What are some barriers to writing skills?

Answer 1

One of the hardest human activities that shouldn't be difficult is writing. This arises from the misconception that writing is a different or alien form of human behavior. It is alien in that many people do not do it often enough. This is more due to the notion many people have of what writing is than what writing actually is.

Think about it this way: most people would have no problem walking up to a group of friends and entering into a conversation. When surrounded by our clique we can prattle on for hours, many of us oblivious to what we are actually saying from one moment to the next.

This is writing.

Wait, stay with me. The difference is that in writing, you are slowing it down and putting it on paper. "Kicking it" with our friends is "words on air." Writing is "words on paper." Only the medium is different.

We get hung up because we expect the act of writing to be different from any other activity we engage in, but it isn't. It's an extension. The first thing we try to do as infants is communicate. If we do not bond after birth, we languish and eventually die. It is that important. Communication is our vehicle for bonding, for connecting to other people. Writing is communication.

There have been a number of artificial strategies developed to promote writing. These, by and large, are not very effective. They require someone to teach the steps. They require students to memorize and learn the steps. This is adding baggage to a cart that needs no extra weight. People who know how to speak and to read, already know how to write. They just may not be aware of it.

My idea is not a writing process, or a writing strategy. My idea is more organic, call it organic writing.

In organic writing, it is important to only get words on paper. In the writing process, this may be referred to as freewriting, and legitimately, it may resemble it. But, words on paper is not free writing. It is an exploration. It is a natural flow. It is what we do when we walk up to that group of friends and start blathering away. It is what I have been doing as I write this. More on this later.

Okay, so you may or may not have your subject. If you have been given a subject, you may not know anything about it, or very little about it. This is a disadvantage in reality, because you have to read and research before you can write. Or do you? You can actually begin to focus your research and what you will write about by writing questions, putting words on paper. Go ahead and ask about your subject. Write out what you think you know. Ask about what you want to know, or what you think you should know to be able to write authoritatively about it. This will map your research for you, or at least begin to suggest directions.

Maybe you weren't given a subject. Great! Now begins the worry over about what you should write. Right? Wrong! No subject is a blank check. You get to write about anything you want. You get to write about what interests you. You get to tell someone else what that thing interests you. And, you have the chance to interest someone else. Afterall, if it is worth your interest, it is worth your reader's interest.

You have to make it interesting though. Not so fast. You have to get words on paper. So, come up with the thing that most interests you and just start writing.

It's going to be rough. It's going to be messy. Anything worth doing usually comes out of a mess though. Ever seen the kitchen after Mom makes your favorite meal? Maybe you had to clean it up, so perhaps you have. Editing your writing is cleaning up the kitchen. You don't need to worry about it until the meal is done.

Chances are, you are writing for a class. Great! You have this person in your class who is an amazing resource for editing suggestions.

Nothing is more frustrating for a teacher than to have thirty children standing around his desk whining, "I don't know what to write about." Yes, you do, and if pushed a little you will realize it.

Think about this: every day, millions of words are put on paper. In newspapers, magazines, cereal boxes, etc. Every day, millions of words are put on virtual paper. On blogs, chat rooms, message boards, WikiAnswers, Twitter, emails, etc. You are likely responsible for some of those words. You craft them specific to your audience. You know who your audience is. When you are writing for school, your audience is your teacher, right? Wrong! Your audience is non-specific. Your audience is everyone, anyone who can read. So, your job just got easier. You do not have to write to satisfy one person. Well, you do, but that one person is you, not someone outside. The point of all of this is write what you want to write. If it is important to you, your passion will show, your reader will be vulnerable to that. If you have gotten this far in this answer, I just proved my point.

You can write. You just may not know you can write.

Oh, that "More on this later," bit: typically I prefer to revise or edit what I write when I have finished. I've written long enough, that I sometimes edit on the fly--that is, I edit as I go. I did not do that with this because I wanted to prove a point. That point is this: Your first draft may be ugly and wander all over the place. So what. It is words on paper. This is the single most important thing in writing. You cannot edit a blank page. It's like trying to shovel air. Just doesn't work. The secret to writing, call it a writing strategy, call it a process (as much as I hate both terms), is put words on paper. Even if you start out with, "I have no idea what to write about..." it's fine, as long as you don't stop there. Don't stop at all. Don't stop until you run out of things to say. Don't set limits, don't make expectations. Just put words on paper.

Just to give you something to think about; the average high school essay is about 750 words--three pages typed, double spaced. Everything above this line is 1073 words. If I were to push it, I suspect I could expand what I have above to about 20,000 words, perhaps more. I'm no one special. I have no more skill than any of you. If I can do it, you can.

Answer 2

Overcoming obstacles in the field of writing can often be accomplished by asking the advice of experienced persons. It is often the case that professional writers have a varied experience that can help a struggling writer to achieve writing success.

Answer 3

barrier of writting