Total Writing Improvement

All writing involves three elements. Whether it’s scribbling in your journal, landing a byline in a major magazine, or writing for a TV show, these three elements are present and inescapable.

Thought

All writing begins with thought. Words and sentences only have value because they represent ideas and concepts and do so in a way that many people understand. Without those ideas and concepts, language is meaningless. What we actually create and sell, as writers, are thoughts.

Words and Language

Now, in order for those thoughts to be accessible or intelligible to anyone else, they need to be translated from raw thought into some form that others can understand. Communication of thought is the sole purpose of language. As said before, the value of words lie in the thoughts they convey to others.

Media and Technology

Finally, once we’ve figured out the words that represent our thoughts, we must record them in some way. Cave men painted on walls, the Egyptians wrote on papyrus, we use computers. Whatever the technology used, regardless of the medium that conveys the message, it isn’t writing until it’s written. Media and technology are the form and means used to record the thoughts we originally had.

The Bottom Line

We all want to write well. Many want to also write more, and thus earn more money. Both quality and quantity can be improved by focusing on improving how we use and work with each of these three portions of the whole writing process. By improving our initial thought processes, we improve both the crafting and marketing of our writing. By fine tuning our use of language, we are better able to write clearly and reach audiences effectively. By training ourselves in media and technology, we become more skilled with the tools we use in our art.