Riding the Word Flow: The Basics

Hey look, it's the first new post of my reboot of this blog. Today's topic is Flow; how well your writing fits together and how smoothly it transitions. Anyway, shall we get started?

Nothing makes a paper easier to read than it's flow. To understand flow, you need to know what the objective of your writing is first. What are you trying to accomplish? Say your writing a persuasive paper; your trying to prove to someone that your argument is the right one. How does flow relate to this? Your paper would want to flow from the weakest to the strongest argument, so at the end the reader can't help but think that "Wow, this guy is right". This is an example where the objective of your paper effects it's flow.

Flow also has much to do with the structure of the paper. You can make any piece of writing more readable by splitting it into smaller paragraphs. Note that if you do this, the transitions have to make sense. It's best to split up the writing at points where you begin to move the topic in a new direction. Look at this paragraph and the one before it. They both talk about Flow. But the first paragraph is more of an intro and how Flow relates to the objective of the writing; this paragraph talks about Flow in relation to the structure of the paper. Because of this, I could logically split both of these sections into two paragraphs.

But what about stories and creative writing? Have you noticed that the best stories have a good pace? They don't dwell in one place for too long, and describe things in enough detail to picture it in your head; not paint a Michelangelo. In this case, Flow would relate to the pace of the writing; how fast or slow it progresses through the story or the speed that it gets to it's message. You walk on a bit of a tightrope here; you don't want to go too fast and miss crucial parts needed to develop your writing. You also don't want to go too slow and drone on and on about minor details. A story with a good flow glides at a good pace, explaining everything with the necessary detail but always progressing.


This is a very basic look at Flow, but it's simplicity hides the fact that it makes writing easier to read and understand. Thanks for reading!

Sorry!

Yes I haven't updated this in ages; I've been very busy and used what little time I had left to focus on my other blog, Thoughts of G. I've been also starting to write for Associated Content, and I've written a post on how to improve your writing.

"How to Improve your Writing Easily"

So go ahead and check that out. In the meantime I'll see if I can't get a post on here. Thanks!

Get Funky

And no I'm not asking you to break out the 80's Cd so... don't do that o.0. But if you want your writing to be better than average, you might want to take a few risks. Writing is one place in which having weird or strange ideas can pay off. As long as they connect with the main idea and aren't completely irrelevant, adding your own special flair can make things more interesting. Remember, if you can explain things in a way that is much more interesting than a cookie-cutter standard, then just do it. Sometimes it is the quirkiness of a piece of writing that makes readers come back for more, just because it is unique. Don't be afraid to use different phrases or explain things in more far out ways. It will probably shake things up in a good way.

Proofread it!

What I am about to say just might be the most obvious statement ever, but I'm kind of surprised to see how many people actually neglect to do this. After you write your draft, READ IT! You would be surprised to see how many mistakes you might find. And I don't simply mean spelling and grammatical mistakes. When you read through the paper, you might find phrases and sentences that sound strange or not clear; this is your chance to make your paper sound better. Proofreading is about fixing errors and improving your paper, and there is always room for that. Even if you end up changing the bulk of the paper, it might end up better for it. Always remember to give your writing the once-over.