Mix It Up

Unfortunately, we all fall into a trap of just doing whatever is easiest - especially when it comes to writing. The easiest path, however, is not always the most interesting. Yesterday, I had some students interview one another answering the who, what, when, where, how, and why of journalistic style writing. Their assignment is to write an interesting profile story - beginning the piece with the most intriguing aspect of their subject's life and then filling in with the person's history, likes, dislikes, goals, etc. So tempting it is to begin each sentence with Jane Doe was born in ... Jane Doe enjoys ... Jane Doe detests ... YAWN! This type of writing quickly loses the reading audience. Remember to be a good "host" as a writer so your "guests" will enjoy what they are reading. Mix it up. Yes. Challenge yourself to start each sentence with a different technique. Try an adverb opener: Interestingly, Jane Doe was born on the same day as ... Throw in a prepositional opener: Upon completion of her junior year, Jane Doe ... Try a word that ends with an "ing" or "ed": Jumping in wholeheartedly, Jane Doe tackled ... Try a clausal opener: "Because her father was in the military, Jane Doe ..." Words to avoid at the beginning of sentences are AND, BUT, THEN, and SO - unless absolutely necessary. Take a look at your stories, articles, essays. If you are using the same words over and over again to start your sentences, go back and look for ways to mix it up.

"... whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." Philippians 3:7

I recently edited a newly published book, called Junk, written by Mitch Smith, of Columbia. It's available on http://www.lulu.com/. Here's a synopsis:
JUNK brings truth, humor, and reality to the idea that in order to get the most out of life and achieve success tomorrow, we must begin removing the junk in our lives today. From two real life personal stories, woven into research and a personal perspective, Mitch D. Smith enables you to see how eliminating junk in our lives brings clarity, freedom, and happiness. Out-of-control spending is absolutely killing American families who are trying to keep up with the neighbor next door. "We’re spending money we don’t have on stuff we don’t need to impress people we don’t even know or like! It’s ridiculous! In Junk, Mitch Smith cuts a path through the clutter and shows us how to clean up—and throw out—the junk that’s holding us back." —Dave Ramsey, host of The Dave Ramsey Show and best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover