100 Ways to Improve Your Writing (Updated): Proven Professional Techniques for Writing with Style and Power [Paperback]

The classic text on writing well, now refreshed and updated—an essential text for writers of all ages.

This is the one guide that anyone who writes—whether student, businessperson, or professional writer—should keep on his or her desk. Filled with professional tips and a wealth of instructive examples, 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing can help solve any writing problem.

In this compact, easy-to-use volume you'll find the eternal building blocks of good writing—from grammar and punctuation to topic sentences—as well as advice on challenges such as writer's block and creating a strong title. It is a must-have resource—perfect for reading cover to cover, or just for keeping on hand for instant reference—now updated and refreshed for the first time.Gary Provost was a writing teacher and the author of more than a thousand published articles and stories. His two dozen books include both adult and YA fiction, and nonfiction such as The Freelance Writer's Handbook. His methods continue to be taught at the semiannual writer's conference he established, the Writer's Retreat Workshop (www.wakeupandwritewrw.com).

CHAPTER 5. TEN WAYS TO DEVELOP STYLE

Think About Style

In any discussion of writing, the word style means the way in which an idea is expressed, not the idea itself. Style is form, not content. A reader usually picks up a story because of content but too often puts it down because of style.

There is no subject that cannot be made fascinating by a well-informed and competent writer. And there is no subject that cannot be quickly turned into a literary sleeping pill by an incompetent writer.

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