Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing

“A writer isn’t self-sufficient until he has learned to think well.”

Before a student or author can hope to craft a strong piece of writing, they first need to analyze the effectiveness of the ideas swirling around in their brain. Do they have a clear argument? Do they have passion for the topic? Is there something interesting to say? For Trimble, thinking well centers on a strong argument, stated with passion and backed by evidence. Conversely, poor thinkers can never write effectively.

“With good thinking comes good writing, as you will see; without it, no amount of technical expertise will save you.”

There is a reason that Trimble puts his critical thinking discussion at the beginning of the book and the grammar rules at the very back: good thinking matters much more to Trimble. An essay argued with passion and evidence, but riddled with grammatical errors, would fare better in Trimble’s classroom than one lacking a thesis statement but perfect grammar. A piece of writing may be grammatically correct, but if it lacks energy, passion, and a clear argument it’s not good writing.

“As in romancing, so in writing: you’re most effective when your heart is in it.”

Even if students are tasked with a “boring” writing assignment, it’s important that they find the single wormhole that interests them, and then pursue it with fire and drive. When they feel disinterest, authors fail in writing just as they would in love.

“Moral: If you have just enough solid data to work with, you don’t have enough. If you have a big surplus of data, you are primed to write.”

Before ever picking up a pen or opening a computer to type, Trimble requires that authors collect a large amount of data on their topic. Trimble defines data as facts, including related quotes, statistics, dates, references, or other details about a subject. The best writers stockpile data before they ever write a single word.

“It helps to view the first of these drafts as mere warm-up exercise; a throw-away effort designed to loosen you up and help you understand better what you are trying to say.”

Trimble encourages essay writers to start with a first rough draft, then a second rough draft, and then possibly a third. These drafts are the equivalent of an athlete stretching, jogging, and hydrating before competition: You cannot walk in the cold without warming up. Rough drafts are meant to be rough. In these, grammatical errors are welcomed and erroneous thoughts are okay. What’s most important is beginning the writing process but not expecting perfection.

“Begin anywhere.” 

Once an author has performed Trimble’s pre-writing steps (choosing a meaty idea, stockpiling data), he encourages them to just start writing. That writing may look like scribbled sentences on notecards or messy paragraphs in a Word document. It doesn’t matter where the author begins, just begin. Messy writing and messy ideas are encouraged in these earliest stages of drafting an essay.

“Don’t forget to read every sentence aloud. Your ear will catch much that your tired eye has missed.”

Trimble is a strong proponent of authors routinely reading their writing aloud to themselves. In this process, authors not only catch errors, but they will also identify natural pauses. At those pauses, they should insert a comma.

“Remember, if your reader once loses you, you may at that moment abruptly lose your reader—for good.”

Authors should develop respect for their reader, Trimble says. Readers have short attention spans—once they become confused or bored, they are likely to stop reading. By proofreading and reading your prose aloud, authors can find “lurches” in the writing and fix them (12). Find these lurches yourself, he warns, don’t let the reader find them.

“All writing is communication. But most writing seeks to go beyond communication.”

Writing with Style teaches writers to produce clear, concise prose. Clear writing lends itself to clear communication, which Trimble argues is the author’s ultimate goal. Ideally, that communication is not only informed, but persuasive. It’s the author’s job to lead their reader on a journey where, by the end, they agree with the author’s perspective.

“The ultimate way you sell a reader is by courteously serving him—that is, satisfying his needs.”

Trimble cannot emphasize enough that authors must respect the needs of their reader. According to him, a reader wants clear communication, simple but powerful prose, signposting, and a strong thesis argued with conviction. Once an author satisfies the readers’ needs, they can begin to persuade them with their argument and evidence.

“A good opener will give you momentum, a sense of confidence, and an extra incentive to make the remaining paragraphs worthy of the first.”

