LEARNING MEDIA: December 2010

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Build your Writing Skills

Writing is fascinating. Writing is an incredible communication channel. As as a tool, writing is indispensable. Creative writing is to bring into existence something new in written form. Some believe creativity is innate and largely inspirational. Some believe creativity is based on training, hard work and exercise of real skills.

You can be a good writer but first realize the significance of language. In order to write you need language. And it’s essential to understand importance of language. Transmission of information is perhaps the most important function of language in the history of human civilization. Language connects people. Langrage is essential to think & express our thoughts & emotions logically, critically & creatively. Language has enabled us to advance intellectually, psychologically & culturally. Langrage is essential to respond with empathy to other’s thoughts and emotions. Languages allow us to communicate ideas, and deal with abstract concepts such as love or truth. Last but not the least, language provides us the capacity to be creative.

Writing isn’t at all like flying a jet where are required to spend years training before you let loose at the controls of Concorde. In case of writing, you can pick up a pen and start NOW. Writing begins with imagination and creativity. So, it is very much possible to start writing and learn as you proceed. To begin, there are some reasons as why people are scared of or shy away from writing? I call these are as knock out factors. These are possible: personal embarrassment, lack of confidence, anxiety at other people’s reactions and so on. These are meaningless, so pay no attention. Believe you can write and you will.

So, now you are ready to write.

But wait for a minute.You feel you have something to say. You have an idea. You need to get stimulated. Emotion is basic human stimuli. Stimulation is the first step in the communication process. In short, you are passionate in two senses, one to express ideas, views or feelings, and second, to write about them. Unless your writing is to be for private view or personal therapy, you have to attract, address and stimulate a reader. In nutshell, you must learn as how to present your own writing effectively to engage the interest of the reader. For instance, skill with words doesn’t mean the excessive use of them. Brevity, conciseness and choice of words are more likely to be effective.

Knowledge of how to write correct language is essential. Language is a code established through rules & regulations. These rules govern the meaning & usage of the code. The understanding (decoding) & production (encoding) of the code is also based on mutual agreement of these rules. Each language has syntax. Syntax is the grammatical form of language. The inappropriate grammatical usage can interfere with clear communication.

Managing one’s own time to accomplish task is important. Remember, writing is a lonely affair. You need lot of time to think and put them in perspectives. Developing writing techniques such as sequencing, storytelling, explanation, dialogue, pace is an ongoing process.

Researching a topic thoroughly is another critical issue which every writer must address. Research is the process of asking questions and finding answers. Research is exploration. Research is discovery. Research brings in the elements of credibility by avoiding factual errors.

Build your Writing Skills: Some Useful Tips