Tag: writing-tips

Writing Skills: Providing context

January 15, 2026
Bookshelf

When we write for an audience, providing readers with context is often integral to a story (occasionally, some of us write for ourselves and inherently recognize the context of what we’re writing about…..). Many times, context makes the story – drawing in the reader.

In journalism studies – and in our high school writing classes (mine, anyway) – would-be writers learn to impart who-what-when-where-how-why to one’s audience. Communicating the who or what – the topic – is usually straightforward enough. Bringing the subject to life by providing context makes writing worth reading.

There are people – myself included – who like to deduce or infer context when we are told something verbally (“If B, then A and C”). Those of us who enjoy this mental work have to recognize that this thinking style isn’t auto-pilot – or pleasant – for everyone. We therefore have to remember to lay out context when communicating. I’m inclined to think that this forced effort makes us better writers by virtue of consciously learning to take our readers desire for context into account. Actually, all writers have their own communication style is specific to their temperament and need to learn to recognize – and account for – reader needs when writing for an audience….. A truly well-trained writer is one who we love to read specifically because we enjoy the writing style they have cultivated….

Sometimes, context is broadly viewed as self-evident. Stand-up comics often deliver jokes such that the context is thought to be self-evident and – therefore – funny. For example, “I wouldn’t want to be the fish in this photo.”

cat looking at fish

Usually, however, the work of setting up context is the writer’s responsibility. In journalistic parlance, the writer doesn’t just deliver the “what” of a story. Where did this happen? Who was involved and where did it happen? How did it occur? If the context of “why a story matters” won’t likely be self-evident to the reader, the why needs to be incorporated into a story. The “why” is where we writers get to be creative in our communications.

In the following photo, it is self-evident that this is a night scene of a city’s downtown skyline (“what”). A curious viewer might want to look for clues to identify which city is being viewed (in this particular photo, the tall, thin building to the right and the downward reflection of light identifying water are clues of the city’s identity). However, I generated more interest in this photo when I explained to an audience that I took this photo during my daily commute to a job for which I would leave home before daylight to avoid heavy rush hour traffic along Seattle’s I-5 corridor and that I had to find an appropriate place to pull over to take this photo. Providing my audience with context about my work life and indicating that I had the wherewithal to recognize a camera-worthy scene during my morning commute made the photo more interesting.

Seattle skyline at night

Providing context well when writing – while also recognizing how much not to tell so that the reader can draw their own ideas – is crucial in moving beyond typing to quality writing. Burkhardt Writing Services is available when you need a good writer.

Kim Burkhardt provides writing services – including ghostwriting, “corporate storytelling,” articles, how-to manuals, and editing – at Burkhardt Writing Services. Contact us about your wordsmithing and storytelling needs.

Writing Style: Be Clear, Be You

November 25, 2025
leather bound book
Book with leather cover

The purpose of writing is to communicate.

Actually communicating via the written word requires more than factually stating information. I indicated in my previous post, for example, that Robert M. Goldstein’s biographical tale of riding the Trans Siberian Express succeeds at being a laugh-so-hard-you-cry narrative because he did more than state where he travelled and what he did. He was self-transparent, thereby humanizing the story, in describing his mishaps – discovering two days into his trip-of-a-lifetime train ride that he was on the wrong train and telling about his only pair of shoes getting stolen.

At times, the written word does – in fact – call for literal, straightforward facts-and-figures communication. A how-to-assemble document for a piece of furniture or a bicycle requires literal step-by-step instructions. A good communicator, though, recognizes when such step-by-step communication is appropriate – and brings to the communication an understanding of how to be straightforward. “You will need a hammer for this project” demonstrates a writer’s understanding of the human experience involved when crafting the assembly of a useful how-to manual – while also knowing what information not to include (no one cares if your cat sat with you while you crafted the how-to manual). Personal insertions of information might be relevant – on the other hand – when assembling a how-to-ride-the-Trans-Siberian-Express manual (“Here’s a tip I learned on how to avoid getting your only pair of shoes stolen”).

Writing to communicate with an audience isn’t about you. Except when it is about you (an autobiography, for example). Written communication is for the reader. Yet, the reader will be able to see you in the written communication. Does the writer know to tell me to have a screwdriver when assembling a bookshelf? Does the writer know when to insert personal anecdotes to make a story human and therefore compelling? A reader of a professional journal will evaluate the writer of an article – does the writer know industry standards well enough to know the appropriate communication style(s) for that industry and that publication? Does the writer of a novel have enough experience with people to know the communication tools that make a narrative interesting?

I am currently reading a book by an author who narrates U2’s (the Irish rock band) use of visual imagery at their rock concerts. The author observes in the book that when there’s upward/downward tension co-occurring in a song, one band member will walk up stairs while another band member walks down stairs. I had never noticed that in watching U2 concerts. I appreciate author Kevin Ott – and have an increased appreciation for U2 – as a result of Ott’s insightful and descriptive narrative in Ott’s Shadowlands.

Writing – when effective – is clear, descriptive, and informative. When done well, writing also tells us about the writer. Of course, the best writing renders readers so absorbed in content that we don’t notice the medium…..

Kim Burkhardt provides writing services at Burkhardt Writing Services. Contact us about your wordsmithing needs.