Writing Workshop 2 - Dr. Knutson CS 404 Fall 2012

1. Writing Workshop II
Charles Knutson
Brigham Young University
Much of this material is adapted
from Tara Gray's workshop
"Publish and Flourish"

2. Time Management
• Successful professional writing is
largely a function of successful time
management

3. Time Management
• Write 15-30 minutes every day
• Hold yourself accountable to someone
else
• The people who need big blocks of time
to write…
– Didn't write anything yesterday!
• When was the last time a big block of
time dropped on top of you?!

4. Time Management
• Study -- Boice 1992
• Control Group
– Write the way they always have
• Target Group
– Write 15-30 minutes each day
• Completed manuscripts…
– Control Group: 15%
– Test Group: 100%

5. Time Management
• Study -- Boice 1989
• Same groups
• Pages completed in one year
– Control Group: 17
– Test Group: 64

6. Time Management
• Study -- Boice 1989
• Same groups
• Pages completed in one year
– Control Group: 17
– Test Group: 64
– Accountability to someone: 157

7. Writing Strategies
• Don't finish figuring what you have to
write before you start writing
• Write as you read
• Write as you research
• Write as you think
• Write as you … um… write

8. Paper Organization
• Macro (paper) level
– Purpose and audience
• Mid (paragraph) level
– Organization
• Micro (sentence) level
– Style, grammar, wording

9. Revision Strategies
• Focus on the paragraph
• Revise around key sentences

10. Key Sentences
• Announce the topic of the paragraph
• Express the topic simply with little detail
– Often the most general statement
• No dangling pointers or external
references
• Do not have to be the first sentence

11. Key Sentences - Exercise
• In each paragraph, identify what you
believe to be the key sentence

12. Key Sentences - Exercise 1
• Each year, thousands of seminary students diligently memorize
Nephi's words, "...I know that the Lord giveth no
commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare
a way for them to accomplish the thing which he commandeth
them," (1 Nephi 3:7). The principle in this testimony is bold and
clear, instilling in us a faith that if we do what's right, things will
work out. Time and time again the scriptures illustrate this
profound principle in familiar stories such as Moses and the
parting of the Red Sea, Nephi's own retrieval of the brass
plates, even the early Saints building a temple in Nauvoo
despite crippling poverty and persecution. Sometimes, however,
in our zealousness to learn the principle and identify it in our
scriptural records, we neglect to realize the same support that
we receive in our own lives.

13. Key Sentences - Exercise 2
• I have finally decided that a combination is
the way to go. Automated systems are great
for those mindless activities, such as adding
time to a phone card. However, for unique
questions, or badly categorized systems, it
may be best to use a human interface. There
are many online resources to help the
customer facilitate this. Here are some
examples:

14. Key Sentences - Exercise 3
• It's a brilliant idea. At lease Intel thinks so. They are
now manufacturing their own version of a cheaper
laptop but are allegedly not trying to undermine
OLPC's efforts. They claim that with millions of
children in developing countries, the market will be
large enough for multiple products. A little price war
will be a good thing, persuading companies to stick to
their original goal of providing a cheap product to help
developing countries and not trying to make mega-
profits on the deal.

15. Key Sentences
• Not always universal agreement on the key
sentence
– What might that imply?
• What if there are multiple key sentences?
• What if you have no idea?
• Generally good to have agreement!
• Write larger projects in key sentence form
– Edit at that level to validate ideas and organization

16. External Readers
• A fresh pair of eyes reveals your blind spots
• “The reader, like any consumer, is sovereign.
If she thinks something you write is unclear,
then it is, by definition. There’s no arguing.”
– Deirdre McCloskey

17. External Readers
• Reader: Don't just say "Great job!"
– There's always something to improve!!
• Writer: Grow a thick skin!
– Separate your writing from your self
– Don't explain to your friend what you meant
• Your writing is supposed to do that!
• Your friend will tire of your explanations
– Start by believing your reader
– Care more about getting the writing right than in
being right!!

18. Dr. K's Writing Tips
• Writer's block
– Tell someone what it is you're trying to say
• Write that down
• It's probably close
– Forget how you want to say it, just puke it up
• Put "<ugh> text </ugh>" or something like that around it
• Continue writing
• Let simmer for at least 24 hours
• Return and edit
• 90% of the time… remove <ugh> tags, continue
• 10% of the time… slight edit will work

19. Dr. K's Writing Tips
• Delete your way to glory
• Most paragraphs and sentences can be dramatically
enhanced by deleting words or even entire sentences
• "Technology is a wonderful thing because it can be used for a
variety of purposes. Some of these uses are obtaining general
information, providing leisure time, and even spreading the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. The internet especially, is an amazing
tool that allows individuals to learn more about the Church in a
non-threatening way."
• "The Internet is an amazing tool that allows individuals to learn
more about the Church in a non-threatening way."
• Still not great… But it's what was actually said

20. Dr. K's Writing Pet Peeves
• Question words…
• Don't use question words (when, where, how,
etc.) when you really need a noun phrase
• "You can talk to hundreds of people at once in a chat
setting where potentially even half of the people
listening have never even met you."
• "Learn about Bluetooth, Bluetooth headsets and how
to link devices."

21. Dr. K's Writing Pet Peeves
• Future tense
– Don't use future tense unless something is actually in the
future
– It's acceptable colloquial spoken English, but bad written
English
• "If we set our goal with an eternal perspective we will
benefit from the spirit's guidance, which will help us to
make decisions that lead towards the goal."
• "The newer Airbus planes are completely fly-by-wire
and will not allow a pilot to perform the maneuvers
that Captain Pearson did."

22. Dr. K's Writing Pet Peeves
• Show, don't tell
• Paint a picture and you communicate way more with
the reader in a similar amount of text
• "It happens every time. Someone invents the latest
and greatest way of communicating via the internet
and then someone has to go and ruin all the fun for
everyone. Ever since MySpace became a household
buzzword, sexual predators have adjusted their battle
tactics and have chosen a different playing field, the
realm of online social networks."
• "Technology has invaded the earth. It is the plague of
the 21st century."

23. Dr. K's Writing Pet Peeves
• When writing to convince, don't speak about or for
others that you don't actually represent
• "Usually, when we think of internet safety, we think of
worms, viruses, identity theft, phishing, and so on."
• "People don't have time to read hundreds of blogs to
find answers. They prefer to read one blog that is
correct and complete than dozens of blogs that
contain only part of the information being sought, or
that are inaccurate."

24. Dr. K's Writing Pet Peeves
• Don't tell an autobiographical story unless the point is
your experience
• If you have another point, skip your autobiography
and get to the point
• "Recently I read a speech entitled 'Five Things We Need to
Know About Technological Change' by Neil Postman. It opened
my eyes to an entirely different viewpoint than I have held my
entire life."
– But the point of the paragraph was not then about his
conversion, but about Postman's points
• "The past day I spent some time thinking . Novel idea eh? I
ignored the googles and the wikipedias of the world and faced
my own thoughts and feelings. In doing so I realized how much
the way we live out our lives parallels the frenzied pace of the
world around us."

25. Dr. K's Writing Pet Peeves
• Active versus passive voice
• Forget what the academic styles say, speak
in active voice whenever you can get away
with it
• "Compliments are received for Witty comments or for
plain just supporting each other."
• "Ignorance and skepticism were replaced by facts
and people."