What’s the answer to the age-old question: “How do you know you’re in love?” The answer, of course, is: “You’ll know.”

And so it is with good writing.

Good writing is good writing. You know it when you see it. Like being in love, good writing has a seemingly magical quality to it. But since I have 20+ years of experience writing professionally, and a happy, 18-year marriage to my credit, I’ll try to demystify them both.

1. It means something. Like being in love, good writing is personal. To the lover, care and meaning are what drive him or her to act lovingly toward his or her partner. To the reader, meaning is what propels the reader to read on. Good writing conveys a message, a point, a thought, something. If you read a sentence or a paragraph or a page and can’t tell the main point (especially after reading it multiple times), it’s simply not good writing.

2. It evokes something. Like being in love, good writing involves depth of feeling. Indifference is the enemy. Good writing causes a reaction of some kind. Amusement. Laughter. Desire. Agreement. Disagreement. Vehement disagreement. Like a lover, good writing will engage, delight, disgust, surprise and a whole host of other things. (See. I told you I’d been married awhile.)

3. It leaves something. Like being in love, good writing leaves a lasting impression. A lover cannot stop thinking of or dreaming about his or her beloved for too long. Good writing does the same by indelibly impressing a thought, an image, a desire to act, or a feeling upon the reader.

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