As a child, I read a fairy tale about a boy who wanted to be a wizard. The current court wizard gave him three tasks to accomplish.
First, the boy had to show him something no one else had ever seen. Cleverly, the boy brought an egg just as it hatched, revealing a brand new chick.
The second task I don't recall; I suspect it wasn't that important to the story.
But the third task was truly amazing. Pointing toward a tall tower in the distance, the mage said, "Jump to the top of that tower." The boy started hopping, all the way to the tower, then up the steps one by one. What had seemed impossible merely took some time.
One mistake many writers make is wishing to get a project over with in one quick leap. Consequently, the project seems more daunting than it really is. They avoid the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing), thinking it too time consuming, thinking it unnecessarily focused on polish. They miss the fact that the process can actually save time and effort by breaking things down into easily manageable stages.
Of course, it's also about polish, producing writing that makes you seem like a wizard. For example, as writing trainer Lynn Gaertner-Johnston points out in "Editors: Here Is Data to Support Your Job," a recent IBM study revealed a 30-percent higher click rate on edited Web text.
What's your writing process like? Do you plan an e-mail message before sending it? Do you write more than one draft of a memo? For that matter, what are your most common writing challenges? Click the link below to add a comment.
- Lester Smith
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