Thoughts on the Written Word.

The Incurable Itch of Writing Possesses Many

Juvenal, Satire, VII

As a society, we have been Writing since time began. Writing in the sand to Hieroglyphics on the wall of caves.

All of us have our own favorite means of communication through the written word. I am speaking about communicating or writing with pen to paper in hand.

This article is the authors’ thoughts on the written word.

Why Do We Write

We write to: Communicate, Be A Storyteller and Educate. We write to educate our: friends, co-workers and people whom we may or may not have been formally introduced to. Writers love to pen words on a page sharing Ideas and Thoughts. I love to write and to Educate at the same time.

A writer does just that; share ideas and thoughts through the medium of Print Blogs, Groups. A writer must be a ferocious reader and storyteller. All of us have the power to communicate and write effectively; it just has to find its way out.

Writing is a process; a labor of love.

Reading and Researching

I am a reading and researching worm. Reading is a HUGE part of my life. I am continuously reading: books, magazine articles and LinkedIn articles. I try to emulate journalists and be a good storyteller and writer.

Research, read and take lots of notes on concepts, ideas and projects that interest you. Really be interactive with the material that you are reading and studying.

Write your thoughts in the: margins of the copy, books, magazines and in your notebooks.

Being interactive with your reading and writing, you will be using more of your brain power. You will acquire and retain more knowledge. If you keep doing and following this mindset your mind will be sharper in your reading and writing. Try and see for yourself.

Read material that is interesting to you and you are curious about. Subjects you are interested in you will read all you can about them. You will be a sponge; soaking up all you can on the subject(s).

Read and write about ideas that interest you.

Block off a certain time in the day or at lunch, like I do.

I take notes on my reading material because I put flags and paperclips into and on my reading material.

I have my pen and my notepads with me. My pen as my pilot and my highlighter as my copilot. My notepads are the flat area that I can work on.

Ask lots of questions dealing with the subject or project you are working on. This is how you acquire knowledge. The more knowledge you have the more successful you will be.Then we move to Writing.

Writing and Paragraphs

I do some free writing to warm up. Free writing lets you get your ideas and concepts through words in sentences down on paper. This can be done through prompts or just letting you go for a period of time. Prompts and free writing really help me out.

The prompts will inspire and illuminate your mind. You are able to focus on our writing more intensively with the prompts. In effect, you become a better writer.

Using the free writing tool, you put your thoughts down on paper sporadically. Then deviate into the arranging of words on paper in a coherent thought process. Here is where the real writing comes in. Paragraphs.

By arranging your notes on paper, in their proper order you will be able to see how the sentences formulate and flow from paragraph to paragraph.

Begin your paragraph with Good and Strong topic sentences. Make the paragraph stand out and the reader of your copy stay interested.

Do not ramble. State your words clear, concise and succinct within the paragraph(s).

An example:It rained every day for one week. Mean what you say and say what you mean.

You need to stay: positive, on point, and use specific language in your copy. While doing your research you will find key words that you can use. Use the words in your copy of which you are studying.

An example: If you are writing about Medical use medical terms.If you are writing about Engineering/Math use engineering and math terms.

One more thing about paragraphs. 

When writing for print media make the paragraphs short. As I am doing in this article.

Why? It is easier to read from your phone or computer. I learned this from Julia McCoy. Thanks Julia for writing “Practical Content Strategy and Marketing.” It helped me out immensely.

I have seen my writing improve immensely by being a conscious observer. 

Editing or Redacting

Editing is a HUGE part of writing. A great gift you can acquire with your writing is patients while you edit.

You may write a sentence down on the first try and, is well stated. Then you may find out that your first thought is not good enough and you must edit. As I have done with this article.

The premise is that you must edit or redact your work constantly. So you as a writer, will have crisp and clean copy.

Redaction is practice with getting to know English Grammar.

Inspiration, Mediation and Observation

To gain inspiration, you let your mind wonder. You can doodle and think about what you want to write. Or simply leave your writing area. Go out for a while by taking a walk, exercise or just medicate.

Medication is a good form of focusing off the ideas and concepts you are working on.

This may help prevent writer’s block.

The trick: Do not keep focusing on the writing project or copy. Relax, then come back to it

Observation is another way to improve your writing.

Become a conscious observer This conscious observation allows us to be focused on the object or project we are working on. I have seen my writing improve immensely by being a conscious observer. 

Benefits of Writing

You will able to express our thoughts and ourselves more concisely. You are able to handle stress better.

You will gain more insights and think deeper into concepts and ideas that you are working on. Writing keeps your mind nimble and mentally sharp.

Remember, we all can write.

We just need to get our thoughts out and on paper.

I also appreciate my LinkedIn Network and those that I watch and listen to.

#Ed Henry, #Chris Wallace, #John F. Solomon, #Maria Bartiromo, #Zoe D. Kling #Daniel Ally #Julia McCoy and the Associates at #Express Writes.com.

I read and watch what these people have to say.

I have learned so much by reading and listening to them. Thanks for all you do.

They are constantly innovating with: news stories, copy, articles and books with deeper insights. This is because of reading, writing and communicating.

References:

Books:

The Elements of Style: Fourth Edition William Struck Jr. and E.B. White Longman Publishing 2000.

Writing With Power: Techniques For Mastering The Writing Process Peter Elbow Oxford University Press, Inc. Printed in the United States 1981

Practical Content Strategy and Marketing: Julia McCoy 2017

Internet Sources:

www.sparringmind.com/benefits-of-writing/

contentstrategycourse.com/content-marketing-ideas/

www.expresswriter.com

Matthew J Gaydos

Avid: Reader, Writer, Researcher, Self-Learner and Book Reviewer