We’ve been working hard to help you become a better writer. That’s why Margaret has poured her heart, soul, and more than 20 years of writing experience into the Write Brilliant online course.
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Margaret, good thoughts – tough, but good coaching. Ordinary writing conveys thoughts that are sequential in nature and maybe even encouraging in content. Great writing captivates a reader’s heart and mind within story. They find themselves suddenly smack dab in the middle of a journey. Content is camouflaged, but pierces through the story in nuggets that linger long after the page is turned. I’m working on writing myself. Striving to get better. And as all great artists, athletes – you gotta stay open to critique and outside observation in order to have it drive you deeper within yourself and guide you one step closer to greatness. Thanks for the ‘work’ of writing you do – I pray God continue to stir you and use you to motivate, encourage and enrich many hearts into the journey… blessings.
Good news Margaret, I am part of the 2 out of 10…I have NO desire to write a book so won’t be asking you any questions ever! (I’m pretty sure that God probably just heard these thoughts and decided to make me write a book at some point along my journey…seems like every time I say I’m never going to do something, it’s exactly what happens) – My God has that kind of sense of humor. 😀
And to answer your question…for me great writing (for someone who only reads) is someone who can paint a picture for me that I would have never formed in my mind.
Margaret, truly great writing differs from ordinary writing in that it says with the reader long after she turns the page. Ordinary writing might be enjoyable, but great writing provokes thought, inspires to action, or takes the reader to another world (speaking of fiction there).
Great writing comes from good people going through great circumstances.
“Great circumstances” can draw out the required humility you mentioned by fixing one’s attention on something other than themselves. Their focus is on what they are communicating, not on how their communication makes them look.
(The “circumstances” are mostly internal.)
“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” ~ Gene Fowler
Yes, I agree with Meredith. Great writing doesn’t just stay on the page…it comes to “life” It impacts and leaves a mark on the reader.
Ordinary writing is what I am doing in grad school…writing based on what other people did, in my own opinion, and waiting to be graded based on what an authority figure thinks. Great writing is based on a God-given desire cultivated by patience, determination, love, and a need to be able to express what the Lord wants you to express, to be able to get the thoughts in the head onto paper…a desire that inspires the writer daily that no matter how difficult, you will shrivel up of you do not write. Ordinary or great, though, it just feels so good to be able to express in writing what is in the head and heart even if only one person reads it.
Hello Margaret,
Thank you for sharing! Ordinary writing is a journal! (I keep one) Creative writing is truly breaking free to the story you have in you, the heart you have to share! I am that, I am currently writing mine.
Writing is an adventure of self evaluation and allowing your self to be taken on an amazing journey whether in fictional character’s, Spiritual and Intimacy with GOD or by sharing your personal journey of being healed and set free!!
Blessings,
Tina
Is it wrong that I want to read this (awesome) series without re-living the nightmare of revisions?
🙂
50 words: Ordinary writing is easy. Great writing is gut-wrenching. It requires passion, pain, discipline and great heaps of courage. But it’s also exhilarating, which I suppose accounts for all the manuscripts that do get finished, critiqued, revised, reconstructed, edited and spit-shined before finally hitting the shelf for six weeks to be weighed and measured (or disregarded) by the masses. Not a process for the faint-of-heart or weak-of-knee, but still beautiful.
I agree, Meredith!
First – thank you for this! I have my mental and emotional workout clothes on – ready for this week!
Ordinary writing is a presentation of information. Facts or opinions are given, but there is a lack of engaging the audience.
Great writing brings facts and opinions to life in a way that encourages people to think beyond their own perspective, to be moved to action or stirred toward change.
I disagree completely with Christy and Josh above. I don’t think desire or determination produce great writing and I don’t think circumstances do either. I have heard people who were thoroughly determined and had been through harrowing circumstances try to describe their experiences and their depiction was hard to listen to because their ability to communicate was so limited. On the other hand, read Hemmingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.” It’s not really about anything, but it is so well written, you can’t put it down. Great writing is the skill of describing an ordinary afternoon of running errands with such artistry that others want to read account of a banal activity.
Great writing uncovers the universal in the particular while ordinary writing expresses only one or the other. Great writing embodies the human experience in a half-drunk cup of coffee, abandoned by a man rushing to his office. Ordinary writing talks about haste or about coffee; great writing does both.
Rob -Thus, the difference between cultivating a God given desire with determination and patience as opposed to trying to force a self-made desire. The Lord gave me the ability to write but not a desire to write and as much as I have tried to express myself through great writing, it usually ends up as ordinary. But when I orally express my stories…wow!
Ordinary writing is putting ordinary words on to paper and creating an ordinary thought in your reader. Great writing puts specific and carefully worded thoughts onto paper that become alive in your reader. Your reader finds new thoughts or questions to ponder that are way beyond what you ever intended.
Wow, Margaret… I think you found a hot topic! 🙂
I was trained as a journalist… I worked in public relations writing press releases. BORING! 🙂
However, I have learned years later that while the job wasn’t the most exciting, I learned some basic skills that help make ordinary writing become great writing. Meanwhile, the bottom line is, that what I might write could be ordinary to one person it might be extraordinary to another person. Writing is subjective. Reading is subjective. I have read things that didn’t touch me or move me but when I pick them up later (sometimes decades later) I’m moved! Timing. Where I am and what I am going through!
SUBJECTIVE! In the meantime, I’m working on honing my skill to become great so that one day, maybe the story in me will become extraordinary!
Ordinary writing is ho-hum. Great writing is WOW! The reader couldn’t analyze the difference but recognizes it. Ordinary writing drips from a small container of creativity. Great writing springs from a deep well. Once you work hard enough to dig deep enough to reach the supply, only the pumping remains.
All writing is ordinary writing. Great writing is ordinary writing that has been subjected to candid critique, ruthless editing and relentless rewrite…
Wow, Margaret! Thanks for the challenge. More than ready to have this “conversation” with you this week
In my view, great writing is just that — a “conversation” between reader and writer, audience and storyteller. Even powerful non-fiction can become “story”. The sharing of knowledge, thoughts, tales should draw me into the action and ignite change in my world, even if its just an altered perspective or emotion.
Well I love reading, and I’ve noticed that great writers can pull you into their experience and leave a mark long after you’ve put the reading material down. Great writing inspires you and causes you to move in your own life towards action. Great writing stirs the mind and captivates the soul!
The more I ponder this and read the comments of others…the more I’m convinced the difference between ordinary writing and great writing is the writer’s perception of their work and the reader’s perception of what they read. If you like to write then write…don’t let anything stop you..especially yourself!
For what it’s worth, here’s my 50, er I mean, 44 cents: Ordinary writing stirs emotions; great writing awakens one’s soul and causes change. Ordinary writing is quickly forgotten; great writing is remembered forever. Ordinary writing is read once; great writing is read again and again and shared with others. Ordinary writing informs; great writing enlightens.
Thank you, Margaret for thinking of and addressing some of those ideas/dreams that sit at the back of our minds in hopes that we will complete them someday! So there lies the difference for me between ordinary writing and great writing. Ordinary writing brings great ideas for changes in life issues, but great writing inspires and moves me to change those issues.
Great writing moves things: Your tear ducts, heart rate, laughing muscles. Maybe it moves your feet to get up and do something. Maybe it takes your breath away, or draws it out in a sigh. Reading great writing you see things, smell things, hear things, taste things, feel things.
(That’s 49 words. Yup, I am a bit compulsive.)
Too terrified to waste your time with my 50, but I’m parched for your tips so wanted to say thank you! I’m expecting to wring all the wisdom out of your words this week that I’m capable of.
Glad y’all understood me with the typo! 🙂
I like this: “…paint a picture for me that I would have never formed in my mind.”
The difference between ordinary writing and extrodinary wrtinting lays within your targeted audience. To one person a book can be life changing, but to someone else, they might not be able to read it. Case in point: An author who shared her life story was one book that I couldn’t put down, as I also heard alot of other people say the same thing. I also talked to one person, who this author’s life story, was NOT in their comprehention of life, and she found that she had to put the book down, because it “made her sick”, but to us that shared this author’s history in similair ways it was extrodinary as it gave us hope that the road would get better.
It all Lies in the audience your are targeting.
Great writing is having something worth communicating and communicating it well. Good content articulated effectively through words. I’ll bank my other 26 allotted words.
