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Developing Your Writing Voice and Understanding Audiences in 40 Characters
- 1. Session Three The Mechanics of Writing
- 2. Session Three By the end of this workshop you will have developed; an understanding of the role of writer’s voice, and the ability to use it to reach your desired audience, within the context of a well written story. This will be achieved by: Defining your audience Creating a writers voice and developing your own style. The Do’s and Don’ts of writing
- 3. WHO ARE YOU COMMUNICATING WITH? Consider who makes you ideal audience?
- 4. Writing for an audience tips: Don’t write for too narrow or too broad an audience Consider the impact of voice, language, tone and delivery method
- 5. WRITERS VOICE Elements of Writers Voice
- 6. Elements of Voice Language – slang, young, old, formal Tone – Sarcastic, ironic, smug, powerful, informative, opinionated, arrogant. Mood – Sombre, optimistic, questioning, impatient.
- 7. Elements of Voice Rhythm – Easy going, relaxing, upbeat, fast paced. Pitch – hysterical, laid back, shouting, downbeat Style – Enquiring, thoughtful, reflective, opinionated, uncompromising, demanding, authoritative
- 8. Good Writing - Recap Is authentic Has a distinct voice Is understood by its target audience Seeks to entertain, inform, persuade or all 3
- 9. YOUR ONLINE IDENTITY Choosing a name.
- 10. A name for your online identity Every voice needs a name. Your online voice is no different. You name should: • Reflect your site’s contents, or your online persona’s writing style • Be memorable and ‘attractive’ • Be appropriate for use across all social media
- 11. DO’S AND DON’TS OF WRITING
- 12. Do’s & Don’ts of Writing Generating ideas: Do carry a journal Do read as much as you can Do write something that resonates with you.
- 13. Do’s & Don’ts of Writing Developing the skill: Do develop your understanding of the dynamics of language Do seek to understand the rules of good grammar Don’t forget to use punctuation Don’t worry if it’s not perfect the first time Do solicit feedback Don’t try to please everyone who gives you feedback - not everyone’s tastes are the same.
- 14. Do’s & Don’ts of Writing Refining your writing: Avoid empty adverbs Watch out for repeats – pet words you use, over and over and over again Avoid flat colourless writing Don’t add suffixes!!! Telling is not as powerful as showing! – Describe!
- 15. Do’s & Don’ts of Writing Trim fat – fatty words, fatty phrases, & fatty repetition Avoid using too much jargon Acronyms count as jargon Use the right words. Precision is important. Vague words can be misinterpreted.
- 16. Do’s & Don’ts of Writing Ensuring Productivity: Don’t check social media during your writing time .
- 18. Editing – Key ideas: The 24 hour rule - Let it sit. Edit for structure & content first then spelling and grammar later. Reduce your word count. Don’t over edit
- 19. Review Today we have covered: Defining your audience Creating a writers voice and developing your own style. The Do’s and Don’ts of writing You should now have; an understanding of the role of writer’s voice, and the ability to use it to reach your desired audience, within the context of a well written story.
- 20. Next Steps Tasks: 1. Access the WIKI and review this session’s material. There are many tasks throughout the WIKI. 2. Write and edit your first story
- 21. Next session An Introduction to Social Media • How Social Media Works • Understanding different social media platforms: • How to set up an account • Understanding Terms & Conditions • The role of different forms of communication in Social Media
Editor's Notes
- This session completes the workshops devoted specifically to story telling. We will use many of the themes covered in these initial sessions throughout the course. Today’s session builds on and consolidates the themes we have explored to date.
- Let’s consider a restaurant review blogger. Their target audience might be: Themselves Their friends People who eat out with kids in: a part of Melbourne/anywhere in Melbourne/anywhere in Australia/anywhere in the world. People who eat out in: a part of Melbourne/anywhere in Melbourne/anywhere in Australia/anywhere in the world. Anyone with an interest in food in: a part of Melbourne/anywhere in Melbourne/anywhere in Australia/anywhere in the world. Anyone who might read a blog The broader the target audience the broader their subject matter will need to be in order to be relevant. If the blogger was simply looking for a readership drawn from people who eat out with kids in Melbourne’s north then the majority of their posts will be about family friendly restaurants in Melbourne’s north. However if the writer is aiming to attract anyone will an interest in food anywhere in the world their posts will need to be a lot more diverse in order for their site to be ‘important or interesting’(see Session One) to their target audience. If they are targeting an audience drawn from people who eat out with their kids then their content detail should reflect that. They will mention whether the menu is child friendly, details about high chairs and pram access might be relevant and they are probably more likely to review places that open for lunch. If however, their intended audience is broader, then information contained in their posts should also be broader. They might review restaurants from a wider geographical area, content might include: advice on the best places for romantic dinners, and critiques of wine lists and more sophisticated dishes are likely to be reviewed. Finally, if they are interested in a really broad audience (eg. anyone who might read an internet blog) their writing will need to be impeccable, engaging and sufficiently entertaining to enable them to move beyond the restaurant reviewing niche?
- Last session we touched on how language, including jargon, voice and tone can dictate who your audience will be. Think about how teenagers speak, think about what they would like to read. Does it differ from someone in their 60s? Similarly voice will appeal to different demographics. Make sure your matched the one you are trying to attract. As we discussed last week content too dictates the audience. Don’t write for too narrow an audience unless that is your aim. Equally attempting to write for a really broad audience is difficult. People tend to be drawn to specific subjects or have specific interests it is easy to try and appeal to everyone and end up appealing to no one.
- Group Brainstorm – elements of writers voice.
