Writing Tips: One Tip to Improve Your Prose
Be specific.
Specificity comes from strong verbs, precise nouns, and necessary descriptors — each choice giving the reader more information, mood, and character insight.
🍷 Example 1 – From Vague to Specific
He knocked over the bottles.
He stumbled, knocking over the bottle of red wine.
He stumbled, kicking over the half-empty bottle of Merlot.
He stumbled, kicking over the half-empty bottle of Two Buck Chuck.
“Bottles” is vague; “half-empty” hints someone’s been drinking; “Merlot” gives flavor; “Two Buck Chuck” reveals character and situation.
🍰 Example 2 – Dessert Scene
She ate dessert.
She picked at a slice of cake.
She poked at the chocolate cake, half the icing scraped off the edge.
She crammed the last bit of frosting down her gullet, leaving behind a pale, stale bit of angel food.
Neutral to disengaged to indulgent to telling details about the cake — and the eater’s attitude.
💇 Example 3 – Hair Touch
She ran her fingers through the girl’s hair.
She combed her nails through the girl’s hair.
She dragged her nails through the girl’s tangled hair.
She raked her talons through the orphan’s knotted clumps of hair.
Each verb and noun shifts tone — from gentle to menacing.
👟 Example 4 – Shoes
He wore a white pair of shoes.
He wore a beat-up set of Nikes missing a shoelace.
He wore a pair of scuffed Nikes, the heel worn down to the foam.
He sported a scuffed-up pair of Air Jordans, the sole flapping with each step.
From generic footwear to brand, condition, and pride (or lack thereof).
The Rule: Use specific verbs (crammed, raked, sported), specific nouns (Two Buck Chuck, Air Jordans), and only descriptors that add necessary, relevant information (half-empty, pale, stale).
Specificity makes every line work harder — carrying action, mood, and subtext at once.
The above is a summary of Tim Grahl’s latest Youtube video:
