How to write good English - Basics

Writing is an amazing art. It helps in expression of ideas, thoughts and opinions in an effective manner. A good writing capability is a tremendous asset for students, professionals, authors and almost every person who needs to read and write.

Writing is also an art. Some people can express profound thoughts and ideas in a few sentences while others struggle to convey the same in multiple pages. It is a word game and like every other game, the player needs a lot of skill, talent, practice and patience to excel.

In this and subsequent posts (in between my other posts which shall embody my own practice in writing), I shall try to share some ideas about writing.

Basics
English is a language with a well-defined structure. Hence, writing in English has to follow the time-tested structure.

The essential elements are:

1. Grammatical correctness.
2. Punctuation marks, spaces and breaks. 
3. Sentences - too short do not convey the meaning, too long create confusion. Short and crisp sentences are preferred for clarity as well as grammatical correctness. 
4. Selection of words - being an international language, English is full of amazing words from different parts of the word. There are many words for a single object or meaning. Choice of right word is critical for precise and effective writing.
5. Subject matter and flow - while writing a piece longer than a few paragraphs, there is a high chance of diverting or digressing from the main topic. It is essential to maintain the focus and try to incorporate plots, subplots and other subject matter around the main theme. Digression makes the reader lose the flow and the whole impact shall be much lessened.  
6. Opening, body and conclusion - in a written or spoken piece, the organization is essential. While a spoken piece can be augmented by the body language, vocal variation and other activities to improve impact, a written piece has to rely solely on the structure and clarity of writing. There needs to be a short and clear opening, a well-organized body and a precise and powerful conclusion that sums up everything and leaves the reader with a clear message.

These are the basic constituents of a good writing practice. Shall continue to build on this with more ideas. 

10:56 AM Tuesday 29 January 2019

Things Fall Apart - An Interesting Read

Last week, I finished 'Things Fall Apart' by Nigerian Author Chinua Achebe. I was drawn into reading the book by various accolades and references to the book as a milestone in African literature. I was also drawn by the status of Achebe as a prominent African writer. 

For me, it was a first book by African writer. And reading it was a pleasant surprise. Firstly  because the book was short and I could finish the ebook within a few days. It was specifically so because I read it immediately after finishing 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand (she was of South African origin but the book was written as an American about American life). The Fountainhead was very long, more than 700 pages of small, high-density typeface. Hence, it was a pleasant surprise to read a short, sweet and acclaimed book just after finishing a long, intense and thought provoking tome.

The story is not that special. A tribal community in Africa with their own unique lifestyle, traditions, goods, religious beliefs, superstitions and sometimes very striking and barbaric customs (such as human sacrifice to please gods, abandonment of twins in harsh forest etc). It revealed quite a bit about the customs of the times it deals with. It also touches upon how colonialists (British) gradually got hold of the communities and country by their strategic, clever and coordinated moves. Those are typical in every work of literature. They reflect the ways of societies and times they are dealing. Not much speciality there. 

The most striking thing about this creation of Achebe is that he includes so many adages, proverbs and anecdotes from the community that I was reminded of the stories of Panchatantra and Hitopadesh of the orient. Very apt adages, sayings and proverbs that express a profound idea in a single line. That, I think, is the biggest lure of 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe. 

11:39 AM 27 January 2019

When: Daniel Pink, Body Clock and Our Daily Performance

The subject of body clock and the biological routine of organisms has been garnering a lot of interest. The 2017 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine was awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young for their discovery of discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm. 

A lot has been said, done and researched about the influence of this biological clock system on our daily routine and how we plan our different activities. Yesterday, I read the first chapter of a book 'When: The Scientific Secret of Perfect Timing' by Daniel Pink. Interestingly, the book was borrowed from his college by my elder son Kushal who is doing is 11th in Science. The boy is evolving into a voracious reader. 

While reading the first chapter, I was struck by the amount of research and study that went into writing this book. Mr. Pink has cited more than 300 articles, papers, books, reports and other sources in his 200 page book. No wonder writing a good book demands a lot of reading, research and assimilation of ideas. 

More than the amount of effort put in by the author, I was struck by the subject matter itself. According to the book, the outcome and efficiency of our actions depends upon the timing of the action. The book categorizes people into different categories based on their sleep and work cycles. Based on the category, the book recommends specific scheduling for tasks that are mundane, tasks that need logical analysis & decision and the tasks that need insight and understanding. 

The single most striking thing for me was the suggestion, based on various research outcomes, that our moods and hence our abilities to remain calm, make major decisions, motivate others and influence people hits high during early hours before noon. It then dives to low troughs during the afternoon hours before it rebounds in the early evening. 

If one were to go by Mr. Pink's recommendations, we would not make important decisions, schedule critical meetings and do important consultations during the afternoon. 

This is not mere speculation but a recommendation based on the findings of numerous researches and seems better we could follow it. For those of us who cannot follow, there are techniques to adjust our own schedules so that we could maximize positives and minimize negatives. 

A very interesting read and indeed something useful to work upon.  

11:11 AM 27 January 2019

Passing Time

Time, they say, moves ahead, in its constant speed. Time is unidirectional. It does not come back. It does not wait for anyone, however powerful. Time is the king of all powers. Time sees everything since it is there all the 'time', witnessing every occurrence, good or bad, desired or despised, loved or loathed. Perhaps this notion motivated Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza to open the famed BR Chopra serialisation of Mahabharat with 'I am time'. 

