1,160,000,000 hits for “why style guides?”

I casually gave a search in the smartest search engine ‘Google’ to take a dig about the need of style guides. It produced 1,160,000,000 results. The total number of search generated, definitely guarantees the importance of style guides but at the same time these numbers do not justified the relevance of the content what I was looking for. Nevertheless, even if I narrow down my search, I am sure I am going to get quite large number of sites which will have message for me about the style guides.

Why style guides? Do we really need it? The answer from most of the technical writers is going to be ‘yes’ in all cases. This is the approach of any technical writer to produce documentation conforming to the elements of writing to be consistent across all the documents of same nature. For publications or companies with a large number of contributing writers, a style guide is essential if the end product has to look alike.

Style guide becomes important for technical writing, commercial or business writing, journalism, web copy writing and many other forms of publications. In all these cases, to ensure the consistent writing style, guidelines are usually published. This allow writers to contribute avoiding their personal element of style but to adhere to the style of publication, company or website.

A style guide provides a means of documenting basic rules or features of the writing. For technical writers a style guide for a particular customer or project is to ensure that the data they deliver is in acceptable form and in consistent to the previous deliveries or other publications that the customer already has.

The style guides differs depending upon company, publication, customer because of the fact that there is no single authoritative source on styles for written English. The use of punctuation and correct grammar is well established and clear but style is much more than just the correct usage of punctuation, grammar and vocabulary.

Style can define many different aspects such as document structure, paragraph numbering and indentation, the use of headings, the use of lists, trademark or branding considerations, sentence lengths, layout, font sizes, depth of treatment of a subject, spelling (UK v US for example), readership considerations, use of abbreviations, terminology, the use of symbols, and voice preferences (active v passive).The list could go longer too. The fact is creative writers may not be worried about these listed items, whereas a technical writer will have to heed to all of these defined styles.

For a writer who is associated with a company or publication will follow the guided principles laid down by the employer but the real challenge is for Freelance writers. Freelance writers should continually evolve style guides for each customer or publication type.

Most of the creative writers love using their own styles. Nothing is wrong about that but if they only follow certain amount of styling consistently the job of proofreading and reviewing becomes easier. That is why sometimes the publisher prescribes certain guidelines to send your write-ups in the particular format and use defined styles. Failing which even if your write-up is brilliant, it will not see the light of the day.

Some of the writers would still disagree to follow the style guides. For them, ‘long live imagination, bury the style guides’ may be the catch line. You too can fall into this category if you are not tied up as a contract technical writer being on the payroll of a company. Technical writing is structured writing and it demands certain style guides to be followed.

Your Strength of Writing

Is writing your strength? If your answer is yes! There is another question for you to ponder upon and answer yourself. What is the strength of your writing? Or, rather, what are the strengths of your writing? I believe these questions are very straight and you might be having very straight answers to these questions. Some of you can start listing down the answers as soon as these questions are put across.

Many of us can list down: Good Command over the language, Good Knowledge of Grammar and sentence construction, Good Vocabulary and list goes on. Many of us believe that we can achieve creating a good piece of writing if we have these ingredients as our weapon to use. To a great extent we are quite correct in our approach. However, we will be missing the larger picture if we don’t have the good thinking. To me good writing is about good thinking.

The powerful writing is not merely the selection of some special words, but the formation of good thoughts. This is the difference between an elegant prose written by a renowned author and an amateur writer. You may call it a great writing! It is in fact great thinking. To achieve any emotion and passion, words must reflect value-added thought. The reflection of good writing can be a visual part in any form, be it script, an article, an essay, an advertisement or a user manual.

Writers sell their writing because what they write about and not how they write it. Moreover this is a controversial statement and many of the people would not agree with me. But the point what I want to make is the content in your writing. Readers like to read piece of your writing because of your content. If the content is important, have appeal, value and mesmerizing effect, it is bound to sell.

Whereas if you have created writing and have made a brilliant display of your impeccable language skills but failed to address what are you trying to say through your writing then there is something missing. Do you believe it will create any interest among the readers? I doubt. Reader will lose interest in the middle and switch over to something else. So, a brilliant piece of language would not really sell.