- Language – Anyone read Trainspotting? Or much of Dickens work? The language in both is really distinctive but would probably appeal to completely different groups of people. The language you use is part of your voice. Tone – After language tone is probably the most obvious aspect of writers voice. Think about Caroline Wilson, think about Andrew Bolt, think about Michelle Gratton . Tone plays a key role in all of their writing. It dictates the audience they will receive and adds to the readers understanding of what they are attempting to communicate. Mood – Good writing can reflect a mood. Think about the darkness inherent in Thomas Hardy’s writing
- Rhythm – good writing can have rhythm, poetry certainly but also other writing. Short sentences create a different rhythm than longer ones, words themselves can create a rhythm and a pitch. You can shout when writing or you can whisper. Soft melodic words create their own pitch and even the simple act of capitalising will shot out your point. Style – style is linked to all the elements we have talked about today and more. Many writers use reflection as part of their voice. Who wouldn’t defer to David Attenborough’s authority on all things natural?
- Throughout these first 3 sessions we have considered aspects of good communication and in particular good writing. To summarise good communication is: authentic, has a distinct voice, is understood by its target audience and in the majority of cases seeks to entertain, inform or persuade or all 3. We finish this section of the workshop with some Do’s and Don’ts of writing. The hints that will make you better writers and your material a better read.
- Group Brainstorm – elements of writers voice.
- We finish these writing story telling sessions with the Do’s & Don’ts of writing. In part to recap and in part to mention a few things we have yet to cover whilst exploring good communication Generating Ideas Do carry a journal – ideas can strike at any time and it useful to record them when they do. Do read as much as you can – reading generates story ideas, as well as extending your vocabulary, keeping you well informed and exposing you to new ideas. Do write something that resonates with you – if you are bored by your topic it is probable that your audience will be too. If your topic resonates then you are more likely to write with passion, flair and intensity all of which will ultimately make it more interesting to read.
- Do develop your understanding of the dynamics of language – language is key in creating your writers voice, it is key in ensuring your meaning is understood and it is key in keeping the audience engaged. Understanding how words work together will help you develop in all 3 of these areas. Do seek to understand the rules of good grammar – Grammar allows you to control how your work is read. It ensures that you are understood. Anyone who has read the letters page of any newspaper, or have listened to talk back radio for any period of time, will know that there are an awful lot of people irritated by poor grammar. Don’t alienate a large proportion of your prospective audience with poor grammar. Don’t forget to use punctuation – Like grammar punctuation is key to ensuring people understand the point you are trying to make. Use commas, use full stops, use exclamation marks (but not too many), they will make your work a much easier read if you used well. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect the first time – The world is a forgiving place. One bad blog post isn’t going to mean no one will ever visit your site. Besides you can always edit. Do solicit feedback – Feedback allows you to hone your skills. It allows you to see your works as others see it. You don’t always have to agree with the feedback or implement suggestions but you should always seek to find out what your audience thinks. Don’t try to please everyone who gives you feedback - not everyone’s tastes are the same.
- Avoid empty adverbs - Which of these sentences reads better: “the cup was completely full of water”, or “the cup was full of water” ? Many adverbs are really overused, çompletely redundant or totally pointless. Or to edit that sentence and make it sound less like it was spoken by a 15 year old rolling their eyes, and more like good effective writing: Many adverbs are overused, redundant or pointless. Repeats – Miss Fisher example. Avoid flat colourless writing. “The man stopped to tie his shoelace, before opening the car door and driving to school. The journey took 15 minutes and he listened to the radio the whole way”. Unless these things are somehow key for plot development are they a really an essential thing for the audience to know? They sure aren’t very interesting. Don’t add suffixes “Selfishness”, “Harrowingly”, using the word ‘gate after another word to describe something slightly controversial, are all examples of pointless and often irritating suffixes. Describing an act as selfish is always going to be better than describing an act as an example of selfishness. Harrowing is a really strong word until you put a ‘ly on the end of it. And if you don’t know what ‘Bibgate’ is you aren’t alone (but you can find it and 101 other non Watergate ‘gates on Wikipedia though).
- Trim fat – fatty words, fatty phrases, & fatty repetition . Fatty words are words that are designed to sound impressive but do nothing to advance the readers understanding or enjoyment of the written work. An example might be “I went to the shop and purchased some clothes”, does that really sound (or read) better than “I went to the shop and bought some clothes”? Fatty writing can be found in a huge range of professional documents. Exercise: This is taken from a Kindergarten teacher position description: Be responsible for accessing current information about curriculum and contemporary pedagogy and provide this to all educators as appropriate." Ask the group to reword it to make it easier for everyone to understand: Be responsible for keeping up with current theories of education and share this information with other kindergarten employees. Avoid using too much jargon, Jargon has the potential to alienate parts of your audience and should only be used where it either builds authenticity or is a legitimate part of the ‘voice’. Acronyms count as jargon, limit their use to situations where you are sure they will be understood. Eg TAB is far better known than Totalisator Agency Board. Use the right words. Precision is important. Vague words can be misinterpreted. Some people even rely on that – think about how some sales people or estate agents use language to conceal and to emphasise.
- Who knows some good rules about editing?
- 24 hour rule – gives you space to review it properly. Gives your emotion time to recede. Structure and content first – hard to do both at once. You could be correcting a lot of work you later don’t use. Reduce your word count – comes back to the clear precise language point. Don’t over edit – don’t make your work sterile. Doesn’t need to be perfect – you have other pieces to produce.
- Wrap up this session
- What to do before next session
- Preview next session and invite participants to stay on and socialise (time permitting).