{"id":62462,"date":"2022-03-14T05:57:10","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T09:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=62462"},"modified":"2022-03-18T11:40:08","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T15:40:08","slug":"consistent-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/consistent-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4 Rules for Consistent Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you struggle to keep consistent as you write? What are some things to consider to ensure your writing is consistent in terms of tone, argument, point of view, and tense? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to maintain consistency in your writing, you need to ask yourself these four guiding questions: What’s the main idea? What point of view will you use? What tense will you use? And what tone will you have? You must make these decisions ahead of time so you don’t lose focus part-way through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how to maintain consistency while writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is Consistent Writing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Being consistent will help you write with clarity. Consistent writing is when certain key elements of your writing stay the same throughout your writing, even as your idea develops. For example, tone is one key element to keep consistent in a piece of writing, as we\u2019ll discuss. In his book On Writing Well, <\/em>William Zinsser believes consistency eliminates unwanted confusion because your reader won\u2019t have to keep up with unnecessary changes in your writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zinsser explains that while you can take some artistic liberty with your writing, you have to stick with whatever decisions you make. As you write, you can change your mind, but make sure that change is reflected throughout the rest of your writing. For example, you may start writing a piece in third person, only to decide midway through that you think first person would work better. It\u2019s okay to change your mind, but be sure to go back and change the parts you\u2019ve already written in third person to first person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zinsser discusses four decisions you should make to ensure you\u2019re consistent. These decisions are your promise to the reader that you won\u2019t try to confuse or trick them. To ensure you stay consistent in your artistic decisions, ask yourself these four guiding questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. What\u2019s Your Main Idea?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zinsser believes that to bring clarity to your writing, the most important question you should ask yourself<\/a> is, \u201cWhat\u2019s the main idea?\u201d Your main idea is the most important takeaway from a piece\u2014it\u2019s your whole reason for writing that specific story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zinsser explains that your main idea will guide your writing and prevent unrelated tangents. When you have a clear main idea, all of the creative decisions you make will focus on clearly communicating it. This doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t explore other ideas in your piece, but those ideas should support your main point<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zinsser contends that you\u2019ll be better off writing in-depth about a specific idea than writing vaguely about a broader topic. You\u2019ll have more space to explore details and discuss the topic thoroughly. So when deciding your main idea, be more specific than you think you need to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, imagine a writer who wants to write about life in New York City. Following Zinsser\u2019s advice, he narrows his focus to writing about life in the Bronx in New York City. He narrows it further to one neighborhood in the Bronx. Finally, he narrows it to one family in the neighborhood. By taking a specific focus, he\u2019ll be able to write a more realistic description of their lives. In doing so, he\u2019ll reveal more about life in New York City than if he tried to write more broadly about the many different experiences of people living there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. What Point of View Will You Use?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The next clarifying question you should ask yourself is, \u201cWhat point of view will I use?\u201d Your point of view is how you narrate your piece. Your point of view establishes a relationship with the reader since it\u2019s how you\u2019ll refer to yourself throughout the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three points of view: first, second, and third person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n