In the grip of a well-crafted story, the reader is a tamed pet eating from the palm of the writer’s hand. This is not by mistake. Good writing, like gob-smacking magic, is the intentional creation of the writer; itself the result of years of consistent practice and experimentation, to arrive at the effortless mastery that readers experience as a riveting story. This is good news! It implies that with practice, excellent writers can become exceptional; good writers excellent; and bad writers, good.
Understanding that writing is both a science and an art is the first step to being a better writer. Great writing combines the science of grammar, structure, and style rules, with the art of storytelling, voice, and emotional resonance. A page on the social media site, Facebook, called Journal of a Jesus Girl embodies this concept. The writer, in her stories, combines both technical proficiency with creativity and expressive power. The result is stories that are enjoyable and whose effects linger long after the last word has been read.
Just like children learn to navigate their environment by observing the adults around them, writers learn to write better by reading the works of other writers. Famous American author, Stephen King said about writing, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Writers should see the works of other writers -established or otherwise- both as guides on their writing journey and a premonition of their own excellent writing future.
The cliché goes that “You cannot drive a car by reading its manual” In the same way, only reading about writing does not make one a better writer. To write better, one must actually write. A writer should experiment with the styles and techniques they have learned from reading the works of other writers, and use them to improve their own writing. In another quote, Stephen King says “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
Finally, writing is often likened to surgery. Writers, like surgeons, therefore, must apply themselves to continuous skill development to improve their craft. Writing classes, workshops and retreats are great places to polish one’s writing skill through training by other writers- usually more experienced. These experiences, will polish the writing of most writers of any skill level. A well-known Biblical proverb captures this vital truth of learning from contemporaries and counterparts. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). The proprietor of the earlier mentioned Facebook page, for example, curates a bi-annual writing class for writers, and it is the one through which this article is being written.
In summary, anyone who desires to write better, must first understand that writing is both a science and an art. Then, they should read other writers’ works, write a lot, and engage in continuous learning.
PS: This was originally written as an assignment during the #POWIM writing class with Journal Of A Jesus Girl
