What's the problem with this building?
No craftsmanship!
It's strictly utilitarian with no sense of style or attention to detail. It’s built quickly. It’s built cheaply. It’s architecture that nobody cares about. With your writing, you don’t want to build ugly strip malls.
How can you insure that you are not building an ugly strip mall? How can you insure that you are building something meaningful?
Craftsmanship!
When you apply craftsmanship to anything that you are making, you are saying to yourself that what you are building matters--to you and, possibly, others. Craftsmanship requires dedication to, and thoughtful execution of, a plan. With regards to writing, this means:
Slow down: consider what you are saying and how you are saying it. You must reread your work. If you don’t understand what you are saying or are unmoved, your reader will feel the same way. Take time to consider language and sentence construction. At some point, you must be detailed oriented. Little mistakes with commas and apostrophes sneak by the best writers. Perfection is quite possibly unattainable. Still, clarity is key.
Be organized: As mentioned above, you should have a plan and you should stick to it, while allowing for flexibility. The point of writing is to follow ideas. You might find a new direction as you write. If it appears worthwhile, follow it. At the same time, go into a piece of writing with a clear, step-by-step understanding of what you want to build.
Be specific: Move past what is easily known, especially by you. It’s one thing to say “society is corrupt.” It’s another thing to say, “here’s an example of how corruption undermines the relationships upon which society is built.” And then write about something that is taking or has taken place. This is also crucial for the way you start. Make an honest attempt to open with something that gets you and your reader interested.
Writing well is tough. Somewhere along the way, I heard somebody compare writing to conducting an orchestra. Both are among the most difficult activities to pull off because the writer has so much to attend to: the ideas, the organization, the sentence level decisions. But it is also incredibly important to be able to communicate this way. You must want to be successful. You must want to build something worthwhile.
How can you insure that you are not building an ugly strip mall? How can you insure that you are building something meaningful?
Craftsmanship!
When you apply craftsmanship to anything that you are making, you are saying to yourself that what you are building matters--to you and, possibly, others. Craftsmanship requires dedication to, and thoughtful execution of, a plan. With regards to writing, this means:
Slow down: consider what you are saying and how you are saying it. You must reread your work. If you don’t understand what you are saying or are unmoved, your reader will feel the same way. Take time to consider language and sentence construction. At some point, you must be detailed oriented. Little mistakes with commas and apostrophes sneak by the best writers. Perfection is quite possibly unattainable. Still, clarity is key.
Be organized: As mentioned above, you should have a plan and you should stick to it, while allowing for flexibility. The point of writing is to follow ideas. You might find a new direction as you write. If it appears worthwhile, follow it. At the same time, go into a piece of writing with a clear, step-by-step understanding of what you want to build.
Be specific: Move past what is easily known, especially by you. It’s one thing to say “society is corrupt.” It’s another thing to say, “here’s an example of how corruption undermines the relationships upon which society is built.” And then write about something that is taking or has taken place. This is also crucial for the way you start. Make an honest attempt to open with something that gets you and your reader interested.
Writing well is tough. Somewhere along the way, I heard somebody compare writing to conducting an orchestra. Both are among the most difficult activities to pull off because the writer has so much to attend to: the ideas, the organization, the sentence level decisions. But it is also incredibly important to be able to communicate this way. You must want to be successful. You must want to build something worthwhile.
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