|
|
This article
appeared in the Spring 2002 edition of Short
Words, the newsletter of Tim Albert Training.
It was written by Tim Albert.
|
|
|
Don't
undermine the writer!
Tim Albert has some
tips.
One of the great mysteries in
life is how people who speak simply and intelligibly
face-to-face produce acres of gobbledegook as soon as they
put pen to paper.
After running hundreds of
courses on effective writing, I now feel that I know the
answer. It's not so much the fault of the individual as the
fault of the culture. And as Liz
Wager points out,
when it comes to the culture of medical writing,
unfathomable prose seems to be particularly highly valued.
A good way out is to build
up a counter culture, and this means changing our habits and
giving our colleagues useful feedback on their writing, not
just criticism. Here are some tips.
- Make sure you know what
the writer is trying to achieve and who the audience is.
Unless you understand this, your comments will be on
matters of detail, not substance.
- Be balanced. Don't just
go through looking for errors and shortcomings. Tell the
writer what he or she has done well.
- Don't make endless minor
changes. If someone is not very good at spelling, don't
just circle the offending words; advise them to put their
writing through a spell check.
- Don't assume that what
you were taught at school was correct. A common complaint
is that writers have started a sentence with a 'But'. But
look in any reference book and it will tell you that
this is perfectly acceptable.
- Don't use a red pen.
This sends round all kinds of signals, and takes people
back into the classroom. A pencil is a much softer option
- amendments can easily be rubbed out.
- Remember you are making
changes, not necessarily corrections.
- The most important thing
to remember is that you are not the audience. All your
comments should be based not on the principle 'Do I like
that?' but 'Is this right for the audience?'
- When you have finished,
look at what you have done. Then ask the question: 'Have
I helped the writer?'
How to accept criticism:
what writers say:
- 'Listen, then make up
your own mind' - Gay Talese
- 'Don't let editors edit
the life out of your sentences!'- Isaac
Asimov
- 'I would recommend the
cultivation of extreme indifference to both praise and
blame because praise will lead you to vanity, and blame
will lead you to self-pity, and both are bad for writers'
- John Berryman
- 'You will never be
satisfied with what you do' - Fay
Weldon
(Quotes from Advice to
writers, Jon Winokur, London: Pavilion Books
2000)
|
