Really creative writing

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One of the main aims in article writing is to write the article in a `fluid’ style - in a way that makes it easy for the reader to read the article. The opposite of a fluid style could be called a `hesitant’ style.
The paragraph above has (hopefully) been written in a fluid style but let’s change it slightly and use it as an example of a hesitant style. Probably the easiest way of doing this is to insert a comma where a comma isn’t necessary. Unnecessary commas are one of the most obvious symptoms of a hesitant writing style.
Let’s re-write it like this: `One of the main aims in article writing, is to write the article in a `fluid’ style - in a way that makes it easy for the reader to read the article.’
If you place a comma after `one of the main aims in article writing’ you are giving your reader a chance to absorb the fact that there are several aims in article writing. You are being considerate towards him.
The problem with this attitude is, he might not want you to be considerate towards him. He might resent it, he might feel that you are patronising him - calling him stupid.
Analyse yourself for a moment. Be honest with yourself. Maybe there’s some truth in this, maybe you are patronising him, maybe you are calling him stupid.
But the (relatively) good news is that if you are doing this it almost certainly isn’t deliberate. It’s because you are playing safe, it’s because you are taking into account the fact that he might be `stupid’, that it might take him a few seconds to absorb the fact that there are several aims in article writing.
The reason for this attitude is, you don’t know what kind of person he is. You don’t know if he is the kind of person that can grasp new ideas immediately or if he is the kind of person that needs a few seconds to grasp new ideas.
The (genuinely) good news is that you aren’t alone. Writers never know what kind of person they are writing for. They might have some idea about this, but they can never be sure.
In a future article I’ll look at some ways of approaching - but not necessarily solving - this problem.

* Why fandango? The fandango is a dance of courtship. Fluid writing is also a kind of courtship - you are courting your readers, dancing around them with a writing style which they might or might not appreciate. Actually I just like the way that fandango sounds.