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Five Worst Myths--and Best Truths--About Good Writers
| Guest post by: Lynda McDaniel |
Article Overview: Myths about good writers abound. Learn the truth about writing--and how everyone can become a good writer.
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Free Download - How to Write a Bang-up Bio By Lynda McDaniel |
Five Worst Myths--and Best Truths--About Good Writers
Almost everyone harbors misconceptions about good writers. Maybe early on, you had a particularly harsh teacher or boss who told you'd never be a good writer; only those who majored in--and excelled at--English could hope to achieve that. Or somehow, for other reasons, you lost your confidence in ever becoming a good writer.
It's easy to latch onto limiting beliefs about writing because so many myths circulate out there. I know because I believed a lot of them. Now, after just shy of a thousand magazine articles, five books, and dozens of coaching clients at major organizations, I know how false those notions are.
I've pulled together my top 10 list of the worst myths--and best truths--about good writers (five are listed here). I hope you'll read these and get rid of any false notions that may be rattling around in your head. When you do, you'll start writing better immediately. Why not make that today?
Myth #1 Good writers write fast
Truth: Oh, I wish. Writing can be a slow trek as you pull together your thoughts, materials, and research. You're bombarded by quandaries about where to put that great quote from the sales manager or how to fit in that colorful anecdote about the new widget. And all those interruptions at work don't help either. So, ignore that irritating voice inside your head saying, "You're taking too long; hurry up!" Give yourself a break
Myth #2 Good writers write great first drafts
Truth: Sure, every now and then someone is a Mozart with words. For the most part, though, we all slog through that first draft. We just get it down the best way we can. Once we fill that blank sheet of paper or monitor screen, something happens. We relax a little, knowing we can make that terrible first draft a lot better in the hours, days, weeks ahead. (Good writing is really good editing.)
Myth #3 Good writers are confident
Truth: We get the heebie-jeebies just like everyone else. Even today, after more than 25 years as a professional writer, I sometimes still feel that I'm not up to the task. The difference now-compared to my earlier years as a writer-is that I don't let those feelings overwhelm me. Sometimes I'm even able to let them inspire me. ("I'll show you what I can do!")
Myth #4 Good Writers don't need to edit
Truth: Good writing is really good editing. Bad writers just stopped too soon. (I repeat those phrases every chance I get. That's how important they are.) Editing is how you get from that terrible first draft to the polished final draft. This is the perfect time to invite your ornery editor back to help you. (The one you needed to banish while writing early drafts.) Now is the time to accept a well-intentioned critique.
Myth #5 Good writers have to know a lot
Truth: Good writers interview people; conduct research; observe scenes, situations, and behaviors. We keep journals and write everything down. We explore the Web, though we're careful to fact-check. (Who are those idiots spreading misinformation and mayhem online?) What good writers, especially nonfiction writers, write about has little to do with our personal experiences (though they can provide a strong foundation). Writers and their writing are like a beautiful wardrobe. We're underneath all those glad rags--we are the form they drape over--but the wardrobe, i.e., each piece we write, is a unique package gleaned from research and interviews.
This is an excerpt from a free e-book, Ten Worst Myths-and Best Truths-About Good Writers. To receive the complete report, become a member of the Association for Creative Business Writing. It's free!
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About the Author: Lynda McDaniel RSS for Lynda's articles - Visit Lynda's website Lynda's written just shy of a thousand magazine articles, all kinds of business collateral, and five books. Her latest, "Words at Work: Powerful business writing delivers increased sales, improved results, and even a promotion or two," took top honors from the National Best Books 2009 Awards. About five years ago, she began teaching and speaking about writing. She discovered she loved getting people fired up about writing. She's helped hundreds of people to write better at national and regional organizations such as The Boeing Company, Key Bank, City of Seattle, YMCA, T-Mobile, SBA, U. of Washington, Cutter & Buck, and Kroll Security.
Click here to visit Lynda's website   Whats in it for me How to keep people reading your business letters and email reports and proposals Letters to the Editors How to sell your expertise to magazine and newspaper editors Creative Writing at Work Overcome Your Fear of Writing Write Right How to stop writing like a dropout and start writing like a pro |
Related Forum Posts
Re: What is your worst / best month?
- Best: October, November, April
Worst: January, February, July
Re: What is your worst / best month?
- Best = January, February and March.
Worst = April (tac season) July and August (vacations).
Consult your customers before you change your procedures....
- Not sure where this topic should go, but...
I just finished reading a rather funny series of posts on MySpace. I belong to a group called WritersCafe. This group also has a webpage, where people post their stories and poems for other people to critique.
Apparently, today, the Writers Cafe website has undergone a complete makeover...and its users were taken completely by surprise - apparently no one in charge at Writers Cafe bothered to tell anyone that the format would be changing, or asked for any input on what the changes should be.
So there's over 2 pages of complaints on the Writers Cafe group message board, with people saying they can't log in, they dont' like the new design (it looks too "girly" - whatever the heck that means!), and other complaints.
And while this only happened today, I have seen other instances of this. Every once in a while yahoo.mail or google groups implements a change in design - and it is never as good as it used to be.
Then of course there's the IMDB (internet movie database) which also recently changed its design without telling anyone first or solicting input - and the new design stinks. Fortunately there's a button so you can use the old design, which is what I do...
But in all these experiences, the main point of irritation is that no one in "charge" ever asks the people who use their site, if they want changes made and what they should be. It's like they've got all these programmers on staff and have to justify their salaries, so they have them work up "improvements" - but these are techheads who probably don't use the site, so they just do what they like, rather than what users like.
The fact that it happens continually, across various businesses, is a rather disturbing trend.
Re: What Do You Outsource Mostly?
- Writers are my biggest OS cost, but also have software developers and a marketing team.
Re: What is your worst / best month?
- Best months for my business are historically March/April/May & August/Sept/Oct
Worst months: December/January (Holidays) & June/July (Vacations)
I see our traffic go way up during the good months and way down during the bad months. Very cyclic.
Keep in mind, my clients buy businesses and no one thinks of doing that during the holiday or during vacation.
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