Val Dumond

Author

Publisher

Editor

Consultant

Articles on Writing, Grammar, and Publishing
by Val Dumond

What's on Val's mind now?

Val writes articles on grammar, the art and science of writing, and publishing, for budding writers and seasoned authors alike. These articles are not only informative and educational, they're entertaining - written as only Val can. Enjoy this latest of her articles:

How Bold Are You?
by Val Dumond
© Copyright 2011

As a writer, you may be called upon... no, you often are called upon... uh-uh, you always are expected to express an opinion. There's nothing wrong with that!

Yet, many writers fail to say what they really mean.

As a teacher, I can attest to that. I read many scripts that hint at a message, have the makings of getting across a strong message, and they flop. The writer crumbles at the idea of writing something that someone won't agree with.

Granted, we live in a precarious world, where saying what you mean can get you into a lot of trouble. However, I feel that writers carry the burden of calling issues to readers' attention. How is it possible to discuss race relations, or sexual identity, or world conditions, or war vs. peace, or global warming, or the price of gas without exhibiting some form of irritation beyond annoyance, anger beyond disgust, and loathing beyond disapproval?

Whether you write novels or informational nonfiction, you need to sit down with yourself before beginning. Take a yellow pad or notebook and doodle your message. Give yourself a good talking-to about honesty and truth and straightforward language. Get hot! Work up an emotional state that reflects your message. Then go to your computer.

What? You fear you may be criticized? Laughed at? Scolded? Someone may call your work (read: ideas) silly or stupid or sided (to the right or left)?

I must point you to the writings of the American Revolutionists:

• Begin with William Bradford, who penned the Mayflower Compact. Oh, the bravery necessary to shove off from their native country into the unknown waters of the Atlantic and form a political group to colonize a still un-opened country: British America.
• Move on to Thomas Paine. Oh yes, you say, he wrote much of his work anonymously. Still, he wrote eloquently, advocating independence from Great Britain and firing up the War for Independence. He also faced contentious object and flirted with death.
• Now you're ready for Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, who carried their words across an ocean to free a growing colony of brave souls from the tyranny of oppressive government. Strong words flew: sedition, embargo, tyranny, estrangement, war, human rights, independence.

There are few words as stirring at that first line:

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

Read it again!

Could you have worked up the courage to write down words as daring as those? Words that could get you imprisoned or killed. Words that invite opposition?

Yet, every day I read text written about physically non-threatening issues that evoke the writer's fear of discovery, of contrition, of objection, or censorship. Can a mother actually hurt a child? Does a woman face exclusion or banishment by writing about an abortion. Is "death" a taboo subject?

Memoirs are a favorite form of writing. Yet, some good memoirs remain uncompleted until "after my mother is gone" or "after I die" or "never! What would my children think?"

You have only to look at the great writers, the successful writers, to understand that they wrote for themselves; they wrote to inform about how it was during those dreadful times; they wrote to free themselves from the guilt of having committed "a sin" or even "a crime". They wrote to share their human-ness.

Writing is a blessing, a gift from the gods that offer a writer peace of mind while informing, exposing, enlightening, convincing, or simply entertaining.

Don't be afraid to say it your way, in your words, with your emotions sitting strongly behind them. Speak out your message. When a teacher told a stuttering student to read his words bravely in front of the class, she said, "Those are your words. You wrote them. Be proud of them. Share them. Read them slowly and clearly, and loudly."

You are being urged to do the same thing: excite a reader, stimulate a reader to action; force discussion of a situation. Sing it out - in your voice, loud and clear!

Val has three soon-to-be-published books: The JOY of Grammar, The Creative Instinct, and Ahlam, Story of an Iraqi Life.

Back to the main Articles page

Please feel free to contact me. I welcome your comments and any specific questions you may have.