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Good writing is not dependant on skill, it is mindset

December 29th, 2007

by Marsha Maung

Many people have asked me what was the secret to top speed effective writing that generates a lot of attention and springs people into action. Of course, I don’t know all the secrets to writing because there’s an abundant of knowledge out there to learn. All those amazingly wonderful people with a different set of skills, ready to share their knowledge and expand mine. Writing is an art form but this does not mean that you can’t. We all know who painted Mona Lisa the painting….just because you cannot come up with something as historically significant doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t paint!

So, the first writing tip I have to give you is this….stop comparing yourself to Picasso and you will do better. Put the thoughts of JK Rowling and just write, for crissakes! When you start writing while conjuring up images of what your readers think or what their responses might be, you won’t get past the second sentence! The only way to write and write well is to write the way you want to write, the way you feel it should be written, and put your heart into it!

When you sit down to write an article, a book or a newsletter…whatever….you have to discard fear. Understand that nothing is right the first time round….your writing and your article is not going to be perfect too. In fact, just ask an author, even one as established as John Grisham, how many times they had to go through their books again and again and again…and again, just to revise, tie up loose ends, edit grammatical errors et al before the book makes it to the book stores. Make errors! Don’t be afraid of writing something totally stupid because you WILL get the chance to go through them and edit them.

If there’s one secret to writing that I have to divulge in this article…if you put a gun to my head right now….I’d say that I write with a smile on my face…usually. You know how some receptionists, telephonists or customer service people are told to smile before they answer a call? Yeah, that’s what I do and it works for me when I write. It might not work for you because every writer is different but if you want to know a writing tip that worked for me….that’s it. I smile, relax my shoulders and just write.

It’s not at all complicated when you think about it. Relaxing and just putting your heart into it makes sense but some people have problems with that….I understand that. But how about imagining that you’re writing to a good friend. Let’s say your good friend just asked you to write about the latest cell phone technology in the market today which is, fortunately for you, is up for your alley. So, write your good friend a nice little letter and tell the fella what you think of it. Just like that.

Sometimes, good writing is not about skills. It’s not about experience too, sometimes (although it helps, I have to admit), but most of the time, good writing starts with the right mindset. In my personal opinion, anyone…ANYONE can write as long as they have their minds set to it right from the start.

Cheesy? Prove me wrong.

Marsha Maung is a Malaysian-based freelance writer who has been in the search engine marketing business for more than 8 years. Today, she spends her time alternating between being a mother to her kids and mother to her clients' websites and blogs! Now, she is a popular SEO blog content writer and service provider. Visit her website http://www.marshamaung.com for more info and if you want dirty personal details, visit her blog at http://www.marshamaung.blogspot.com .