Improving Sentences and Detail

Making the wording in my writing more interesting is something I have been struggling with possibly the most this semester. I am so used to just throwing together facts into sentences and making those into paragraphs that form an essay that I have never really put much thought into how I can switch my wording to make people more interested. That is where reading Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg came in handy this week. This week, we were to read about syntax, showing instead of telling, and being specific, all of which gave me a new perspective of my wording techniques.

The first chapter, "Syntax," provided different exercises a writer could do in order to make his or her sentences more interesting. The example Goldberg provided had the writer write down the three to four consecutive lines or sentences of the most boring piece of writing and then treat each word like a block and just move them around randomly for a third of the page without putting much, if any, thought into it. After that, Goldberg says to put punctuation into the jumble of words without thinking about what is going on. In the end, the writer has the most interesting sentences, some of which make no sense at all, but some that improve the message and sound of the original sentence. This is one of the most interesting exercises I have come across, and I did not think it would go anywhere. In the end, though, I find myself really wanting to try it out when I am editing my next piece of writing, because it gives the piece a certain flair.

The second and third chapters kind of go together in terms of the messages they are trying to get across. The second chapter, "Don't' Tell, but Show," tells the writer that he or she needs to show the emotions of what is going on in the writing, rather than just saying it. Goldberg uses anger as an example. She says to show what anger is, rather than just saying that the subject is angry. Showing the emotion hits home more and it is not as boring. The third chapter, "Be Specific," talks about describing objects and naming them more specifically than just being general. The example Goldberg uses for this case is a flower. She says that a writer should describe exactly what kind of flower the subject is looking at. Goldberg says that she went around for a while and learned what each kind of flower or tree she had in her environment, because it helps one feel closer to his or her environment. On top of that, it hits closer to home with the reader. Both of these have always been difficult for me to do, because I am not one for detail. When I'm reading a book, I like getting the jist of what is going on, rather than knowing every single detail. It is why I cannot bring myself to read Charles Dickens novels. However, I know that the detail is important for others, and I often leave out important details that are necessary to understand what I am trying to say. Therefore, these two chapters have helped me understand the power and necessity of details, and make me want to push it more for myself.

Once again, Natalie Goldberg has managed to make me see writing in a different light. Not only did she make me re-think my phrasing of sentences this week, but she also helped me understand the importance of details in a piece of writing.