seem like two of our most natural acts: talking and seeing.

Classic style is not the only way to write

Style is the effective use of words to engage the human mind.

Below are some common approaches that could be minimized to make your writing more effective and and engaging, whether that's fiction or non-fiction.

Bad writing can't be blamed on the Internet, or on 'the kids today'. Good writing has always been hard: a performance requiring pretense, empathy, and a drive for coherence. In The Sense of Style, cognitive scientist and linguist Steven Pinker uses the latest scientific insights to bring us a style and usage guide for the 21st century. What do skilful writers know about the link between syntax and ideas? How can we overcome the Curse of Knowledge, the difficulty in imagining what it's like not to know something we do? And can we distinguish the myths and superstitions from rules that enhance clarity and grace? As Pinker shows, everyone can improve their mastery of writing and their appreciation of the art (yes, 'their').

productivity

Productivity

writing

Reading & Writing

education

Learning & Education

communication

Communication

Steven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind.

Steven Pinker

The Sense of Style

1. Physical signals2. Mental responses3. Internal sensations

3 Elements Of Nonverbal Communication

<ul><li>How our bodies respond outwardly when we experience emotion.</li><li>The stronger the feeling, the more the body reacts</li><li>Characters are unique and each one may use different physical signals</li></ul>

Physical Signals

<ul><li>Offers a window into the thought process.</li><li>Mental responses are not always rational</li><li>An excellent way to convey to the reader how a character sees their world</li><li>An excellent way to demonstrate voice</li></ul>

Mental Responses

<ul><li>The most powerful form of nonverbal communication and should be used with the most caution.</li><li>Instinctive, raw and uncontrolled, triggering the fight-or-flight response</li><li>Will be felt by readers at a primal level</li><li>Relying too much on internal sensations can create melodrama, therefore a light touch is needed as a little goes a long way</li></ul>

Internal Sensations

1. Telling2. Cliché emotions3. Melodrama4. Over-reliance on dialogues or thoughts5. Misusing backstory to enhance reader empathy

Common Problems in Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication cannot be told; it must be shown.You don’t want the reader to only see what’s happening; you want them to feel the emotion, and to experience it along with the character.Examples of telling:<ul><li>Mr. Paxton’s eyes were sad as he gave her the news.</li><li>Instantly, JoAnne was angrier than she’d ever been in her life</li></ul>

1. Telling

<ul><li>Cliches are a sign of lazy writing</li><li>Create your own observations instead of falling back on clichés</li><li>Think about your body and what happens to it when you’re feeling a certain emotion</li><li>You may also observe people in real life or in movies/tv shows to see how they express emotion</li><li>Some notable changes: person’s voice, speech, or overall bearing and posture</li><li>Know your character; some may shout, while others may go completely silent</li></ul>Examples of cliché emotions:<ul><li>The grin that stretches from ear to ear</li><li>A single tear pooling in the eye before coursing down the cheek</li><li>Quivering knees that knock together</li></ul>

2. Cliché emotions

<ul><li>Melodrama leads to a sense of disbelief in the reader because, in real life, emotion isn’t always so demonstrative</li><li>To avoid melodrama, recognize that emotions run along a continuum, from mild to extreme as emotions vary in strength</li><li>Make sure that your character’s feelings progress realistically</li></ul>

3. Melodrama

<ul><li>Emotion is much more effectively conveyed through a mixture of dialogue, thoughts, and body language</li><li>Avoid over-using exclamation points to show intensity</li><li>Check if some action is needed to breakup the dialogue </li><li>Check if the character should be saying something instead of staying silent and just thinking about the emotion</li><li>When expressing emotion, vary your vehicles, using both verbal and nonverbal techniques for maximum impact</li></ul>

4. Over-reliance on dialogues or thoughts

<ul><li>Excessive backstory slows the pace and can bore reader</li><li>In order to avoid using too much backstory, determine which details from your character’s past are necessary to share</li></ul>

5. Misusing backstory to enhance reader empathy

Readers have high expectations. They don’t want to be told how a character feels; they want to experience the emotion for themselves. To make this happen, we must ensure that our characters express their emotions in ways that are both recognizable and compelling to read.

