TheWritersBag.com

When speaking of real estate value, the slogan is “Location, location, location.” When speaking of the value of nonfiction writing, the slogan should be “Clarity, clarity, clarity.”

Granted, clarity is only one of many important elements of writing. But in my book (excuse the pun) it’s the most important. If you fail to make your written message clear, you might as well have stayed in bed.

Let me give you an example. This morning my daughter asked my daughter-in-law if she liked pumpkin pie. Her response was, “I like it more than Greg.” (Greg being her husband, my son.)

I wasn’t sure what she meant. I think she meant, “I like pumpkin pie more than Greg likes pumpkin pie.” But on the other hand, she could have been saying, “I like pumpkin pie more than I like Greg.”

If she meant the latter, my son is in trouble. I say that because my daughter-in-law is the kind of girl no one would want to lose, and being demoted in her affections to a position just below pumpkin pie would not bode well for him.

So remember: When you write, pay attention to what you’re saying. Unless you’re writing poetry or certain types of fiction (and sometimes even then), clarity is rule #1.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which we’ll be celebrating tomorrow, I think it’s appropriate to mention a few things I’m thankful for as a writer. Here is a very incomplete list:

My personal computer. I started my freelance writing career before personal computers became available. I wrote articles by hand on rolls of butcher paper. Then I’d do the final writing with my IBM Selectric II typewriter – a machine heavy enough to have been used as the anchor for a luxury liner. When I started using my first personal computer (a clunker that didn’t even have a hard drive and cost over $4,000), I was able to do the same amount of writing in half the time, or produce twice the output in the same amount of time. I am not exaggerating.

The Internet. I spend a surprising amount of time on the Web. It has become the writer’s most accessible, powerful research tool for writers. I remember what research was like before the ascent of the World Wide Web. Even tiny tasks like checking the spelling of a place name would often require a trip to a library. Thank you, Al Gore, for inventing the Internet!

Moleskine notebooks and Pilot G2 extra fine gel pens. Heaven help me, but I love these little black books and pens. They provide the perfect foil to the uber-technological lifestyles we writers face today. Having just said how thankful I am for my personal computer and the Internet, this may seem contradictory, but any writer will know what I mean.

Readers. If you tell a joke in an empty woods, is it a joke? If you write a story and no one reads it, is it a story? Those are, of course, silly questions, but the point is, I’m grateful to people who read what I write. And that includes you. Thanks.

Right-brain dominance. My father and brother are accountants. I’m a writer. Go figure. They are left-brained – great with facts and figures. I’m right-brained (or is it “write-brained”?) – definitely not a facts and figures guy, but better adapted to concepts and seeing relationships and connections between ideas and things. Without right-brain dominance I would not be a writer. And since I love being a writer, I’m thankful for the slightly swollen right side of my brain, which mercilessly bullies the left side.

And all that’s just the beginning.

What are you thankful for?

Congratulations to those of you who participated in last week’s Word Shot. Hundreds – probably thousands – of people read what you wrote. I personally enjoyed the reading. If you haven’t yet read the submissions, click here.

And now for this week’s Word Shot photo:

Has this criminal been handcuffed by the police? Look again at the “handcuffs.” And what about the barbed wire? What’s going on here? What has this man done and what will happen to him? What can you learn about the man from what he is wearing? Let your imagination run with this and write something about it – from one word to a full story – in a comment to this post.

In the coming week, check back occasionally to see what others have written.

And remember: If you participate in 10 Word Shots, I’ll e-mail you all three of my e-manuals free. Once you’ve submitted to a total of 10, let me know via e-mail and I’ll send you the manuals in PDF format.

Don’t be shy. And don’t give in to writer’s block. Give this Word Shot a shot and hone your writing skills … and your imagination.