Writing is a Practice (Part One)

Want to know how to brainstorm? How to write great sentences? How to structure an essay?

First, recognize that Writing is a Practice. (Part One)

Before we set out to supply any rules of thumb or clever writing tricks, it’s crucial that you acknowledge that writing, like other complex, skilled work, is not formulaic. Rules of thumb and clever tricks do not, on their own, add up to good writing. Rather, writing is a practice. A practice is a kind of work that requires ongoing time and offers gradual but substantial progress. Unlike learning to tie your shoes or parallel park, which have recognizable endpoints, being a good writer is a long haul and you will continue to move forward, if slowly and sometimes circuitously.

Writing is less like following a recipe and more like learning enough about cooking to create your own recipe, or recipe book. Writing is less like learning to solve a Rubik’s Cube and more like learning to design new spatial puzzles. Writing is less like learning the rules of soccer and more like playing soccer. Like any good soccer player, a good writer practices. The more you practice, the better your performance tends to be.

These analogies may not go far enough, as being a good soccer player is not a kind of ubiquitous gateway to almost all professional experiences in the English-speaking world. But being a good writer and generally a good communicator in English, is such a gateway. So many job, volunteer and educational experiences require written application materials. You may be asked to write an essay or written responses for everything from volunteering at a tech conference or national park, to working at a coffee shop, getting a fellowship or grant, or working for a professor, politician, craftsperson, scientist or financier. It is difficult to think of formal opportunities that do not require that one is an adept writer. In many cases (like applying to graduate school), being an excellent writer is an enormous asset and can make the difference of being invited to participate or not. Therefore, investing in the practice of writing holds lifelong rewards that give one more power over their circumstances and more control in how they present themselves and their desires to the world. We’ll continue to talk about writing as a practice. Next week, we’ll focus on effort and principles; keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, be curious, thoughtful and *integrous!

*“Integrous” is the adjectival form of the more common word, “integrity.” Since we are word-nerds here at Pepper Editing, we think it might be fun to give this little-known word some more play time by including it in our resource sign-offs. Also, the notion of integrity - being thorough, honest, careful and decent - is very important to us here.