Learning How To Write

As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think in Spanish. Skip the word-by-word translation so I'd have the necessary speed to speak and listen. I know words in Spanish that I'd be hard pressed to translate. Usually profanity, I confess. Chingow!

For years my students here in China have studied grammar, and know it better than you or I. They read. They write. But speaking involves moving faster than that. In conversation, we don't have time to write it first and make sure it's all grammatically flawless, then read it aloud, perhaps after a bit of rehearsal.

So, I try to give them a chance to practice putting words together on the fly, rules be damned. The rules they've internalized will kick in and keep them comprehensible, which will build their confidence in their ability to keep creating conversation that way.

This is not unlike what we go through as authors. First we study rulebooks, perhaps take some classes, and conclude just about everything we're is doing is wrong. So many rules to memorize. We might dread sitting down to write with all those constraints.

But really, it's not about memorizing rules at all. It's about internalizing the rules, following them (or not if you prefer) without being consciously aware of what they are. They're there, but in the background.

The story's what matters. You're supposed to be having fun, not "working." At least not during the creation phase.

We don't always take the time to say, "I've written ten active sentences in a row so maybe I'll whip in a passive one now" or "I need a beat for every X lines of dialogue." I published four novels and edited dozens more before I learned what a beat was. (It's a pause so the reader can catch his/her breath.)

And, of course, since it is writing and not speaking, we can always go back and revise later. Then rely on editors to catch what we missed, or at least make us wonder why we wrote it this way instead of that way.

Some authors aren't even consciously aware of "the rules." They've never taken a class, never read a book about writing. They're simply avid readers who one day decided to write. But they've internalized the rules as well. It comes from reading.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you want to write, you must read. If you don't like reading, maybe writing isn't for you. It's not about writing because you want to say, "I am a writer." It's about writing because you enjoy writing.

And, it's really nice when you've been writing for a long time to go back and read a book about how to write. You might find one or two things to tweak in your technique, as opposed to a daunting laundry list of flaws. It's much easier to internalize one or two new rules than 50 or 100!

Michael LaRoccaInvestment Make Money No Online
Cosmetic Dentistry Advertising
Network Marketing Home Mlm Business
Internet Marketing Strategy Mlm Web Site Advertisi
Seo Consultant Marketing Site Web Meta Tag Optimization
Free For Money Online Survey
Internet Business Optimization
Online Home Business Opportunity
Free Occult Ebooks To Download
Adult Web Cam Make Money
Health Care Advertising
Work At Home Internet Business Opportunity Home Based
Search Engine Optimization Seo Inc
Internet Home Business Opportunity
Seo Web Site Promotion Services
Online Make Money Fast Internet
Racing Go Kart Affiliate Programs
Bingo Free Game Money Real Win
Easy Ways To Make Money Online Loan
Make Money Online Fast Today
Quick Employee Online Survey Make Money Filling Out Surveys
Free Druid Magick Ebooks
Internet Marketing Service Uk
Adult Webmaster Resources Seo Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization News
Earn From Internet Money
Crayon Direct Advertising
Internet Make Marketing Money Network
Home Based Business Online Web Site Promotional Internet
Business Opportunity Work Home Earn Extra Money Dream Online
Advertising Based Business Free Home
Ways To Make Money With
Affiliate Based Business Business Home Income Internet
Easy Ways For Teenagers To Make Quick Money
Free Ways To Make Money On The Internet
Make Money Online At Home Work From Home On The
Engine Internet Marketing Search Seo Specialist
Work Online At Home
Webmaster Resource Free Web Site Submission Webmaster
Add Program Affiliate
Fast Ways To Make Money Legal
Web Site Promotion Internet Marketing Strategy Free
Webmaster Ciw Online Training Courses Community College
Fast In Make Money Property
Ways To Make Money Offline
Best Internet Affiliate Programs
Adult Affiliate Program
Easy Ways To Make Money On The Internet
Celeb Blogging Index
Seo Consultant Nauru
Company Web Site Hosting Campaign Click Pay Per Webmaster
Mlm Network Marketing Leads
Internet Marketing Online Home Based Business
Hotel Internet Marketing Online Promotion Web Site Design
Ways To Earn Money Fast
Web Site Marketing And Promotion
Advertising And Marketing News
Search Engine Optimization Tools
Ebooks Free Banned Download
Stay At Home Momshow Could We Make Money
Online Business College
Advertising Hampshire Internet Marketing New
How To Make Real Money Online For Free
Duties Of A Webmaster
Work At Home Business Opportunities Weblog How Bloggers Make
Affiliate Programs For Online Insurance Sales
Seo Phildelphia Pa
Allman Domains And Internet Search Engine Pay Per Click
Internet Marketing Promotion Com Site Web
Article Based Business Home Internet Resourxe Work
Clickbank Diginfo Hop Http Net Noadware
Internet Marketing Seo Online Business School
Make Money Quick And Easy
Web Site Optimization Service Internet Marketing Seo Search
Make Money Quick With Google Adsense By Jeff Schuman
Blogging
Uk Free Bingo Money
Getting More Out Of Blogger About Me
Internet Marketing Strategy Swatch
London From The Air Internet Marketing Strategy
Search Engine Optimization Seo Seo Scripts Seo Ebooks
Home Based Business Online Internet Marketing Campaign
Link Popularity Seo Submission Seo Software Search Engine
Free Adds Free Google Adsense Free Googleadsensesearch Com
Seo Taiji Mp3
Affiliate Make Money Online Program
Website Advertising
Webmaster Affiliate Programs
Legal Ways To Make Money Online
Internet Marketing Canada
Help Me Make Money On The The Internet
Webmasters Looking For Domain Names
Buy Cheap Ways To Make Money Online
Seo Package
Make Money At Home
Level Marketing Mlm Network No
Tax Free Money Market
Marketing Google Information Adwords Adsense
Adsense Adwords Google Information Marketing
Website Seo