It’s not that you can’t write, you just stop too soon
Over the years as a creative and technical writer (close to 30!), I have noticed many excuses that people give for not writing well. “I am too wordy,” “I just don’t know how to start,” “I hate writing.”
A lot of people I now work with struggle with English as a second language and I am amazed at how well they do speak and write (I have some training in ESL and have tutored English on and off for many years). English is hard! And not logical.
I find myself correcting small and recognizable mistakes in people’s copy often.
If only people could practice learning these mistakes and how to fix them, their writing would be much better.
A lot of people feel they are too busy to pay attention to writing. But a well-crafted email with plenty of white space and subheadings and a clear “Call to Action” at the end actually will save you time. No one will reply with “So what do you want from us?” “Or what does this mean?”
There are three main myths people seem to have about writing in general:
- It is a magical skill that one is born with and some of us will never be good at it.
- It’s too hard to edit all the time.
- I am an accountant/lawyer/IT professional — Writing doesn’t matter.
Time for some myth busting:
- Everyone can write — you may not be a great novelist someday, but writing is a skill and you can…
