You Can Write Well

by Jessica R Hartley

In the internet age writing has re-established itself as an important form of communication. As a writer, I still find it sad and surprising that many seem to fear the act of putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard.

When we first get into a car to learn to drive, everything is alien and difficult. Yet, within a very short time we find ourselves driving without conscious thought. Learning to write is a similar process - it is something that needs to be practised.

Writing is simply the process of capturing your thoughts on paper or computer screen. Instead of letting your thoughts escape into the ether, writing them down is the process of lassoing them and keeping them for future use. What is more difficult is capturing the thoughts worthy of recording from the countless notions that pass through our overstimulated minds on a moment by moment basis. I guess this could be described as sorting the wheat from the chaff.

What is good writing? All answers to this would be subjective and therefore varied. It is probably easier to say what is bad writing. For me, any writing that can be read easily, that is unambiguous and that imparts something interesting or essential, is good.

It is very tempting for a writer to throw himself into a new project without planning or researching his theme. Indeed this is a method followed by a number of successful writers but it is not one that is necessarily to be recommended as it leads to numerous rewrites and wasted effort. At the other end of the spectrum are the writers who spend far too long researching and planning to the extent that it becomes a form of procrastination.

When starting to write be courageous and develop your own style. If every writer wrote in the same way, readers would quickly become bored. Some formal or business writing will dictate a style and perhaps a layout, but this does not prevent a writer from embellishing the work with their own personality.

My definition of good writing is something that makes me think and question any previously held views I may have had on the subject. It is writing that elicits a response in me. I want to have reason to stop and think about the words I am reading. I want the words to tell me something I didn’t already know or to provide me with a new angle on my existing experiences.

Making time to read is a big investment - we are all busy and could fill every hour at least three times over. It is disappointing therefore to feel let down when we allocate our most scarce resource, time, and then feel we have wasted it. For this reason whatever you write needs to provide value.

Whilst some fear writing and think it is difficult, it’s a piece of cake compared to editing.

Editing is the fine work that improves a piece of writing. If writing is the preparation with course sandpaper, editing is the finishing with a finer grade - polishes up a mediocre piece of prose and turns it into an heirloom.

As a lifelong reader and writer I so want to see others enjoy writing. At the very least I would like to remove the fear so many seem to hold about the process of writing. My wish for you is that you find some inspiration here that encourages you to pick up your pen once again. Write for the sheer fun of it. Write simply because you can.

About the Author:

Jessica R Hartley offers a free online writing course and writers forum to encourage everyone who yearns to write. A professional writer she is enthusiastic about encouraging writing skills in others. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.