Writing Practice

Writing practice was something we did in school, right? We know how to write. We know how to craft a sentence, a paragraph. Writing practice is something we don’t have time for. There are stories to write and deadlines to make.

Right?

Um, no. In case you hadn’t already guessed: no.

Free writes, journaling, stream of conscious blather – we don’t necessarily think of it as practice, but it is. It lets us play with ideas, with different approaches and styles, taking risks that we wouldn’t otherwise.

One great, vastly underutilized tool in the writing practice department: letters. Few people do them any more. Kate can attest that I am a horrible correspondent. (In my defense, my last letter was returned for no apparent reason. Which was discouraging.)

But letters are a great way to help you find your voice as a writer. You know, that thing that no one can teach you?

Because letters are conversational. The tone changes, depending on whom you are writing to, but they are all you. All your voice.

Stories, in both dialogue and exposition should (according to current market trends, at least) sound natural. By which I mean it should flow in such a way that the reader is not thrown out of the story. Making readers work to understand convoluted grammar or excessively long sentences throws them out of the experience.

Note: these are all generalizations. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Schools often teaches us a way, a tone of writing that works against easy accessibility. Letters to your best friends? Those tend to teach the exact opposite.

So keep up the writing practice. Get all the extra words out of your way so you can get to the ones that matter. And if you’re having trouble finding your voice, try writing a few letters. You don’t even have to send them. Just write them as if you were talking to your best friend.

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