Great writing reaches beyond eyes that read words on a page, beyond brains that comprehends the meaning of letters strung together, beyond imaginations turning words into pictures, even beyond the heart that aches with compassion and is inspired to action. Great writing transcends the temporal, touches the soul, gives hope.
Phil- I love your reply! Spot on.
Great writing, writes itself I have found. It’s the language of the heart.
Considering the balance between honing skills, and being less so He is more. Of wanting to be a clear communicator but not pursue eloquence to the point of missing His Spirit. Considering how to walk that fine line. That He would be great through this ordinary vessel. Thank you for this challenging boot camp!
The difference between ordinary writing and great writing is that great writing “shows,” not “tells.” Great writing ushers you into the writer’s world and makes you a citizen of their country, not just a tourist with a guidebook. Great writing seeks more to express than it does to impress.
Ordinary writing is a pleasant dinner out. It fills me for the moment but doesn’t leave a lasting impression. Great writing is twenty-six letters forming words, each one finding a home deep within my soul. They are a life-long banquet of empowerment, altering perspective, and infusing strength into my destiny.
I am plagued by the same…even though I write technical stuff, grant proposals and such, people inevitably ask me to look at their books. The most glaring, yet invisible, flaw is poor structure, but I find it difficult to explain to first-time writers how to use dynamic structuring.
Keeping it real! Im sore after reading this.
Ordinary writing is the stuff of journals and diatribes. It is flesh inspired. Period. Great writing is God inspired. It lifts the reader and the writer up and out of this world. Great writing changes everything.
Not sure how to chime in on this one. From what I have heard – in order to get better at writing I need to write – as much as possible. To go from ordinary to great – that takes time, discipline and experience. I know that both you and Ann Voskamp wrote books that were tight, and filled with wisdom. I don’t know how long it took you; how many rewrites you wrestled with but what ever you both did – you made great writing. And I am positive that God inspired you both.
Blessings,
Janis
Ordinary writing is what we do every day: things like to do lists, notes left of the refrigerator, directions on how to. Great writing is noble and breathtaking. It pulls you into itself and propels you into other times and places, touching those deep inner harbors, making you want more.
– Great writing tells the truth about the human experience. Even if the information is presented from the author’s point of view, it should be an honest reflection of that point of view. This honesty is what differentiates great writing from ordinary writing– and propaganda.
– Great writing is qualified by not only the words written, but the words not written. Meaning and depth is supplied by both the said and unsaid.
Ordinary writing entertains, tells a story or communicates information. Great writing evokes passion, emotional responses and moves people to action.
Great writing is comparable to viewing a magnificent vista that takes your breath away. It captures you, heart, mind and soul. The words linger even when you’ve walked away. You never quite forget great writing while ordinary writing is like the dust on shelves that is noticed once then quickly forgotten.
Ordinary writing is what all writers do. Excellent writing is in the eye of the reader.
For me ordinary writing is the disciplined, butt in chair (thanks Anne Lamott), tapping of words on a screen. It is often forced but a necessary part of getting better. Extra ordinary writing is inspired, words floating in my mind, twirling and spinning together, compelling me to sit down and write.
Great writing is writing that not only entertains but that makes you think. It makes you question your beliefs, it forces you to dig deeper, work harder, and to open your mind, possibly to ideas you thought were crazy before. It challenges you and inspires you to learn more and to do more. It leaves a lasting image in your mind that no matter how you may try, you just can’t shake. Ordinary writing can be great writing, if it affects at least one reader in this way.
Ordinary writing is a monotonous task from a mundane thought. Great writing comes from a bubble of passion deep within. When released to its reader, this effervescence creates a ripple of words, breathes fresh air…opens heart and mind to the vibrant picture from the depths of the author’s spirit.
Great writing tells the truth in such a way to inspire others to make that truth part of their hearts and to live it out. The truth isn’t always pleasant. Ordinary writing tells you what you want to hear and so it is lost in the mind and heart in the way that bland food is lost in the stomach–utterly forgotten. Great writing lives on in a way that even if the actual words are lost, the truth lives on. Great writing also inspires the reader to create truth too. The best writing is the impetus to great writing, creating an ongoing conversation of which we are all part.
I’m a couple of days late, but here are 50 words for you:
I believe practice and authenticity are what make the difference between ordinary and great. Working on your craft regularly, rather than waiting until you feel the spirit, and allowing yourself to write deeply, rather than keeping a surface mask in front of you, can turn your writing into something extraordinary.