Time also gets all the credit and discredit about events that befall people. Someone does well or is lucky or progresses or something good befalls him, the declaration is that he is having a good time. On the contrary, if a person suffers, he is having a bad time. 

Work on time. Sleep on time. Make decisions on time. Complete assignments on time. Study and get degree on time. Get married on time. Have children on time. Fulfill your dreams on time. Live your life to the full when you have time because when your time finishes and the time to depart comes, you will not have the time to re-do or undo or do or not do those things. 

A person in distress waits for good times ahead with the faith that everything, including this bad patch, has to end. A person in good times fears the end of that and the beginning of the bad phase. Someone with a grudge with someone else waits for the time to do what he could not do himself to avenge the other person. 'Time will punish if I cannot do' is the thought through the mind of the vanquished, begrudged or jealous.

Despite time being all powerful and the witness of all things that ever occur, people tend to ignore it, especially when they are in a position of privilege and have a disposition to misuse that privilege. They forget that time will come when they would have to be dethroned and thrown out of the pedestal. That they, made of dust, would have to be dust again. Time perhaps, has to show by the deed to make these people realize what time is. But alas, by the time they realize, they no longer have time to atone and redeem themselves. 

Physicists say time can be stopped or reversed but that is still an enigma and confined to the equations and profound theories. If mankind could ever find a way to reverse time, one would also want to go back and undo all the bad things and redeem the world for the times to come. A paradox but still a dream. 

But for now, time is just flowing forward as an incessant current of river flowing unidirectionally forward. And time for this random musings to stop. 

Time: 10:32 AM - Tuesday 22 January 2019

A Tribute to The Fountainhead

After a lot of procrastination and resistance against passionate recommendations from friends, I finally bought and now am about to finish reading 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand. I took the title at face value and knew got from various reviews and discussions that the book was about architecture. Then I constructed my own naive judgment and predicted that the book was about designing a house around a fountain. So far and so utterly unrelated to the actual subject matter of the book. 

I have never felt so much awed by the complexity of the book ever since I finished reading the 'War and Peace' by Tolstoy almost one and a half decade ago. So many characters, so many plots, so many scenes, so much happening from a page to the the next but never confusing, boring or out of sequence. The nature must have given parallel brain to these authors, one to live their daily lives and the other to manufacture such amazing works artistic imagination and philosophy. 

I was struck by the sheer amount of detail in Ayn Rand's masterpiece. The characters come to life through vivid description of their personalities, thoughts, philosophies and outlook of life. Once does not imagine the words coming from Ayn Rand but from the character themselves. Almost an entire universe of its own - the characters, the surroundings, the society, the gossips, the events, the ideas and the ideals followed by the people in this universe. 

One should not live life for others. One should live one's own life. If one lives by the ideals of others just to gain prosperity, name and fame, all that shall amount to nothing in the end. The life of a mediocre pauper lived on his own terms is much better than the life of a parasitic aristocrat who lived for the others, on other's ideals and using others creativity for his own personal gain. These are the crux of the philosophy from Ayn Rand in this book and also the bedrock of a radical new outlook of life based on what is known as 'Objectivism' which is attributed to Rand, mainly due to her opinions in this novel and the other monumental work 'Atlas Shrugged'. 

I might be to naive, mediocre and commonplace to fully grasp the Ayn Rand philosophy of objectivism but I can find myself having a spiritual connection with the outlook of life adopted by the protagonist Howard Roark who never compromised his desire to live on his own terms, not on the face of temptations or threats. I wish I could get some of that attitude so that I could live my life on my own terms and avoid having to regret in the end that I did not try to make my life my own. 

A tempting prospect indeed. Ayn Rand has created a masterpiece that can inspire people to be themselves and life life on their own terms for generations. 

Thursday, 17 January 2019

In Praise of Praise

Praise is sought by every one. Especially when one completes a task, accomplishes something or reaches a milestone. As a child, one loves to be praised by parents, elders and relatives. Praise gives a new energy to continue pushing for more. Praise makes one forget the travails and struggle one goes through to achieve the praiseworthy. Praise differentiates the winners from also-rans, achievers from mere attempters, attempters from non-attempters. Praise enhances self confidence and diminishes self-doubt. 

The praise can come in different flavors. Some are generic praises such as 'great', 'good job', 'well done', 'keep it up' etc that can apply to any kind of achievement, accomplishment or triumph. Then there are specific praises that identify the action or item associated with the praise. 

"You wrote the page amazingly well. Well done." 

"You finished this project a month before schedule. Great. Keep it going."

"You have an amazing handwriting. I want to learn the trick. If you have time."

"Wow, what an amazing picture. I love it."

Such specific praise increases the impact. Especially in the case of children, it is more effective to provide specific praise rather than generic one. With specific praise, children identify more with the praise and get more motivated. It also applies to adult. For a tireless employee or a innovative manager, generic praise can make it seem commonplace. Praising specific accomplishments motivates people to identify more with the praise and cause of it. They want to perform better in other assignments to attain similar praise or fulfillment. 

However selfless we pretend to be, if we do not receive any praise or recognition of our sincere effort, we tend to lose that energy. Even the hardcore self-motivated people find it frustrating at times to have nobody else recognizing their effort or accomplishment. Even a tiny remark of praise can drastically reduce this sense of frustration and alienation. 

In a 2008 post, the Harvard Business Review website hbr.org identified praise as beneficial for the person receiving the praise as well as the person giving it. In the business and professional environment, praise is beneficial for all. 

Keep praising and doing things that earn you sincere praise. 

14 Jan 2019