The primary foundation of writing is good spelling and grammar. Critics look first at mechanics that will show an author's basic competency. An author without the capability to use standard grammar and spelling will not impress an audience. The literary scaffolding on this platform is the author's talent for using grammar as style. A successful author, for example, will use active sentences in a narrative. An author who writes, "The moat was forded by the hero" instead of "The hero forded the moat" diminishes the strength of the hero's actions and weakens the story or essay. The noun should act and not be passively acted on in a narrative. Passive voice lengthens sentences and makes controlling the narrative with sentence structure difficult.
The use of sentence length is an important part of writing a story or essay. Short sentences with few words help to create an energetic paragraph. "The cat ran across the road" is livelier than "The cat, with the long silver fur and the curious nose turned up to the sky, ran across the road." An author who uses long sentences gives the audience the impression of a slow process or reflection. "The molasses dripped" has less worrisome implications than "The molasses dripped, sticky atom by threatening sticky atom, onto the rare, priceless and opened folio that the elderly woman bought at Sotheby's auction house for her retirement investment."
Language is another vital part of descriptive writing. The use of strong adjectives, nouns and verbs help the author to create engaging stories. Writers should not use adverbs, or words that end in "ly" and modify the verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. "She fought the dragon bravely" does not tell readers what happened in the fight. "She fought the dragon with mighty jabs" tells readers more of the story.
Authors who use simple vocabulary will attract readers. Unfamiliar words make readers pause over the meaning of the words and lose their concentration. New words, paradoxically, can enhance a story. For example, if an author has written about a tropical paradise, she might use words that give an air of mystery. "The aubergine flowers drooped over the hammock" sounds exotic. However, it is essential for writers to give textual context so readers understand the unfamiliar word. "The flowers over the hammock reminded the girl of the eggplant that she saw at the morning market." Using technical and unfamiliar words in academic essays is appropriate. Authors should avoid slang, swear words and clichés like the plague unless writing a novel that requires these elements.