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March 13, 2009

Writing well: Making it sing

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.

--William Wordsworth, 1770-1850

The most inspired "work moments" I've had is watching someone struggle with getting to the right word or phrase under pressure and when they are tired. The first time I saw it was watching a college daily editor--my roommate both in college and in DC for a while--struggle at 4:00 AM over a few words in the final sentences of a student reporter's story covering a public figure's on-campus speech.

The public figure had screwed the pooch; he said some goofy and impolitic things that, given his government job, he should not have said. The event was likely to draw attention from mainstream media around the country the next day.

My friend still deeply cared, at four in the morning, about the writing--which was "good enough, but not quite there yet"--and it moved me. (He later worked as a reporter for two national newspapers, and wrote a best selling and well-regarded book on international trade.)

Writing is hard--especially hard for those who are good at it, or even just care about it.

sheep_road_470x353.jpg

Wordworth's Muse: In the Lake District, you hear "ghostly language of the ancient earth".

Even if you can't be perfect, and often you can't, please put your heart into it. Half-assed writing in any genre and in any profession--letters, reports, summaries, briefs, memos, anything written--means (1) you don't care, (2) you don't believe it and (3) I shouldn't read it--especially if I am a client, boss or other "editor".

Typos? Missing words? Bad documentation/citation? Horrible grammar? Long rambling inefficient sentences that tragically hide great ideas and points? Not getting to the point early enough? Lazy writing?

It all means you're either in deep personal crisis and should have someone else do it or, and much worse, you really hate what you are doing. You're telling me, the reader, "screw you, Jack". If the latter, it's time to make an application over at that cool shoe store, amusement park or gas station that would just love to have you.

Posted by JD Hull at March 13, 2009 11:59 PM

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