For that matter, even the good content written in poor manner with grammatical mistakes and with poor presentation will not enthuse a reader to go through the end of the write-up. Therefore, the message is, a good writing should have a good content and good language.

So, your writing has to be a mix of good thought and good language. The question is how can you have both in your writing. Mind you, it’s not an easy task. But nothing is impossible. What should be the best practice to emulate these in our writing, which can add value to our writing legacy and command respect from the readers. The two principles what has worked for me very effectively are: critical thinking and rigorous editing.

I create my article with many passes. These passes are nothing but visiting and re-visiting the write-up for editing until I get satisfied that my message can get through the reader well. You can have a look how it goes.

First pass: Write down my thought without any hindrances.

Second pass: Categories the paragraph and reshuffle it up and down to create a real good story in readable format.

Third Pass: check for the language legibility, spellings and errors.

Fourth pass: Look into the article with intent to search for the inner beauty—Is it appealing to the reader?

Fifth pass: Go through hurriedly to note that even casual reading can make you understand the content of the write-up.

Sixth pass: Do you see any value in the write-up?

If satisfied, then finally passed to publishing. Off course these are my working steps, which has worked in favor of me for past few years at least creating a face value as a writer. It might work with you as well. Give it a try or else get a good working steps of your own which can establish you to be a better writer. Choice is anyway yours.

Reading helps Writing

A writer is a good reader himself. I have come across this statement quite a number of times. Frankly speaking, I realized very late the potential of being reader could enlighten the spirit of writing in me. In fact I can write and I want to write itself took long time for me to understand. As usual, like numerous Indians who are not aware what they want to do with their life, what they are interested into and what they want to become, I too was indecisive about my life.

In reality, what you want to do and what you are ought to do are two things, which literally makes you think before taking a step in life. You are ought to be in a profession which earns you livelihood, is the first thing you are supposed to be doing than the next what is close to your heart in our context. If what you dream to do, is what you do, and that gives you livelihood, then you are the luckiest soul. Else, bury your idea to follow your dream. This is nothing but the opportunity available for you. But if the opportunity really exists, will you have the right skills to chase your dream is another question. For example you want to break into writing, but can you write effectively.

Ask hundred people whether they want to write something or not. Ninety out of hundred times you will find the answer that people want to write something. Every one of them has some message to convey to the world or to the small crowd to which they belong to. Sometimes, they simply want to write their diary. Once you write and if your writing is published, it adds into your joy. Suddenly you discover that you can write and you can express your ideas across. That is when you feel you can take a chance in a writing career.

But, writing is not as easy as many of us might think. Good knowledge of language, grammar and even good selection of words can not guarantee you to be a good writer. Many people speak eloquently without any hesitation. However, if they are asked to write the same things what they speak, many of them would struggle. Because putting down something as coherent sentences is a difficult act. I bet, to do that, some special impetus is required.

I recall my first encounter when I began writing. The first shot was a letter to the editor of a science magazine. Successful, with moderate editing it was published. Then on, whenever felt like expressing my views, kept on writing to different magazines, news papers and most of the cases it published except on a few occasions when my idea was preconceived and supporting particular ideological group.

Over the period of time I have learned to express in writing what I want to say. Though, not very accurately but most of the time I have been able to narrate the point what I want to say. The pivotal point of my writing have been the input I have gathered while reading others writing. Consciously or unconsciously, other’s writing has contributed immensely in my writing also. I have learnt the art of expression, narration, arranging the content and creating a style of my own. That has purely come to me because of reading other's creation. The more you read, the more you evolve as a writer.

Truly, writing requires empathy. The personal experiences and the view point has greater role to play while you write. Rightly once said by one of the writer, “Reading is an education and writing is a pleasure one shares.” There is no substitute to this fact.

To many of the writers beyond anything reading and writing make life more colorful, intriguing and interesting. Seeing their writing published makes one feel happy more than anything else, as they are likely to reach a larger audience. When I read the comments posted by the reader on my writing, it provides me different dimension of thoughts on my write-up. In my opinion, to write effectively and beautifully, one needs to read more good pieces of writing. The revelation and expression of your inner beauty comes out naturally in your writing and you do not tend to emphasize on it. That’s the wonderful effect of reading to writing.