When it comes to writing fiction, emotion is key. In order to capture the reader's empathy and allegiance, you must convey character emotion effectively. The Emotion Thesaurus is a tool that enables you to accomplish this by * highlighting 75 universal emotions and the internal and external cues associated with them. * identifying common emotion-related writing problems and how to overcome them. * suggesting logical escalations from one emotion to the next. * showing cues associated with acute and suppressed emotions. Authors, teachers, and students agree that The Emotion Thesaurus is a convenient and helpful resource for reaching past clichéd emotional phrases and coming up with fresh ways to express what their characters are feeling. Its user-friendly list format makes it easy to understand and easy to find exactly you need.

Angela Ackerman

Becca Puglisi

The Emotion Thesaurus

<ul><li><a href="https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-use-the-five-senses-in-your-writing">Use all five senses to describe the immediate surroundings </a>to the reader to quickly immerse them in the environment of your story. The little details of how your marketplace smells, or what the wood of an old house feels like can make all the difference in your descriptive writing, and really set the stage for a vivid reader experience.</li></ul>

Use Sensory Details

<ul><li>Show how the setting changes or interacts with characters . If there’s a factory nearby, don’t just tell the reader that—describe what it smells like or how it changes the way the sky looks. You can also indicate the time of day or time of year it is in your story by including how the sunlight looks or discussing weather changes.</li></ul>

Show, Don't Tell

<ul><li>If you need inspiration, look at the setting around you.</li><li>You can also use pictures and videos from places you cannot visit to get a general idea of what your own location would be like.</li></ul>

Visit Real-life Locations For Inspiration

<ul><li>Sometimes you can create a stronger image in the reader’s mind when using metaphors or similes to compare it to something else visual. For instance, comparing the volcanic eruption in your novel to a fiery, vengeful dragon can create intense imagery that will have more of an impact on your readers’ imaginations.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Focus on the details that really matter. Parse out the most interesting and vital details when describing the setting of your scene to give the reader a sense of balance, and not overload them with adjectives.</li></ul>

Keep it simple

As a writer, you might want to dive right into your plot and start giving detailed character descriptions. But those characters and that story all need a space in which to exist—that space is the setting. Taking the time to properly describe your setting will give your book more vibrancy and keep your readers engaged.

How to Describe Setting in Literature - 2024

Tools you can use:<ul><li>Paper</li><li>Digital file (e.g. Excel)</li><li>Software/app (e.g. <a href="https://www.aeontimeline.com/">Aeon Timeline</a>)</li></ul>

Create A Timeline

<ul><li>Use the date and time as chapter headings or subheadings, e.g. 2 August – Two days before the eruption; Conticinium [04:21 hours] (Pompeii, Robert Harris)</li><li>A character can glance at a clock or watch. This action builds tension when the character is working against a deadline. This technique works in detective and thriller stories when the protagonist feels the pressure of the clock ticking. </li></ul>

Stating Time Directly

<ul><li>Use references to story events, both past and future, e.g. The train leaves in xx hours/days</li><li>Mention that an upcoming event will happen in xx weeks</li></ul>

Using Events As Time Markers

<ul><li>Use transitions as time markers.</li><li>Short transitions: 28 hours after Mike received the telegram / the next morning / that night</li><li>Longer transitions: The following month/year</li></ul>

Transitioning To The Next Scene

<ul><li>Incorporate seasonal details: rain, snow, heat, blooming trees, falling leaves, etc. </li><li>Use seasonal events such as sports and festivals. For example: Andy switched from track to cross-country skiing as the days shortened / the upcoming new year</li></ul>

Using Seasons As Time Markers

<ul><li>Eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner </li><li>Heading to school or work </li><li>An evening cocktail  </li><li>Children playing after school </li><li>Returning from school or work </li><li>Getting ready for bed  </li> </ul>

Using Natural Daily Activities

<ul><li>Indicate distance of a destination + means of travel, e.g. 2 days by foot, car, horseback, etc.</li><li>Indicate the character's response to travel, e.g. tired, cranky, invigorated at the journey’s end</li></ul>

Using Distance + Adding Details

For each story event, include the time of day and weather details. These details will ground you as you are writing the scene and help readers understand the passage of time in your story.

Time is part of setting, and you need to let readers know what time it is in your scene.

Why you need to include time as part of setting and how to include time passage in your story for smooth story progression.

The Sense of Style

The Emotion Thesaurus

How to Describe Setting in Literature - 2024

Telling Time in Your Story

S. Sybil