An Introduction On How to Write Well
I typically tutor high school math, but I often get students who want help with SATs or writing in general.
I have a student that's aiming to earn the NROTC scholarship. I'll be meeting with him later this week to talk about it, but I wanted to give him something to do before we met.
Below is the second e-mail I sent him. I thought it'd be worth sharing with you aspiring writers out there.
Secondly, write no less than five minutes a day. Writing five minutes every day will serve you better than writing for an hour every once in a while.
Also, write a great variety of things. I have a blog called Rambling.
In it, I often write useless, self-pitying gibberish. Sometimes, I write thoughtful essays.
The point is constantly to be exercising your writing muscles. Also, I almost always have a clipboard loaded with scrap paper. The scrap paper lets me know it doesn't have to be masterpiece work. I've written some excellent stuff on my scrap paper. Most of the time, I write whiney crap. Just keep writing. Write more. Experiment. Experiment with new vocabulary words. Experiment with punctuation. Experiment with whatever. Just be writing.
If you think your writing is crap, then write crap. Most of the time when I write on my scrap paper, I throw it away immediately after I fill a sheet. It's not to make masterful essays; it's to keep the writing muscles warmed-up.
When I'm waiting for something or someone, I'll write on any scrap of paper they'll let me have. I once filled a whole napkin with self-pitying drivel when I was waiting for a friend.
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE WELL, WRITE MORE.
Writing is like running: if you haven't done much of it, it sucks crap dung. Good writing, at least for the first few years, requires quaNTITY over quaLITY. Quantity is better. Quality is a moot discussion. Just run. Just write. After you've sweat out all the crap you've accumulated, you'll start getting runner's/writer's highs.
Just like running, every time you slack off writing for a few weeks, it'll be insanely crapful again. Just a dash every day. Ten minutes. One paragraph. Three sentences. Five words. If you find that you're not writing, aim for less.
THEN. Then. Then we can start hashing through how to write well, how to select choice words, how to discern when a sentence should be long and elaborate vs. when a sentence should be short and piercing, how to incorporate analogies, how to start and end, how to guide your reader, nay, lead your reader through your essay.
I have a student that's aiming to earn the NROTC scholarship. I'll be meeting with him later this week to talk about it, but I wanted to give him something to do before we met.
Below is the second e-mail I sent him. I thought it'd be worth sharing with you aspiring writers out there.
Secondly, write no less than five minutes a day. Writing five minutes every day will serve you better than writing for an hour every once in a while.
Also, write a great variety of things. I have a blog called Rambling.
In it, I often write useless, self-pitying gibberish. Sometimes, I write thoughtful essays.
The point is constantly to be exercising your writing muscles. Also, I almost always have a clipboard loaded with scrap paper. The scrap paper lets me know it doesn't have to be masterpiece work. I've written some excellent stuff on my scrap paper. Most of the time, I write whiney crap. Just keep writing. Write more. Experiment. Experiment with new vocabulary words. Experiment with punctuation. Experiment with whatever. Just be writing.
If you think your writing is crap, then write crap. Most of the time when I write on my scrap paper, I throw it away immediately after I fill a sheet. It's not to make masterful essays; it's to keep the writing muscles warmed-up.
When I'm waiting for something or someone, I'll write on any scrap of paper they'll let me have. I once filled a whole napkin with self-pitying drivel when I was waiting for a friend.
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE WELL, WRITE MORE.
Writing is like running: if you haven't done much of it, it sucks crap dung. Good writing, at least for the first few years, requires quaNTITY over quaLITY. Quantity is better. Quality is a moot discussion. Just run. Just write. After you've sweat out all the crap you've accumulated, you'll start getting runner's/writer's highs.
Just like running, every time you slack off writing for a few weeks, it'll be insanely crapful again. Just a dash every day. Ten minutes. One paragraph. Three sentences. Five words. If you find that you're not writing, aim for less.
THEN. Then. Then we can start hashing through how to write well, how to select choice words, how to discern when a sentence should be long and elaborate vs. when a sentence should be short and piercing, how to incorporate analogies, how to start and end, how to guide your reader, nay, lead your reader through your essay.
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