Page 22 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

Writing well is one of the most crucial tools of the modern person. It is a skill
required by nearly every profession, and one that allows you to get your work

done, help others, and leave behind a legacy of your thoughts and actions so you
may be remembered long after you are gone.

2.1 A Few Words of Advice

Think of words as bricks and boards, sentences as walls and windows,
paragraphs as houses, and essays, stories, and articles as neighborhoods. Your
writing is a little world for your readers, which you furnish in a way that, you

hope, delights them.

Writing is a learned process that doesn’t come naturally to anyone. We all

must be taught it. Don’t fret if you think you’re behind where you should be.
You can learn it, just as many millions of people have before you. Hang in there.

Writing has different rules than speaking does. What naturally comes out of
our mouths may seem fine to us, but if we write it down exactly as we speak it,

other people—who can’t see our memories, emotions, knowledge, and ideas—
will get only vague, misshapen impressions of what we mean. We must write

differently than we speak.

Writing is messy. I know many authors and writers, and none of them writes

anything meaningful without planning, revising, and editing. There is a myth of
the genius writer who can do it all perfectly in one try. Do not think you’re

failing if you can’t do that. Also, everybody needs a good editor. Everybody!

It’s easy to lose sight of what is important. You focus on word count rather

than results. You lose track of your good idea because you’re worried about
margins or type size. You’re concerned about the introduction but haven’t given
a thought to the conclusion. You’re so worried about your deadline it distracts

you from doing the work. Many writers go through this! You are not alone. To

focus on what is important, look at the finished, published writing around you