Ordinary writing can tell a good story, but does not draw you into the story. Great writing not only draws the reader in, but connects with the reader so that the reader believes he/she is on a journey with the author. Great writing moves and changes an individual from within. The first book of yours I read was “Organic God”. The book literally changed my life and so many times, I wanted to email you and let you know. I love to run at a nature preserve in Plano, Texas and i began asking God for adventures when I run. The Lord began showing himself to me through his creation. TheI year i read the book, I encountered a mountain lion, buck, bobcats and coyotes. I could see the Lord’s work in every aspect of my runs. So amazing, to have my eyes open to the presence of the Lord all around. Thank you for writing
I really have no idea to be honest, I write because it is cheap therapy! People read it and it seems to help them too, therefore I write on! Writing a book sounds hard, but I enjoy the process of writing and I am sure I will learn a ton more as I mosey along this journey, sorry I don’t seem determined, but I truly want to enjoy the journey, is that ok??? Or TRY at least!!!!
50 Words:
Ordinary writing is well, ordinary, common and expected, plodding toward completion.
Great writing is alive. It breathes and has a heartbeat. It achieves, overcomes and encourages others along its way. It laughs and leaps toward climax resting only to catch its breath. It finishing its journey with a sigh then sleeps.
I’m a few days behind…
One of the things that struck me as I read other responders is that great writing needs to hold many different skills and emotions. I can’t yet say I’m a great writer but I can say I’m a veracious reader and I haven’t read anything similar to my creative interest.
Ordinary writing is skimmable. You can get what you need out of it by skimming the highlights. Ordinary writing is readable, but not memorable.
Great writing requires reading every word. Great writing beckons the reader to read it again. Great writing can encourage people to make changes in their life.
99% of what’s written has already been said. The chance that WHAT you have to say is original sits at about 1%. So HOW you say it better relentlessly grab hold and refuse to let go. In fact, I’m pretty sure someone already said this.
WOW! Margaret, I didn’t know that eighty percent of the people want to write a book!
The difference for me between ordinary writing and great writing is how many times the author has reviewed and rewritten their work. I recently read a book that needed much work. It was very hard to keep reading it (obviously editing was not a high priority). Then I read books, like the ones you have written and I love how easy they are to read and all the little and big details that have been added to the story to keep my interest in the story line. Editing is a must! I’m excited that you will be sharing your valuable insights on your Writer’s Boot Camp! Thank you very much!!!
Ok, so I’m a week late Sargent Feinberg but I’m willing to put in the work. Oh yes! And graduate top of my class (since it’s only me).
Great writing is capable of capturing the greyest of intellects by creating colorful images that transport minds to the exact place in which they are standing. Thus, opening a portal that allows the reader to taste and feel a sense of magic and wonder. Anything less would just be…ordinary.
That’s good Josh!
Great writing grabs the reader and takes him on an adventure which challenges, entertains and changes him. Great writing turns you upside down and won’t let you go until you deal with its effect on your soul, mind, heart. Ordinary writing is just that–ordinary.
Great writing not only stays with readers, it inspires them to consider their lives, their values and priorities. It makes them rethink how they are living, whether they need to change, if there are things they have left undone. Genre doesn’t matter. It is the evocative nature of the truth in the words that allows them to transcend the page and sink deep into the heart, finding their outlet in new thoughts and behaviors and ideas that will live on in ripples far beyond those readers’ own lives.
The difference is that it is first honest. A writer who brings honestly to what they write allows the reader to connect and feel like they are not doing life alone, it allows them to hear another standard more clearly than if the writer came across arrogant with an ‘I know better’ attitude. An excellent writer also brings a challenge. With this it should allow the reader new insights to gain wisdom and understanding. This should bring growth to the reader, which is ultimately the readers responsibility to learn what he wants. And lastly, a great writer brings excitement to what they’re writing. There is nothing more boring than reading a book that has no substance or depth, it becomes a book that never gets finished.
Okay, I am intrigued. I will be following as you speak to the nitty-gritty reality of writing. I have been reading and listening to so many people speak of writing “the book in me” as this euphoria, God-inspired experience. I guess I must long for that. But, the moment it gets hard, I want to give up. Be real. We all want to hear the truth. Thanks.
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