respect

and other gifts good writers give their readers

Ever read something that demanded too much of your patience? Of course you have, because if you read posts like this on the internet, this intro area is where it usually starts testing to see if you’re really interested in the topic at hand — or, the topic promised to be at hand, eventually, because it was mentioned in the title, but it won’t come around until the author decides they’ve warmed up their audience enough to finally get to the point.

Are you, dear reader, sufficiently warmed up? Good.

In light of that, in the new year, let's give our readers the gift of respect. Like so…

get to the point, forcryingoutloud

Rather than the lengthy intro-that-goes-nowhere leading into our point (foodie websites are the wurst worst at this), let's just get right to it. As writers, some good things to ask ourselves are, Am I just venting? Does this share important information or perspective? Or do I sound like a drunk hanging off someone’s arm?

There are exceptions, of course, like when you’re telling a story, or trying to create tension and mystery. But if you’re simply sharing information or writing about XYZ, no one wants (or needs) to read a dissertation on all the other letters of the alphabet.

check your ego and serve the reader

Rather than treating deadlines as boxes to check off to make ourselves feel better, let's make sure we wrote something that’s worth our reader’s time to open and read. We’re not just doing this to puff ourselves up, so here’s another important question to ask ourselves: Is this making me feel good at the expense of my readers’ patience?

We’re not just checking off our list, but we’re writing for the reader so they actually get what they need in the time that they need it. And what many readers needs is less time with their eyes stuck on a screen (or page) that’s not actually serving them something important.

don’t cheat

Rather than cheating our readers (and fellow writers) by succumbing to the temptations of AI, chat GPT, and other robot slave acronyms, let's actually do the work of writing instead of just pretending to and taking credit for it.

My husband has a student who blatantly uses chat GPT in papers; it became obvious when the previously slang-ridden papers riddled with punctuation errors suddenly veered sharply into Dickensian phrasing and words like “moreover.” Will this student get much out of the course he’s taking? Nope, he’ll only get what he puts into it. We only truly advance when we put the work in to practice, learn, and refine our skills.

take the time to edit your work

…so your reader doesn’t have to. If you’re saying the same thing over and over, find the strongest sentence or paragraph and eliminate the rest so your reader doesn’t have to wade through it all. Each of our sentences should mean something, rather than dribbling out a million different paraphrases of the same idea, which waters down our message.

but also, don’t overthink it

Your message is worth getting out there. It’s in you for a reason and your perspective is important, so make sure it’s written in a way that represents that. Just don’t let perfectionism or your inner critic silence it. Hit the “send” or “publish” button, and let it go. xo

And hey, if you’re joining us in GWTW…

We’ve had a little controversy in the chat over Rhett Butler: whether or not we like him, whether or not he’s a great character or someone to admire. But I’ve noticed that those who like (I daresay, love) his character (*raises hand*) are those who’ve already finished the book or have read it before. For those who are on their first trip through Gone With the Wind, he’s still mostly a blackguard rogue.

But hey, I didn’t see what all the fuss was about with Mr. Darcy the first time I read Pride and Prejudice, either. I see new Gaining Ground bumper stickers in the future… #GiveRhettAChance

Happy New Year,

Shannon