I’m so glad Paul has “started in.” (1)
I asked him at the Bridge to Now to give us the benefit of his insight – and he has.
I’d written an article earlier mentioning that you might see a few people (by invitation) “starting in” as writers on the blog, etc. But I deleted it because no one here wants to start an avalanche of unsolicited submissions. (2)
But now Paul has broached the subject.
Restricting myself to writers for the moment, in my view, becoming a capable writer requires practice, practice, practice. The sooner we start in, the better we’ll be … better … sooner. Did I get that right? The sooner we’ll be better?
See? Practice is what gets the kinks out of writing.
Try typing out fifty pages of your favorite author to make their style your own. (I chose Churchill.)
Clinging to the branch
Try locking yourself in your room for three weeks, typing nothing but stream of consciousness.
Why? Because it’ll get your typing speed up to the point where you’re able to capture every thought. (Mine was 98 wpm.) What makes so much writing incomprehensible is that we’re only capturing every second or third thought.
Oh, there’s so much more. But you begin to learn it only when you start writing and encounter the obstacles.
Starting in, as Paul says, is the hardest part. Progress is rapid thereafter.
Thank you, Paul, for taking the initiative! You know what I’m going to say next, right? Where’s your second article?
Footnotes
(1) Paul, “Start ~ Removing the Training Wheels,” Nov. 25, 2016, at https://goldenageofgaia.com/?p=284399
(2) Please don’t send us unsolicited manuscripts. No one has the time to read them at this point in time. We’re buried in work.
After the Reval, we’ll be all set up to expand. We’ll have someone on that desk. Right now we’re clinging to the branch.