بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم

As-Salaamu ‘Alaikum Beloved Black Sisters.

1. NO BE VERBS

USE YOUR CREATIVITY AND MAKE YOUR WRITING MORE INTERESTING. INSTEAD SAYING “I AM SITTING.” YOU CAN SAY “BREATHLESSLY, I SIT WAITING FOR YOUR CALL.” OR “I FIND IT DIFFICULT TO SIT STILL WHILE THE MUSIC IS PLAYING.”

BY NOT USING BE VERBS, IT FORCES YOU TO GIVE MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHATEVER IT IS THAT IS HAPPENING. INSTEAD OF JUST SAYING “YOU ARE FAT.” YOU CAN SAY, “YOU NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT.” OR “YOU SURE HAVE PUT ON SOME POUNDS.” BOTH OF WHICH ARE REMARKABLY MORE INTERESTING.

2. USE ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS MUNIFICENTLY.

REMEMBER ADJECTIVES DESCRIBE A NOUN (PERSON, PLACE OR THING) AND ADVERBS MODIFY A VERB, ADJECTIVE OR OTHER ADVERB. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES. “MY GREEN GARMENT IS MY MOST FAVORITE.”  GREEN IS THE ADJECTIVE AND MOST IS THE ADVERB. HERE ARE SOME VIDEOS THAT SHOULD HELP TO MAKE IT MORE CLEAR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkuuZEey_bs

3. NOT “I” AND NEVER “YOU”.

DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU’RE WRITING, THE USE OF “I” MAY BE UNAVOIDABLE. BUT IF YOU ARE JUST RELAYING A STORY OR SOME OTHER TYPE OF WRITING, “I” CAN BE VERY BORING, EVEN IN AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. IF YOU MUST USE “I” DON’T START THE SENTENCE WITH “I”. MAKE YOUR POINT IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY. TAKING THE EMPHASIS OFF OF YOURSELF AND PUTTING IT ON THE THING THAT HAPPENED (MORE INTERESTING). FOR EXAMPLE, INSTEAD OF “I AM EATING BEAN SOUP.” YOU CAN SAY, “THIS BEAN SOUP IS DELICIOUS!”

THIS WAY, YOU ARE TACITLY INFORMING YOUR READER THAT YOU ARE EATING BEAN SOUP, AND ALSO GIVE THEM MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BEAN SOUP.

4. LASTLY, OVERDO IT!!!

WHAT YOU MAY THINK IS SO OVER-THE-TOP THAT NOBODY WILL TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY, YOUR READERS WILL PROBABLY GET SUCKED IN BY YOUR IMAGERY. AS I HAVE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, THE MORE INFORMATION YOU GIVE, THE MORE INTERESTED YOUR READER WILL BECOME. IT DOESN’T HURT TO BE EXTRAVAGANT IN YOUR DESCRIPTIONS AND PHRASES. I “HELPED” MY DAUGHTER WITH A PAPER FOR COLLEGE ONCE AND WENT OVERBOARD IN MY WORDING, BUT TEACHERS, ESPECIALLY, LOVE THAT. SHE GOT THE HIGHEST GRADE OUT OF ALL OF HER PROFESSOR’S STUDENTS.

FOR EXAMPLE, INSTEAD OF SAYING, “THE MUSIC SOUNDS REALLY GOOD.” YOU CAN SAY, “THE VIBRATIONS OF THE MUSIC REACH INTO MY SOUL.” YOU KNOW? TRY AND GIVE YOUR READER SOMETHING THEY CAN FEEL – SOMETHING THAT PAINTS A PICTURE IN THEIR MINDS. GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO PONDER OVER.