Novel Blog - Writing The Great American Novel

Hassassin wrote an interesting article for BrooWaha that discusses strategies for writing well and developing an audience.

The article titled "So you want to be a well read writer" has one of those headlines that confuses me. I started reading the article thinking that it was an article about books that wanna be writers should be reading, but by the second paragraph it turned into an article about "how to write" better.

Here are some main points:

1. Stay consistent
2. Write to an audience larger than your own personal social group
3. Avoid using parentheses (unless necessary)
4. Write what you know

Here's another interesting article from OnlyTraitofLeader.com about understanding your audience.

"Communication is most effective when the two parties share a common language, common background, and common style. In verbal communications this equates to speaking English with a Southern accent if you are in the South, but toning down the twang a bit when you head up North."

I have first hand experience with this scenario. My wife is from Tennessee and I'm afraid her southern dialect has rubbed off on me. I have noticed a personal tendancy to turn up the twang when we're visiting her Tennessee relatives and after spending a few days in my native Missouri visiting with my family, I tend to emphasize the consonants more when speaking by placing a harder edge to the T's and S's.