Tips for Writing Your First Draft

1. Write as you research. Research and writing are part of the same process, and writing as you go will help the research and the writing.
2. If you're having trouble getting started, write a simple declarative sentence: "This is a story about the history of Creighton University." Yes, it's boring. But leave it there. Move beyond the beginning and tell the rest of the story. Before you're finished, the best beginning probably will become clear to you. Sometimes the opening is the last thing you'll write.
3. Write a simple outline in advance. Organize your notes the same way you outlined the story.
4. Write as much as you can without your notes.
5. Double-check every fact. (This doesn't mean check it twice against the same source. See if you can find two sources to verify each fact). Regard each number, date, name or title as a potential blow to your credibility. Check even the things you think you know (unless you're never wrong).
6. Read your writing aloud.
7. Help the reader envision the people and actions about which you write.
8. Before you write each time, identify a weakness in your writing. Address that weakness in this piece. Make it a strength just this once.
9. Keep your audience in mind. This will determine how much you write, the tone you take, your organization, virtually everything about the piece.
10. Try to keep it to one page. If you can't, think of a way to summarize your points on the first page. If you can't summarize the points on the first page, try to accomplish two things on that first page: reveal what this piece is about and tell something so interesting or so compelling or so intriguing that I have to turn the page. Or I won't.
11. Don't write one more word than you need to.

Steps to Follow in Revising Your Written Work

1. Read it aloud. This may help you find words omitted inadvertently. It will help identify the long sentences. It will help you discover and refine the voice and pace of your writing.
2. Tighten it. See if you can shorten each sentence by one word without hurting it. Find a sentence or phrase on each page that you can eliminate without harm.
3. Expand it. Identify the questions you haven't addressed. Will the reader be asking those questions? Should you answer them or at least address them?
4. Ridicule it. Try to make fun of your work. Is the tone pretentious? Is the vocabulary too lofty or too simple? Did a double entendre slip in? Is your writing redundant?
5. Invite criticism. Ask a friend whose writing you admire to critique it. Perhaps the worst smart aleck in your office can save you some embarrassment by spotting the faux pas in advance.
6. Leave it alone. Don't change for the sake of change. If you nailed a point or a passage on your first try, don't burden it with too much overwriting. Don't make a single change unless it improves the piece.
7. Take a break. Come back later and read through it with a fresh eye and a clear mind.
8. Consider reorganization. Should some points be grouped together or summarized differently? Try a whole new approach to the top. If it's better than the one you used, use it. If it's not, considering it will strengthen your confidence in the approach you did use. Try a new ending. Is that better than your first one?
9. Consider the tone. Is it appropriate to your audience. You don't want to insult your readers' intelligence and you don't want to write over their heads.
10. Hunt for jargon and cliches. Ask whether the jargon is appropriate for your audience. See if you can replace the cliche with a fresh, original turn of phrase.
11. Challenge each verb. Is it an active verb? Is it the most lively appropriate verb? Is it the most precise verb?
12. Check your grammar and spelling.

Resources to Aid Your Writing

1. Dictionary. Use it at least once each time you write, not just to check the spelling, but to check the definition, so you can learn more precisely the definition and proper use of the word.
2. Thesaurus. Again, use it at least once each time you write. Use it in tandem with your dictionary. Use the dictionary to learn the shades of meaning that the thesaurus doesn't provide. Not every synonym listed is interchangeable. Check a few synonyms in the dictionary and find the best word for your purpose.
3. Quotation book. Familiar quotations are often misattributed or misquoted. If you use a quotation, quote it accurately and attribute it properly.
4. Books on writing style and word usage.
5. Specialized dictionaries, style books and other resources in your field.
6. Almanac, for quick checking of a variety of facts.
7. Resources on your own computer, such as dictionary, thesaurus, spelling checker, grammar checker. Remember, a desk dictionary or thesaurus might provide more detailed definitions or more extensive lists of synonyms. Also remember, a grammar checker is loaded with lots of analytical ability but no common sense and no sense of style, pace or voice. You provide that. And a spelling checker won't find a word that's misspelled to match another word in the dictionary.
8. Online writing resources. Surf the Net a little, looking for helpful sites. A good place to start is the Nebraska Writing Center, mockingbird.creighton.edu/NCW
9. Games. Play Scrabble, hangman, Wheel of Fortune and other word games, to expand your vocabulary and stimulate your interest in words.
10. Friends, colleagues, fellow writers. Ask a writer you respect to read your work and tell you honestly what he or she likes - and doesn't like. Join a writers group or form one.

