Where do your writing skills come from?

**NBF** · 09-01-2006, 12:30 PM

I never knew just how important my education was until I was in my early twenties. I am very thankful that my parents put such an emphasis on where we went to school. I had professors in college actually pull me aside to ask me about my high school education - and I promise you that I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer!

It helps having a parent who is a published author. Having someone to immediately turn to with questions really cuts down on the learning curve.

I also read - a lot.

I find that school gives you the foundation for grammar and basic sentence structure, but reading helps you develop more complex sentences and more developed ideas. I am inspired when I read work by talented authors. Overall, I think I have a good grasp of grammar, but my writing improves the more I read and the more I actually sit down to write.

Laura

**imported_Donn** · 09-01-2006, 03:33 PM

Writing is fun, but my history is in technical writing. I have written Standard Operating Procedures, repair procedures, and test procedures.

Very dry stuff.

I have also taken writing courses for children. I think that writing for children is the way I would approach online content. Not that I suppose the readers to be less educated - but to grab their attention faster.

Emotions are the triggers that keep one interested in a movie or a novel. Playing on the emotions is what drives a reader to finish the article.

Notice that most ebooks spend more than 75% of the words on why this program works, or why it should work. Even the ones that tout "Content Only" have emotional games within the writing.

A pure step by step book would not work because the reader has to know why these steps are necessary. That brings in the "fluff" or emotional content.

Online readers need lots of white space. There is definitely a different style associated with net articles vice printed articles.

When you find the secrets, you can start your own affiliate program and sell it as an ebook!

Donn

**jorgeparrott** · 09-04-2006, 09:42 PM

Hi Rob,

I enjoy writing also, always have. How do you market your writing skills? What sites do you recommend for different types of writing categories?

Do you have a site yourself?

Thanks
Jorge

**MafiaMaster** · 09-05-2006, 06:17 PM

All of my writing skills came directly from writing. I never really took any writing classes other than what was offered and required in my school. I roleplay, so I had to learn to write and it just developed over time. I was good at essays and then I began writing articles.

**Vi5** · 09-05-2006, 07:58 PM

From school only, I don't read (other than blogs which aren't the best examples of writing)

**stanhansen** · 09-05-2006, 09:16 PM

I agree with you completely.

When I read my screen I tend to skip over words and miss the meaning.

To print and proof is the way to go.

Stan Hansen

**A.N.Onym** · 09-05-2006, 09:41 PM

I was just good at writing compositions at school (in my second language, English, only, though).
As for content writing, only practice makes good. "Practice makes perfect.", remember?

**imported_DaveTurnbull** · 09-05-2006, 10:05 PM

I read. Alot.
And I tried to write a book at the age of 10, that helped quite a bit, I learnt more bout writing in the process :P

**xjfiremedic** · 09-10-2006, 12:10 AM

I think its great that so many people on here value reading. I constantly beat my head against the wall with people who just think they can learn to write. Until you know what you like in writing I don't see how you can develop any style at all, mechanics are important but they aren't everything.

**A.N.Onym** · 09-12-2006, 12:50 AM

Agreed, reading seems to be very important. A more important factor is finding an author whose style you like. Basically, that'd be your favorite author, I guess.

Weird that I didn't consider reading making an impact on my writing style. To think of it, it is similar to the style of my favorite author

**kwafc** · 09-14-2006, 09:55 AM

If you all have any sunggestion, please let me know because my english very very bad.

**skilly** · 09-14-2006, 12:29 PM

I would like a resource for an article writer. I don't mind writing but their are so many other things that I need to be doing. I think that I would be able to increase my business ten fold if I could just concentrate on creating traffic not writing. Let me know if anyone has any ideas/resources for a ghostwriter.

Thanks.

**vorboompsio** · 09-15-2006, 07:28 PM

I started writing articles this year. No formal training. A particular aspect of my niche tends to present itself, and i break it down into an headline, introduction, solution bullets and finale. Generally, the problems revolve around balance between keywords and flow, and the rewrites afterwards. Also, a lot of the article directories have odd formatting so you have to rejuggle as you enter, which is a bore. But the markets getting flooded by crap articles now. Far too much zero content stuff.

**musing** · 09-18-2006, 04:07 PM

I guess I was born a writer. I always wrote as a child. As an adult, I’ve written for publication and just for myself.

Others may have mentioned this (I’ve not had the chance to read everyone’s replies), but other than writing, writing, writing, the one thing that’s helped me improve my skills the most has been reading quality literature, both fiction and nonfiction.

I don't know of any better way to train the writer’s ear than simply reading good books. It develops a kind of verbal tuning fork, so when I read my own stuff I can tell when something’s “off.”

**MonkeyBiz** · 09-18-2006, 05:26 PM

it helps alot if English is your primary language.

**shermanchoo** · 09-29-2006, 07:39 AM

Input of content both audio and visual through books, television and radio, not only affect the way we write but the way we behave.

Interesting that Writing skills and Oratorical skills are different. Good speakers may not make good writers and vice versa. The written word and spoken language may have the same content, but delivery of a spoken message takes into account other factors such as accent, tone of voice, pauses between words, speaking rate, which don't apply in writing.

**madferit** · 09-29-2006, 05:00 PM

I've always written alot, even when I was younger I used to write little "books" and give them to my mom. And then when I was in high school, other people always asked me to look over there work b/c I was regarded as a really good writer..... and then I went to college when I was 16, and wrote lots of papers, was the college's newspaper editor, etc. I think it is something that you are born with, but also something that you can fine tune.

I also have a thirst for knowledge, so I know alot about a huge variety of things. I have varied interests. And I read LOTS of books, magazines, newspapers, etc. I have a way with writing. But speaking.......ick... I am horrified of giving a speech to large groups. Although I can teach groups perfectly fine.

**vapourlock** · 11-05-2006, 09:53 AM

Read.Read and read. Write, write and write.

**MonkeyBiz** · 11-05-2006, 05:22 PM

It helps if you do alot of reading and are a good writer.

**leb123z** · 11-05-2006, 10:25 PM

I have had a love for writing ever since Jr. High School. My Language Arts teacher encouraged us to write a journal, and that got me going forever. I don't write journals anymore, but the written expression of my thoughts is something I really enjoy to this day. Language Arts and English were always my best subjects in school. The more papers you write, and the more reading you do, the better off you are, but I still think writing is something you have to love to be really good at it, just as you succeed more when you are doing something you are passionate about.

Now with my internet marketing business I have the opportunity to write articles to help add content to my site and promote my business. It is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment whenever I complete a new, original article. The more I learn about internet marketing, the more I have to write about.

If you ever suffer from writer's block when trying to write articles for your business, you can read my article entitled "Nightmare on Article Writer's Block" which is listed in the search engines.

Thanks,

Liane