Comments for 3000messages

Comment on What your English teacher never should have taught you. by Lily

Lily — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:59:53 +0000

I agree! But, as a grade 8 student, there are often rules restricting me. Sometimes, I could generate something that would make the teachers bow down to me in 100 words,but they say 1000 words! I think there are many ways a short piece of writing can be great, but the stupid length rule bombs it! But, I also think the teachers are trying to teach us to be able to write long essays and what not. And, to keep out the fluff and wordyness.(sorry, not a real word).

Comment on The best writing mistakes and how to make them. by Les

Les — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:59:44 +0000

Excellent advice!

I used to write college papers as an ‘uptight’ writer, carefully measuring every word, rewriting every sentence several times. It makes for a great text that doesn’t need editing, but I could only keep it up for several pages and the process took much longer than it had to.

These days, I simply write down everything that comes to mind, without stopping or editing myself, and find that I end up with enough material for several papers. Then I simply organize it by topic, structure the argument, and rewrite what is basically a first draft. The resulting text is always less stilted and much more interesting to read.

Comment on Three grammar rules that are okay to break. by Ruth E Wheeler

Ruth E Wheeler — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:14:34 +0000

My students and I want to know how to write “okay.” I prefer writing out the word, but many people write OK or ok. Is there a rule?

Comment on The best writing mistakes and how to make them. by Dianna Zaragoza

Dianna Zaragoza — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:35:54 +0000

Great title…had to click.

Honestly, this can be one of the hardest hurdles for a new writer to overcome…just writing out what’s in their brain. It’s great to get permission and just do it. That’s the best benefit of NaNoWriMo, in my opinion. Giving people permission to be creative without having to get it all right the first time.

Of course, something even harder is to “clean up the mess” afterwards, when you just want to start sending it out and be done with it! But I suppose that’s a whole other blog topic :-). Good job.

Comment on The best writing mistakes and how to make them. by LADY ALBYNO

LADY ALBYNO — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:51:36 +0000

This was very insightful & refreshing. Currently writing my 1st book, a nonfiction, I almost got caught up in the over-editing mode. I’ve learned 2 write it, let it sit, then come back & read it over. This is the process I now practice. I was under the illusion that my 1st draft was going 2 be my final draft….lol. The journey of writing sure is interesting & fun!!!

Comment on The best writing mistakes and how to make them. by Kate

Kate — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:34:22 +0000

I love reading this sort of thing – makes me feel that I’m going about learning to write in the best way even when sometimes I can’t bear to look at what I’ve written. Thanks John.

Kate, kateinthecountryside.blogspot.com

PS any comments or suggestions on my blog much appreciated!

Comment on Three grammar rules that are okay to break. by An account of recent events | toby wallis

An account of recent events | toby wallis — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 09:34:09 +0000

[...] what else? I learned how not to split an infinitive, and more importantly, why I perhaps shouldn’t worry about whether I have accidentally split [...]

Comment on The best writing mistakes and how to make them. by Eric Satchwill

Eric Satchwill — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:20:05 +0000

I’d have to agree completely with this. Being a perfectionist used to hold me back in so many ways; I wouldn’t even speak until I had a perfectly edited sentence to offer. Of course, by then the topic of conversation had changed about three times over…

Now I’m learning to just let it all spill out and get it sorted after the fact. I find I’m getting more than a few gems that way.

Comment on The best writing mistakes and how to make them. by fjordz

fjordz — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:50:28 +0000

This is so true! You’ll know your flaws when you’re open to mistakes. :)

Comment on Life is too short to memorize 25,376 writing tips. by maryawrites

maryawrites — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:39:57 +0000

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article. This reminded me of the 7 Cs of Effective Communication, we learnt about those during our MBA , way back in 2000. In order to be effective, messages need to be; clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete and courteous.

This was the best learning that I have ever done and never go past these in any kind of writing.