Writing & Publishing

 

"Practice makes better." The saying speaks for itself. As writers, there is no substitute for practice.

 

This section of the webpage is premised on the fundamental importance of practice. It seeks to help you - as a writer - better practice your craft.

 

A Stumbling Block

 

But to do that, it’s important to identify a common stumbling block many writers come across: the false idea that writing exists in a vacuum. What do I mean by that? I mean we often forget writing only exists within contexts with particular audiences, not ever in an air-tight container by itself.

 

We rightfully get excited about ‘expressing ourselves’ and articulating ‘our ideas’, but we forget the linking part of the equation – the ever-important 'to'. We only ever ‘express ourselves’ to someone else and we only ever articulate ‘our ideas’ to others.

 

It’s this misunderstanding that holds many of us back while we practice. But if we focus on our readers and cater our language to reach them while we practice, we can make our writing more effective.

 

But how do we do this? 

 

That's what this section on 'Writing Practice' sets out to answer. As you will see, the key is to use your imagination and persuade your readers.

 

 

A Way Forward

 

Our imaginations hold the key to context. They are the part of our brains that have the power to contextualize - to translate ideas effectively into new contexts. A novelist imagines how a character will behave in a new situation and a researcher imagines the implications of new laboratory findings. Both use their imaginations to envision how their readers will react and tailor their writing to persuade them accordingly.

 

The imagination is the great contextualizer in the writer’s arsenal.