Great Writers are Great Readers First
By: Michelle Klieger
Tags: Creativity, Success, Books, Writing, Improvement

I accidentally added Mindy Kaling-style jokes to my trade war article and it made it better.

Photo by Tbel Abuseridze on Unsplash

I have been listening to Mindy Kaling’s book, Why Not Me? for the last few days. I had no idea she was so funny (sorry Mindy). It’s awesome. In the middle of reading the book, I started writing an article about the Cabinet-level trade meetings between the United States and China. The article was filled with jokes. It’s not a very funny topic. We are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, industries completely turned upside down, and decades of international diplomacy totally disregarded. I know I want to make these traditionally stuffy topics more interesting, but my first draft went overboard.

Through instant messenger, I sent the “funny” introduction to my husband. He liked it. Then I sent him the third paragraph. I used the terms “trade war”, “global meltdown”, and “piña coladas” in the same sentence. He neither found my joke funny nor did he think it was appropriate. I was sad and at the time, I couldn’t see that he was right. I just muttered to myself that maybe once in a while he could laugh at my jokes.

During our conversation, I realized that these jokes must be coming from Mindy. No, she wasn’t writing my article on the trade war. Rather, I was internalizing her style and incorporating it into my writing. I’m sure if she wrote a satire about the situation it would be funny, much like the witty humor in CBS’ Madam Secretary. Not like a newspaper article with a few bad puns in it.

My goal isn’t to be funny. I’m an economist that loves talking about international trade; my goal is to make the topic more approachable. Maybe throwing in a joke or two will help. But making a joke of the topic will not.

I kept writing, becoming engrossed in the topic. Slowly, my voice started to creep back out. If you aren’t funny, it’s difficult to write 500+ words on international relations that are comical. By the end, Michelle was back. During the editing process, I revised the first few paragraphs and took out most of the jokes, but kept the intro and a funny(ish) title.

Positive influences

Writers say that being an avid reader makes one a better writer. In general, I read and write a lot of non-fiction. My favorite books are written by journalists. They are clear and concise. They are not overly flowery but still manage to keep the audience engaged.

Great writers have diversity and depth. That depth comes from reading diverse types of literature, poetry, short stories, etc. Seeing how other authors manipulate words is a great way to improve my writing.

I’ve absorbed people’s styles before. It was obvious when I binge-watched Sex and the City after I had foot surgery. After a few weeks, I could hear myself talking like Carrie Bradshaw. Her cadence and sentence structure are so unique and I could hear myself copying it. I liked the show, but I have no interest in talking like Carrie. It just happened.

It happened quickly and subconsciously, like a chameleon. I blended into my new surroundings, and then when I walked away my true coloring comes back. Testing out these new writing styles is a powerful tool.

A Mindy technique, not a joke

Mindy Kaling is constantly nestling stories inside of her stories and her readers don’t get lost. I’m impressed, to say the least. Many writers can’t write two connected sentences without losing their audience. Successfully, switching between stories is no simple task! Here is the pattern I’ve discerned:

Make a point. Start to elaborate. Get distracted by another story. Finish the new story. Circles back and finish the original story.

This 5-step plan won’t work in my economics articles, but it’s still extremely helpful to me. My topics are long, complicated, and often filled with jargon. Helping a reader through that mess and not losing them is powerful. This is something that I am actively trying to improve and Mindy has offered guidance.

Still me

My goal is not to become Mindy or my favorite journalist. I just want to be less stiff. My previous writing assignments were very academic. Now I want to be more conversational, more approachable, and less distant. Part of my education is coming from looking at how successful authors in this space write.

Then I start writing and see what comes out. I try new things. I trust my editing process. I know that if anything is too over-the-top, fake, or forced it will get removed later. So, I write just like I dance when no one is watching… without fear.

There is a lot of trial and error. But slowly and with a lot of practice, my writing is becoming less academic. There still aren’t too many jokes, that’s not me. What is working best is pretending like I am having a conversation with someone. I am explaining this complicated topic to them. I want them to understand and be interested. I imagine the conversation. It’s very different than preaching from a lectern.

How are you trying to grow as a writer? Who are your biggest influences?

Thanks for reading Writers Guild — A Smedian publication

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