One way to develop a good writing style is to consciously strive to follow the guidelines described in the previous section. The following are additional ways to develop a mastery of style:
Write with a purpose. Is your purpose to entertain, inform, instruct, persuade, or do something else? Writing with a clear purpose will help you gauge your writing’s effectiveness as you draft and revise. If your writing fails to meet your objective, you have more work to do.
Don’t procrastinate or be a perfectionist. Beginners often agonize about the quality of their writing so much that they’re unable to get any writing done. Just start writing, even if you don’t feel ready. You can always fine-tune it later, but there will be nothing to fine-tune if you don’t start.
Write more or less in the manner you normally speak. Some writers try so hard to sound educated that the message gets lost in tortured prose. Write as you speak and then revise and reorganize as needed to make your message crystal clear.
Keep your audience in mind. When writing to an individual, keeping your audience in mind is easy. If you’re writing to a larger audience, try to single out one individual and imagine yourself speaking to him or her.
Read good writing. You can find good writing in everything from classic novels to quality newspapers and magazines, including Rolling Stone magazine, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, and Sports Illustrated. Try reading a few pieces aloud to tune your ear to good writing.
Emulate a writing style you like. While you don’t want to write just like someone else, exercises in emulating a certain writing style make you more conscious of style and allow that style to influence your own.
Read your own writing aloud. If you’re tripping over your own words, your readers will have an even harder time maintaining their balance. Reading aloud often reveals problems that need fixing. Eventually, you’ll be able to read aloud in your head.
Distance yourself from what you wrote. Write a rough draft and then set it aside for a few hours or (even better) a day or two. Now read it again. This technique gives you a more objective view of the text and often reveals areas that require fine-tuning.
Request feedback. Have someone else read what you wrote and tell you what they think. You don’t have to take their feedback, but someone looking at a paper with fresh eyes can help you learn the strengths and weaknesses of your writing.
PRACTICAL POINT
In business, technical, and internet writing, compose short paragraphs and use headings and lists to break up the text into easily digestible snippets. This approach makes the content more accessible and easier to skim. It also lessens the need for you to transition between sentences and paragraphs.