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Writing Concepts

November 2, 2007
rayrandall
Echievements.com article comment, Self Improvement, Write

Mike Lawson lists the distinguishing marks of ”great writers”. Great writers do instinctively what most writers don’t, no matter how hard they try. Lawson thinks you have “it” or you don’t.  If you don’t have “grand master” writing talent, (he lists the literary legends: Shakespeare, Hugo, Steinbeck”) you should put that pen down, get your fingers off your keyboard, and find something else to do. “You either are one (a writer) or you are not. It is not a learned skill or acquired trait. You cannot make a master out of a really good writer any more than you can make a bass fiddle out of a drum.”

Lawson’s analogy works; a dog is not a cat, and a grape is never a watermelon, but a hack can become a writer, and maybe a “literary legend”.  If not a legend, a “hack” can improve spelling, grammar, and content.  Use a dictionary. Increase your vocabulary. Grammar is learned not innate.  Content comes from our stories; we can be taught how to research.

Lawson shifts his thoughts to mission: “Before you ever pick up a pen or type the first word of a project, you should have a mission statement committed to making you a better writer. It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out, complicated matter. Maybe just a paragraph or so that lays out your personal creed as a writer.”

Your creed as a writer is simple:  ”Just do it”  Mediocre beats failure.  Who knows you might write a brilliant, life-changing sentence. That sentence might not change anyone’s life but yours, and that alone makes
your writing worthwhile.

Your passion drives your mission statement, no matter what you do. If you want to write, then write. Never give anyone permisison to dissuade you.

Helpful books:

The Elements of Style by E.B. White (original by William Strunk)
On Writing Well  by William Zinsser
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Read Mike Lawson’s article.  I disagree with his views, but he writes them clearly.

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2 Responses

  1. Mike Lawson  •  December 2, 2007 @7:01 am

    Thanks for reviewing my piece. Although you seem to believe we have different views, they are actually quite similar. Perhaps the rub comes from my views on Great Writers. I think your assessment took it a bit more black and white that what I said. I never said you either were a writer or you were not, I said you either were a Great Writer or you were not. And if you are not, the odds are stacked against you ever becoming one. But so what? Who cares? That is not what we are about as writers. Most of the great writers in halls of academia never knew they were Great anyway because they were long dead before being so proclaimed.

    My intention there was not to discourage, but rather to encourage. Don’t put that kind of pressure on yourself when you sit down to write. Strive to do the very best you can do and learn as you go. That is the main ingredient to becoming a better writer; the desire to do so.

    The hacks I referenced are that because they choose to be, not because they couldn’t learn to write well. It just doesn’t interest them enough to apply themselves to the learning process required to become a competent or good writer.

    I think most educated people in our society are probably competent writers. And that is all well and good. Their skills and interests in life just lie elsewhere. They reached a certain level of proficiency in their writing skills and said, “enough, this is as good as I need to be.” Most of them are successful to varying degrees and may use a certain level of writing in their acheivements. Most journalists and business people fall within the scope I am talking about here. Their grammar is good, they use spellcheck, their points are clear and concise, but it lacks lustre — like the high school history book. Years later you know you read it but can’t really remember much of what was said.

    Then you have the good writers. I count in this group ALL writers, whether famous or not, that have the desire to take their writing to the next level. King, Clancey, Koontz, Brown all fall into this category, albeit at the end of the scale in most cases. Perhaps I fell short and should have listed an extremely good category as well. There are millions of good writers in every genre out there. They have earned that title through hard work and dedication, along with the tenacity of a bulldog. They are the successful copy writers, up and coming novelists, accomplished poets and what have you. I believe you are only limited by yourself in how far you go with your writing; or anything else in life for that matter.

    So you see, I DO agree with you, more or less. Again, thanks for your review and I wish you every success in your writing.

    Mike
    http://www.appalachianwritersforum.com

  2. rayrandall  •  December 3, 2007 @7:54 am

    Thanks for your comment Mike; I appreciate your insights and distinctions. Ray

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