How to communicate through your writing

All advice about the process of writing is important. However, aspiring writers should not get hung up on the bits of advice that the experts - those who have had some success in writing - from time to time, toss out to the curious, probably excessively "fan girling" or "fan boying" interviewer.

These successful writers were once aspiring writers. They wrote and wrote and wrote because they believed that they had stories to tell. Some of them pitched their work over and over to publishers, and were rejected over and over and over, until finally they reaped success. This success may have come by being published by a traditional publishing company or being self published.

What all these successful authors have all had in common are some positive attitudes:

• Perseverance. That is, faith in their abilities to write and translating their faith into action
• Willingness to expend the necessary effort to realise their dream; willingness to make sacrifices to finish their masterpieces; willingness to read the work of others and to learn from them
• Ability to maintain a positive outlook when obstacles appear

Richard Peck, a prolific American writer and former teacher of English, shares some wisdom about how to write. In the quote above, he is telling us that true communication through writing happens when writers establish a connection with readers. 

You, the writer, establish this connection by keeping the face of your potential readers always in front of you. You should experience the same types of emotions as you write that you expect your readers to experience when they read your book.

Writing is an active process. It is communication with your potential readers and you hope that these readers, for whom you have chosen to write, will get the message that you have embedded in your writing.

The idea of "self-expression," as used by Peck, means writing for yourselves. That is, writing without thinking about your audience. So, before you write, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is my audience? 
• What do I want to share with them?
•  Why do I want to share my thoughts with an audience? 
•  How should I share my thoughts?

People may not want to read random thoughts that you put in your diary, but they may want to read about an experience in your life that has hurt you or one that has given you pleasure or one that has impacted you in some way and how you have grown from that experience - the basis of the memoir.

Or, you could create a story world, dystopian or realistic, where characters start and conclude their journeys for whatever they hold dear, showing how they overcame the challenges that they faced in achieving that for which they were searching. This is the basis of fiction.

So, whenever you feel the urge to write, write! And whatever you feel like writing, write it! If you plan to share what you write, think about your audience. 

Finally, the person who aspires to be a writer should first respect the grammatical conventions in his/her language. I am sure that you do. But, if you doubt your writing competence in your language, hire an editor to smooth out the rough edges, to the extent you want them to be smoothed out. 

Afterwards, share your story. Then go back to write, write and write some more! Just remember to learn as you write!

Here are some tips about writing. Check them out and use the ones you find useful. 

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About the Author

Janette B. Fuller is a teacher and author of three books. Her business is to write stories set in the place she knows best – Jamaica – while also helping writers to write their own stories. When you are ready to write your story, make contact with her @ writingwisdomtree@gmail.com. Check out her books here.