Common Grammar and Word Usage Errors

Who and Whom

A general rule is to use who as the subject of a verb. Otherwise, use whom. (Same with whoever and whomever).

Two ways to help you determine which to use:

1. Find the verb or verbs. If the pronoun does the action of a verb, it's who.
2. Rewrite the sentence, using he or him in place of who or whom, and rephrasing the sentence appropriately. For instance, "Who do you trust?" may not sound wrong to you. But "Do you trust he?" certainly does. You can see that it would be "Do you trust him?" so you know it should be "Whom do you trust?"

Two cases that might confuse you:

1. When a pronoun is the object of a preposition, the pronoun takes the objective case, such as whom. But if a dependent clause is the object of the preposition, who might follow a preposition. For instance: "The pollsters should give a share of the national championship to whomever finishes the season undefeated" might seem correct. But remember our basic rule: Is the pronoun the subject of a verb? The pronoun is the subject of the verb finishes. So the correct choice is: "The pollsters should give a share of the national championship to whoever finishes the season undefeated."
2. Attribution sometimes separates the subject from the verb. Ignore it as you seek to decide whether your pronoun is the subject of the verb: "We should select the candidate who the search committee said made the strongest impression." On a quick read, it might appear that the pronoun is the object of select or said, and thus the pronoun should be whom. But look closer: the pronoun is the subject of made, separated from its verb by the phrase "the search committee said." Just remove the attribution from the sentence and it becomes clear: "We should select the candidate who made the strongest impression."

One important thing to consider: In these confusing cases, the correct usage might "sound" wrong. So consider rewriting the sentence to avoid the confusion: "She made the strongest impression on the search committee."

Possessive Pronouns

The rule here is simple: Possessive pronouns don't use apostrophes. His, hers, whose, yours, theirs, ours, its. If it's a possessive, it's spelled without an apostrophe.

The confusion here results because some contractions, which do use apostrophes, are spelled the same as some possessives, except for the apostrophe. Whose and theirs sometimes end up with incorrect apostrophes, but the worst offender is its. Take the last sentence in the paragraph above. Spelled out, it would be: If it is a possessive, it is spelled without an apostrophe. In both instances, it's is a contraction, so both need apostrophes. To decide whether you should use the apostrophe, ask whether you can substitute it is or it has. For instance, "It's really important to write clearly" is the same as "It is really important to write clearly." But "I have trouble matching a pronoun with it's antecedent" looks really silly when you substitute it is or it has. So it should be "I have trouble matching a pronoun with its antecedent."

Singular-Plural Agreement

Speaking of pronouns and antecedents, they should agree. A plural antecedent (that's the word the pronoun is replacing) requires a plural pronoun. A singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun. A singular subject requires a singular verb. A plural subject requires a plural verb. Confusion results when singular and plural nouns are used interchangeably: "Creighton is having its best basketball season in years." But "The Bluejays are having their best basketball season in years."

Two cases that can be confusing:

1. Collective nouns such as team or committee can take either singular or plural verbs and pronouns. Generally, these should be treated as singular, requiring singular pronouns and verbs. The exception should be if the members of the collective unit aren't acting as a unit: "The couple were fighting regularly before their divorce." This is again a time when you should consider rewriting because it doesn't sound right: "Ricky and Lucy were fighting regularly before their divorce."
2. Some compound subjects might appear plural but actually be singular because the two elements become a single unit: "Peanut butter and jelly is my son's favorite kind of sandwich."

Use Active Voice

Just as most of us find active people more stimulating than passive people, active verbs produce livelier writing. Examine your verbs and ask whether the subject is giving or receiving. Is the subject acting, or being acted upon? See if you can rewrite to make the subject the giver. Compound verbs using forms of the verb "to be" frequently are passive verbs that can be stronger. Active verbs also frequently demand more specificity in the subject and objects, making the whole sentence stronger.

For instance: "I was given a wonderful Valentine's gift this year" is not as strong or as specific as, "A White House intern gave me a wonderful Valentine's gift this year." Either way, the verb is a form of "to give." But the active voice is stronger and requires a specific subject that the first sentence lacks.