Seeing 2020
ABCs of Writing Well
Simple essentials maybe you didn’t learn in school
It’s really not hard at all, but
You know you have so much to add to the writing world. You need to be a writer. However…
The writer who writes well probably did not hear these three ideas in any school. I did not learn them from any professional. Yet they are essential, absolutes; we must take them seriously instead of taking them for granted.
They cover the gamut of every writing style and subject, yet these essentials are so simple, they could easily be called ABC’s and taught to young children. This is not about style or even skill. It’s about being a writer. Or not.
No decision is too small to be worth wrestling with. — William Zinsser
And although Zinsser was referring to nonfiction, I believe all writing benefits from wrestling with these same three small decisions.
A — The writer must be awake
It’s not enough to jump into bed before midnight and guzzle coffee in the morning. There is an “awakeness” that comes from sleeping, yes, but also from sleeping often and sleeping well. Being awake refers to far more than the bed, reaching deeply into the physical…
