Understand Before You Write

Previously, I ranted about writers who--by design or by accident--write articles so obscure they don’t bear reading or editing. This time, I’m ranting about writers who never take the time to understand the intricacies of what their writing about so they come off as witless and clueless.

I had an encounter with just that kind of writer recently. I asked her to re-write articles and turn each into 15 incarnations. The base articles were about chocolate tempering and making homemade chocolate candies, and I do understand that it’ll be Greek to any layman save the chocolate-loving kind.

Imagine my chagrin when she returned 15 articles which were nowhere near publishing standards! As I read the articles, it was clear she was absolutely clueless about what she was writing about.

Confronted with the specter of a major overhaul every time she submitted, I recommended scouting for another writer. Her hourly rate, re-writing below par, plus my (higher) hourly rate revamping would cost our client more dollars and grief than he'd signed on for.

Sadly we had to let her go, and therein lies the one major lesson which conscientious writers wanting to be paid premium and retained for a longer time should never forget: understand enough of a subject matter so you can write authoritatively about it.

As writers, we’re not expected to know everything but with a little bit of research, inquiry and understanding, we can be authoritative on what we’re chattering about, especially when it comes to technical stuff.

And so, before you begin to write an article, particularly on an alien topic, remember to:

1. Read. Google is a free, wonderful resource; use it. Search for the topic you’ve been assigned to write on. Exhaust all useful links and over-learn if possible. That way, you’ll be able to understand and catch on the nuances unique to the subject.

I once ran into a sentence that contained the phrase ethanol phase separates and it sounded like the grammar was off. But it was a perfectly written piece so I hunted the word up. Yep, there was such a thing and it was a one of those technical processes that you have to read on to be able to understand.

2.  Ask. If everything’s still gobbledygook after the search engines, hit the discussion forums, ask a local expert, or seek the help of your nearest librarian to clarify things.

Never be ashamed to ask the expert; as a writer, that’s your duty to your readers. Look at it this way: you’re the middleman between the layman and the specialist--your business is to traffic information that’s otherwise useless and idiomatic if you haven’t converted it to something clear cut and straightforward.

3.  Learn. If this will be a long-term gig, say you’ve stumbled onto a lucrative field or industry and you want to be a subject matter expert in this space, it won’t hurt to set a more structured learning program. Keep up with field/industry news and emerging technologies, define a personal curriculum to guide you, or if you have the time and money, enroll in a short- or long-term course. (If you’re like me, exhaust the opportunities for free learning on the Internet. Learn everything you can.)

Information is power and if you sound as knowledgeable as possible in your writing, you’ll find that readers will often and naturally gravitate to you to explain the stuff they don’t understand.

You’re also a reader and if you put yourself in that shoe when you sit down to write, you’ll discover that clarity is indeed power.