Learn to Write

"Easy reading is damn hard writing."  --Nathaniel Hawthorne

Writing has been described as gut wrenching, opening a vein on a page, and hurling words into darkness while listening for echoes. Learning to write may be even more frustrating than all of that, but WhiteSmoke English Writing Software can help your writing come out right. Use WhiteSmoke to check your grammar and spelling. It has a huge online dictionary and powerful thesaurus (synonym dictionary) as parts of its all-in-one solution. And its unique writing enhancement tool suggests words that will take your writing to whole new levels.

With WhiteSmoke focusing on the linguistic technicalities of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, you will be free to really learn how to write better. If you want to learn to write, the first step is to read. Read the best writing of the sort you'd like to write. If you want to do life writing, read life writing. If you want to do creative writing, read creative writing--of the type you want to do. If you want to write a book, read the sort of books that you would like to write. Read books on writing well, too.

Don't read to copy what you read. And reading won't make you "write like someone else." But just as composers listen to music, painters look at paintings, and architects look at buildings, writers look carefully at writing--to learn how to do writing, to learn how not to do writing. Don't read just to understand the words, but look at how the words are put together. Look at the writing style as you read. Did the writer do well here or not? How might you do it differently? Better?

As you put your own words together, no matter the style, WhiteSmoke will help make sure that your English writing is correct. WhiteSmoke offers assistance for several common styles of writing: medical, business, legal, and creative. It is almost like having your own English online writing course with you, whenever you need it.

Just as reading is important when learning to write, so is writing. In order to learn to write, you must write. Then write some more. Then revise what you wrote. Then write some more. It helps to keep a writing journal, where you write about your reading and about your writing, where you note ideas for revising something or starting a new project. Whatever you do, write.
 
As you write, WhiteSmoke will highlight grammar and spelling errors, while offering solutions. It will provide definitions from its powerful dictionary, so that you know you've written just the word you meant. Its thesaurus will help you when you need a different word. And its writing enhancement tool supplies suggestions of additional words that will improve your writing.

Writing is said to follow a process. The stages of the process are not linear--that means, you can go to any stage from any other stage. Most good writers circle through the stages many times and at many stages of the process go back to earlier ones. If you want to write well, actively practice each of the stages of writing so all stages are available to you at all times.

One way to think of the process is:

1.) Pre-writing (writing to learn)
-    Coming up with ideas (brainstorming, free-writing, reading, researching, thinking, speaking)
-    Playing with those ideas (making concept maps, webs, outlines, drafting, more free-writing, thinking, discussing with others)
-    Seeing what patterns come up in the ideas as you play (more drafting, revising, outlines, concept maps, free-writing, reading, research, going over notes or journals or earlier writing)

2.) Writing (to learn)
-    Writing to discover what you have to say (drafting, revising, thinking, playing some more, reading some more, more research)

3.) Revising (writing to communicate)
-    Revising and Editing so what you have to say is expressed exactly as you wish it (starting over with the draft, revising the draft, correcting errors)
-    Sharing with friends or others for their thoughts, comments, questions, ideas

4.) Taking it public (writing to communicate to others)
-    Revising for audience
-    Submitting to editors or teachers for comments and evaluation
-   Analyzing responses of others and resubmitting if appropriate (common in editing / publishing)
-    Final copy-edit (for publication)
-    Publication

Writing is a process. As with most complex processes, it takes a while to develop writing skill. Imagine trying to go onto a sports field and playing a sport without practicing or coaching. Most professional teams today not only carefully watch and analyze their own practice and play, they usually analyze how other teams play. So it is with writing: read (others, your own work), write (practice), and analyze your own writing for revision (read it carefully and re-write to get closer to what you mean).

It is very useful to get feedback from others, especially people you know who might be from the audience you wish to write for. Let WhiteSmoke be your writing coach. WhiteSmoke English writing software will help make sure that all of your writing is your best when it comes to grammar, spelling, word choice, vocabulary, and punctuation. It's your online writing tutor, available 24/7, just for you.

So, learning to improve your writing skills requires lots of practice and lots of reading. As you write, remember that even the best and most highly regarded writers cross-out or erase or throw away most of their writing. It is only the best of their work that we ever see.

With WhiteSmoke as your online writing guide, you will be free to write your heart's desire. Whether you want to write a good essay (see How to Write an Essay), a good paragraph (see How to Write a Paragraph), a book (see How to Write a Book), a story (narrative writing), to win a writing contest, or just a bit of autobiography for your grandchildren, WhiteSmoke will make sure your best writing is at its best. Just remember, to paraphrase Hawthorne, easy reading is hard work. And good writing is easy reading.