Openers are the most important part of any piece of writing, for both the author and the reader. They set the tone for the entire piece, so it is worthwhile to edit and re-edit the first few sentences. Readers will read only four or five sentences before they make a strong judgement call about a piece of writing. If it’s poorly written, readers will lose interest. 

“Simple prose is clear prose.”

Trimble is adamant that the best writing uses easy-to-understand sentences and simple grammatical constructions. Keep your language conversational and let “your ideas themselves do the impressing” (36). Never try to hide a weak argument behind jargon-ridden prose.

“Good writers are sticklers for continuity. They never allow themselves to write a sentence that is not manifestly connected to the ones immediately preceding and following it.”

This relates to the key theme of respecting one’s reader. Readers do not benefit from errant sentences that seem out-of-place from those surrounding it. Language should flow easily and thoughtfully; your reader should never have to guess where the essay is headed. Authors create continuity during the revision process, not during the first or second drafts.

“A good paragraph is like a good essay: it has unity by virtue of being organized around a single major point.”

A major mistake of novice writers is trying to pack too many ideas into a single paragraph. Paragraphs are meant to touch on one single idea, surrounded by a few sentences of evidence and analysis. The length of the paragraph can vary. Some paragraphs are longer, some shorter. Change it up to be kind to the reader’s eye. If the reader turns the page and sees multiple long paragraphs in a row, they can become exhausted before they even begin to read. Conversely, series of short paragraphs can be too choppy.

“Good writing really begins with a profound respect for words—their precise denotations, their connotations, even their weight and music, if you will”

Trimble argues for being thrifty with words. If an idea can be stated in eight words instead of fifteen, say it in eight. Using active voice can help eliminate errant words that bog down sentences. Diction, Trimble says, should be fun, surprising, and witty—keep your readers on their toes.

“What I’m saying, I guess, is that I like an author to be himself, warts and all.”

Trimble’s ideal authors don’t seek perfection. Instead, he prefers writers who craft strong ideas, witty sentences, and use relatable vocabulary. Least important for Trimble is an author who is a stickler for grammatical correctness.

“Use the fewest words possible and the simplest words possible.”

Trimble discourages his students from using stuffy, academic language. The best writers, he argues, use accessible prose that feels as if a friend is speaking to a friend. Be concise, however, for keeping a reader’s attention is no easy task.

“Give free rein to your sense of humor wherever possible.”

Authors often fear showing their own personality in their writing, but Trimble encourages the opposite. He wants a writer’s personality to shine through, and better yet, their sense of humor. This type of advice—to write with humor, wit, informality, and forwardness—sets Writing with Style apart from other writing guides. 

“Proofreading is like the quality-control stage at the end of an assembly line.”

At the end of drafting an essay, it’s important that the author proofread one last time to search for any errors or lurches. This last proofread is a good moment to read the essay aloud, which helps the writer to identify errors otherwise missed. To take an essay from good to great, proofread diligently.

“The average college freshman isn’t ready for semicolons.”

Semicolons (;) combine two or more related sentences into one complex sentence. The most common mistake is having an incomplete sentence following the semicolon. When in doubt, do not use a semicolon; break the sentence into two separate sentences.

“If you find that you naturally pause in a given place, or must pause to make the sense of your sentence instantly intelligible to the reader, insert a comma.”

Novice writers are often intimidated by commas, but Trimble thinks they shouldn’t be. Place commas at natural breaks where you would normally take a breath or pause when speaking.

“Use parentheses sparingly—for occasional variety, or where the need is compelling. They quickly become an eyesore, and no reader enjoys being repeatedly whispered to.”

Parentheses, like exclamation marks, should rarely appear in an academic essay or most other types of writing. If the information placed into the parentheses is important, put it in the main clause of the sentence. If it isn’t important, remove it.

“I hope, though, that this book, brief as it is, has given you new insight into how skilled writers think, plus the itch to go out and write like them yourself.”

The book provides a window into the mind of accomplished, or conscious, writers. Trimble wants to inspire college students to emulate them.