I’m always skeptical when someone tells me “gosh, I’m just not a good writer.”
The act of writing isn’t all that difficult if you have a clear idea in mind. But most of the time, when I ask people what they would like to write (if they could), the jumble of ideas that follows reveals the actual problem: muddled thinking.
As a result, many people experience the act of writing as a frustrating process of dumping – and then trying to sort out – a pile of inter-related and incomplete ideas. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. No wonder people think writing is hard!
But writing isn’t hard; thinking is. When you separate the process of thinking from the process of communicating a fully-formed idea, both parts of the process get easier.
The next time you need to write something, take the process apart. Start by writing to explore your ideas, with the purpose of sorting them out. Discuss your drafts with others. What is clear? What remains muddled? Don’t worry about how good your writing is; focus on how clear your ideas are.
Then, when you have clarified your idea, you can begin the process of writing to communicate it. At this point, your writing will flow much more easily. And – wonder of wonders – you may find you can communicate your idea in just a few words.
Clarity! Brevity! Suddenly, you’re a good writer! But it wasn’t really your writing that improved; it was your thinking.
Glad you found it helpful!