#writingbetter

Copyright Don Bates, 2021

The more you write, the better you get.

The more you edit, the better you get.

The more you publish, the better you get.

Copyright by Don Bates, 2021

If I had to address every rule of writing, I would never get anything done or published. Rules are great – they guide us – but they can get in the way of creative expression and fulfillment.

Writing “to the rules” can help you refine what you’re trying to say, but if you spend too much time worrying about them, you can squelch your inspiration. Worse, your desire to write.

Never let that happen unless you discover writing isn’t for you. That it’s too hard, too time consuming, too detached from other things you love, whatever the reason. Where’s the shame in walking away? No one’s really watching. There may be someone close who’s hopeful you’ll write something significant, but they’re not you.

In the end, there’s no perfect writing. No perfect book, play, poem, essay, editorial, and on and on. There are only degrees of perfection and those result from the writer’s thinking, feeling, and imagination, not from rules, but from doing the work as best they can in their own way, in their own voice.

Salvador Dali said, “Have no fear of perfection, you'll never reach it.” Margaret Atwood agreed: “If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” Leo Tolstoy: "If you look for perfection, you'll never be content."

So, next time you start brooding over rules, remind yourself they are a tool to help you write better, not the prescription for getting your writing done and published, which is every writer’s greater goal no matter how some may demure.

Remind yourself, as well, that content is what's critical. That’s what counts the most to readers. I've learned amazing things from poorly, even horribly, written publications of every kind, even though I prefer syntactical elegance. Why? Because their content was informative, insightful, useful, helpful, or all of the above. It wasn’t their words per se; it was what they said with words. By their intent, not their adherence to rules they obviously didn’t know.

Bottom line, write as well as you can but don’t spend so much time getting your language perfect. More productively, get the words out. Then, after a day or two, edit them in the calm, clear light of objectivity. Like locks, rules were made to be broken. Unlock your feelings and knowledge, so you can express your wit, wisdom, or whatever you want your writing to accomplish.

My rule of three for all writers:

The more you write, the better you’ll get.

The more you edit, the better you’ll get.

The more you publish, the better you’ll get.

When you complete a write-up of an essay or an article, you feel elated and become engulfed with a feeling of satisfaction.

It feels good. It feels great.

But, is it really the case?

Did you have another look at your write-up? Do you feel it can be improved further? Is the sentence structure? Have redundant ideas been removed? Are the introduction and conclusion making a good enough impact?