Downside of Writing

For those of us who have the gift of free flowing thoughts and do not have to struggle to find the right words, one could either congratulate you for your unusual gift or accuse you of being mentally lazy...  that only the true writer searches for just the right word to go in the right place in the right sentence.

And while everyone has their own opinion on a variety of subjects, it is clear to me that everything we do revolves around being a chef.

You can cook the same way and serve it to 10 different people at 10 different times in 10 different locations and each of those 10 eaters will have different sensation regarding the food that they just ate.

The same holds true of writing...  Yes, you can search for that right word, but once you do, the person to whom you submit the writing may not like your choice of words...  then what do you do?  Make the claim that this publisher obviously has their head up their ass?  That may be exactly what s/he is thinking about you.

The real problem with writing is not so much selecting the right word for the right audience but making sure that what you have written:

• Makes Sense
• Flows

So, what the hell does that mean?

Well, when I was a contract instructor, the course writing company would assemble all of us and give us the course they had designed to teach it touch a group of assembled students at different locations.

What we ALL DISCOVERED is that the greatest designed course with superb graphics and excellent examples and exercises MAY NOT HAVE teachability...  in other words, it did not flow smoothly...  transition from on topic to the next...  and it was our job to discover that and correct it for them.

The same holds true for writing, especially the novel...  so, writers MUST DEVELOP the ability to go back and reread their manuscript as if it had been writing by someone else to check for making sense and flowing...

Oftentimes, writers do not have that ability because in their minds they are replacing what is missing or what needs to make sense, which is incredibly natural.