Good Writing from "A Writer's Coach"

The best book I've read about writing in recent years is Jack Hart's, "A Writer's Coach." In the introduction to his book, Hart shares answers from participants in his writing workshops about the qualities of good writing.

"Good writing, they say:

• radiates energy, crackling with a vigor that pulls readers along. It has internal strength, an inherent force that moves readers.
• gets to the point, regardless of what the point may be. Good writers don't waste their readers' time.
• transports them, putting them into a scene where they can see the autumn light and smell the fallen leaves crunching underfoot. It's rich, in other words, in what journalists call color.
• has personality, a tone both appropriate to the subject and inviting for the reader. The words sound right. They fit with one another and the mood of the reading occasion.
• can dance. Good writing has a rhythm that pleases in its own right, creating cadences that give pleasure regardless of content.
• is clear. You never have to read a well-written sentence twice--unless it's for the sheer pleasure of the experience.
• is mechanically correct. Good writers know their tools, and they never trip readers up with lapses of grammar, usage, or style.

There's broad agreement on the goals. The trick is to achieve them in your own writing, regardless of the purpose."

Seven goals for good writing. And, as Jack Hart says, "The inspiration is up to you."

Good Writing from "A Writer's Coach"