KISS Keep It Short and Simple

Man writing at computer with notebook and pen

Here’s a Handful of M&Ms

Writing is like an all day sucker sometimes; just not worth the effort and time for sticky lips. But other times, writing is itself a sweet reward. Most of the time, though, it is a must-do item on our list that evokes a lot of anxiety about how to start, how to get through it, how to do this, then that, and get it done! I am going to take a few lessons from my book, KISS Keep It Short and Simple, to use as “M & Ms—The Mechanics and Magic of Writing” to illustrate how a few simple techniques can make alchemy happen.

The computer has redefined how to write a paper, both in content and mechanics, as the internet has given unlimited resources for the writer and word processing has eliminated a host of difficulties, such as formatting and spell checking. While that is a wonderful thing for all writers of all ages, the authors, students, professionals and non-professionals alike, most of us have angst when it comes to actually putting ideas into an organized presentation. Texting and tweeting has destructured the sentence, and with emoticons, has fragmented thoughts into information of bits and bytes, making it even harder to organize and compile a composition.

But therein lies the beauty of writing: chaos. From all those swirling ideas, associations form from clustering ideas, memories, and sensory perceptions into coherency. This is layering—write! doodle! play with it! and soon a theme emerges. When it pops! and it will, you then can arrange these elements into the topic of your paper. The beginning of the paper states intent; the middle is explanatory; the last is summation.

The critical difference in a composition, such as a business letter, essay or review, and social media posts, is a complete sentence. As you see the theme take shape, begin to organize it into paragraphs, using the CCI: Compare, Contrast and Interrelate technique. Remember, the rule of three (at the least): each sentence has a noun, verb and adverb; three sentences in a paragraph, three paragraphs for a composition.

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. Grab some chocolate goodies, put on your wizard’s hat and write!

Christmas Postcards

The Write Seasons Greetings

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I have to take stock of the pantry, order the prime rib, buy the ingredients for the pies, edit the address list, Mary Sue likes Cran-Apple juice, Ted likes V-8, Sugar Snaps is toddling, put the tree up on a box or table, and I forgot Sissy’s birthday card. If I could just get out the newsletter, a really good one, that would take care of half the obligatory notes in the one-hundred ten Christmas cards. I can do that between the 9th and 10th and get all those in the mail with all the packages, on time for Christmas Eve.

Or, I could just forget it. But every year I argue with that inner voice that urges me to do a creative newsletter, maybe with an artful, hand drawn Santa and sleigh over the roof tops, or a bucolic scene with deer and bunnies and magically decorated trees, snow falling, and of course, starry night sky—-ah, no, if it is snowing it wouldn’t be starry, then maybe snow on the ground. Or quick! copy a graphic and send out e-cards. Oh, right. Now I am exhausted just thinking about it. Why does it have to be so hard?

Well, it does not have to be hard. I know, I wrote the book KISS, Keep It Short and Simple, and I’ve learned how to quick start a writing project. Although it sounds contradictory, listen to the chattering thoughts a few seconds. Is there a recurring theme—-leaving out all the expletives? For me this year, there is nothing particularly newsworthy. Okay, then, what about an artsy approach? Hmmm, what pops in mind is a wine glass pouring out words onto the paper. Okay, I can go with that and a simple line that the family is happy, healthy and will be celebrating the holidays together. Last year, the newsletter had twelve paragraphs bulging with anecdotes, some hilarious and some quite disheartening, in a calendar format, as my life had been one incident after another the whole year. I could laugh about it in retrospect and apparently, so could others.

What makes a good Christmas newsletter? News about the family. It is in the telling. “Well, it’s that time of year again….” does not make for a felicitous greeting. Start on a positive note, simply “Merry Christmas!” can be a good start to a chatty newsletter. If you are not good on the computer with graphics, buy some seasonal cheerful paper which has the added benefit of shortening the format. The idea is to make your readers feel as though you are talking to them, not bragging or to induce envy of your good fortune or make others feel sorry for you, or dread hearing the same old thing from you year after year. It is a short story. Short sentences are far easier and memorable than long, run-ons. Remember that a sentence is built on threes: a noun, verb and adjective; a beginning, middle and end, and at least three sentences to a paragraph. Use the CCI concept: compare, contrast and interrelate. As an example: We were so fortunate to have our clan, six couples, 5 children, one bachelor, together for a Christmas ski vacation. Our nephew Kyle, a competitive racer broke a record in the Jingle Bell run, but unfortunately, also broke his ankle the first day. However, as all true romantic stories have a happy ending, by the end of the week, Kyle was engaged to his high school sweetheart, a charming waitress who brought him a daily cup of coffee as he sat by the fireplace. Kismet?

I suspect for most people, it is hard to find the right tone, or voice, to write one’s story. Is it far nobler to be serious or more impressive to be charming, witty, and funny? Or far better to be yourself, which may be plain spoken, out-spoken or reticent. If the whole thing of writing out a newsletter is overwhelming, don’t stress, address. Get the envelopes done and the letter becomes an accessory. Once you begin, the rest will come easy.

Then again, “Merry Christmas! Happy New Year y’all” works like a charm, too. Sign your name to the card and you are good to go.

Happy Holidays
Jacquie

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KISS Excerpt: Review Your Work

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REVIEW: CATCHING THOSE BLOOPERS

BLOOPERS are those little things that undo a perfect
paper. Like:

  • Misspelled words.
  • Typos.
  • Run-on sentences.
  • Grammar.
  • Punctuation.
  • Tense agreement.
  • Format.
  • Onion-skin or erasable bond paper.

Use this checklist to go over your paper before calling it quits. Misspelled words can be easily corrected; look up a word and be sure, or use the spell checker if
your computer program has one.

Typos are hard to catch because we read what we think should be there. Ask someone to go over your paper and look for transposed letters. It is all right to pencil lightly a correction or two, but if there are more than three, redo.

Run-on sentences make it hard to figure out what idea is being presented and make the reader wonder if you know your subject and know that it is better to say one thing at a time rather than trying to cram a whole bunch of ideas into one long, long sentence. Confusing, to say the least.

Grammar, punctuation and tense agreement are important. Subject and verb must agree. If you start in the present tense, stay in the present (or past, past perfect, future) throughout the paper. The exception to this rule is when you are using a quote; then use the exact wording from the text. Put a period at the end of every sentence. If you are unsure where and when to use commas, semi-colons and colons, refer to a dictionary. Loads
of useful information can be found in the front and back of a dictionary.

Be sure you know what your teacher expects of your final paper. The format, or how it looks, is very important to present your ideas dressed in the right style.
Use good bond paper. Onion-skin and erasable bond typing paper make it difficult to read; the ink smears and smudges on the paper and it is hard on the eyes to read.

Present your paper neatly, a title page a must and in a report cover. First impressions can make the grade!