Writing

It can be tough for me. Mostly because by the time I entered 9th grade I could write fairly well. Then I spend the next four years reading what english majors consider to be good books. Most of them were crap and I didn't enjoy most of them in the slightest. We learned literary styles and the like, but we never really learned how to actually improve our writing after that point.

College was horrible. My skills atrophied since all I had to write was lab reports and the occasional email/instant message for four years. Then two more years of it during my masters. I'm surprised I can still put together a complete message.

I bring this up because Joe Carter has a link to 50 writing tools. Before you read them, keep in mind that they are writing tools not writing rules (even though they read like the latter). Writing is communicating and the only way to do it wrong is if your reader can't understand what the hell you are typing about.

Frankly I think the best way to learn writing is to write and then be critiqued by others. Most people don't have degrees in English. Frankly I often wonder if collegate english programs aren't like collegate music programs. Instead of appreciating the writing you only see the structure. I'd rather just fumble around until I find something that works. It's more fun.