100 Ways to Improve Your Writing

Gary Provost is the author of 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing.

This is the one guide that anyone who writes--whether student, business person, or professional writer--should put on the desk beside pencil, pen, typewriter, or word processor. Filled with professional tips and a wealth of instructive examples, this valuable, easy-to-use handbook can help you solve any and all writing problems.

100 Ways to Improve Your WritingIntroductionI. Nine Ways to Improve Your Writing When You're Not Writing
1. Get Some Reference Books
2. Expand Your Vocabulary
3. Improve Your Spelling
4. Read
5. Take a Class
6. Eavesdrop
7. Research
8. Write in Your Head
9. Choose a Time and Place
II. Nine Ways to Overcome Writer's Block
1. Copy Something
2. Keep a Journal
3. Talk About What You're Writing
4. Touch Your Toes
5. Do Writing Exercises
6. Organize Your Material
7. Make a List
8. Picture a Reader
9. Ask Yourself Why You Are Writing
III. Five Ways to Write a Strong Beginning
1. Find a Slant
2. Write a Strong Lead
3. Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep
4. Set a Tone and Maintain It
5. Begin at the Beginning
IV. Nine Ways to Save Time and Energy
1. Use Pyramid Construction
2. Use Topic Sentences
3. Write a Strong Lead
4. Use Transitional Phrases
5. Don't Explain When You Don't Have To
6. Use Bridge Words
7. Avoid Wordiness
8. Steal
9. Stop Writing When You Get to the End
V. Ten Ways to Develop Style
1. Think About Style
2. Listen to What you Write
3. Mimic Spoken Language
4. Vary Sentence Length
5. Vary Sentence Constructioin
6. Write Complete Sentences
7. Show, Don't Tell
8. Keep Related Words Together
9. Use Parallel Construction
10. Don't Force a Personal Style
VI. Twelve Ways to Give Your Words Power
1. Use Short Words
2. Use Dense Words
3. Use Familiar Words
4. Use Active Verbs
5. Use Strong Verbs
6. Use Specific Nouns
7. Use the Active Voice...Most of the Time
8. Say Things in a Positve Way...Most of the Time
9. Be Specific
10. Use Statistics
11. Provide Facts
12. Put Empathic Words at the End
VII. Eleven Ways to Make People What You Write
1. Make Yourself Likable
2. Write About People
3. Show Your Opinion
4. Obey Your Own Rules
5. Use Anecdotes
6. Name Your Sources
7. Name Your Sources
8. Provide Useful Information
9. Use Quotations
10. Use Quotes
11. Create a Strong Title
VIII. Ten Ways to Avoid Grammatical Errors
1. Respect the Rules of Grammar
2. Do Not Change Tenses
3. Know How to Use the Possessive Case
4. Make Verbs Agree With Their Subjects
5. Avoid Dangling Modifiers
6. Avoid Shifts in Pronoun Forms
7. Avoid Splitting Infinitives
8. Avoid These Common Mistakes
9. Be Sensitive to Changes in the Language
10. Prefer Good Writing to Good Grammar
IX. Six Ways to Avoid Punctuation Errors
1. Use Orthodox Punctuation
2. Know When to Use a Comma
3. Know When to Use a Semicolon
4. Know When to Use a Colon
5. Use Exclamation Marks Only When Exclaiming and Question Marks Only When Asking Questions
6. Know How To Use Quotation Marks
X. Twelve Ways to Avoid Making Your Reader Hate You
1. Avoid Jargon
2. Avoid Cliches
3. Avoid Parentheses
4. Avoid Footnotes
5. Don't Use Transitions to Conceal Information
6. Don't Acknowledge When You Should Explain
7. Don't Hide Behind your Words
8. Don't Intrude
9. Don't Play Word Games
10. Don't Play the Tom Wolfe Game
11. Don't Play the Mystery Game
12. Don't Cheat
XI. Seven Ways to Edit Yourself
1. Read Your Work Out Loud
2. Cut Unnecessary Words
3. Think About What You Have Written
4. Ask Yourself These Questions
5. Follow These Rules of Form for Titles
6. Prepare a Perfect Manuscript
7. Use Common Sense