Writing journeys
6 MIN READ
This week on Writing Journeys, series editor Tom Robertson takes apart an older article of his, line-by-line, providing critical insight into what makes a good essay.
One of the ideas motivating this series is that writing strategies can be identified and learned. In this essay, I show some of my favorite writing strategies with examples. I do so with line-by-line analysis of an essay I wrote for Republica a few years back called 'Unnatural disasters'.
I give examples of the writing principles I value most: clarity, organization, and conciseness. I give examples of my favorite strategies: short paragraphs, quick transitions, short sentences, split quotations, lists of three or four, super-short sentences, and vigorous verbs. All are easy to learn.
Readers like examples. They like to see things in action. They like to see vague concepts made concrete. I follow this advice in my writing and in my writing about writing.
You will often hear that to be a good writer, you need to read a lot. That’s true, but it’s not enough. You also need to study effective writing – to pick sentences apart word-by-word. I try to help you do that with this essay.
“Read for both content and form,” says writing guru Roy Peter Clark in Writing Tools (one of my favorite books about writing). “Examine the machinery beneath the text.”
Btw, in case you are wondering: When I first wrote this article, I think I did five drafts. Only then was it ready to show a friend for comments. (Thanks again, Peter Gill!) Then I revised it one last time.
Tom’s Tips in The Record
Recent Writing Journeys in The Record
***
Tomsir's Mitho Lekhai: Videos on How to Write Like a Pro
मीठो लेखाइ — नेपाली भाषामा भिडियो — अंग्रेजी र नेपाली उदाहरणका साथ ।
Writing Tips in Nepali:
***
Tom Robertson Tom Robertson, PhD, is an environmental historian who writes about Kathmandu and Nepali history. His Nepali-language video series on writing, 'Mitho Lekhai', is available on Youtube. His most recent article, 'No smoke without fire in Kathmandu’, appeared on March 5 in Nepali Times.
Writing journeys
12 min read
This week, series editor Tom Robertson reflects on writing and Writing Journeys, and distills everything he’s learned into sound advice.
Books
9 min read
Three new translations, one into English and two into Nepali, provide new opportunities for engagement across languages, cultures, histories, and contexts.
Writing journeys
17 min read
This week on Writing Journeys, series editor Tom Robertson identifies 20 common mistakes Nepalis make in English and how to avoid them.
Perspectives
7 min read
As a writer just starting out in publishing, Tim Gurung encounters harsh criticism and petty jealousy but that only emboldens him to push further.
Perspectives
6 min read
In the final part of this series on his life and times, writer Tim Gurung reflects on a life well-lived and reveals the secret to his success.
Writing journeys
8 min read
Kathmandu University professor Laxman Gnawali relates a particular instance from his own writing journey that taught him how to better teach writing to young students.
Interviews
11 min read
In an email interview with The Record, Nepali-Indian poet Rohan Chhetri expands on the ambitions of his poetry, his influences, and his use of the English language.
Writing journeys
12 min read
Ujjwal Prasai recounts his time growing up in Kakarbhitta and struggling with writing before coming to Kathmandu and establishing himself as a columnist and writer.
