Comments on: What it takes to be a good writer (and it’s not just 10,000 hours)

By: Anosh Chohan

Anosh Chohan — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 07:44:00 +0000

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By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 02:14:00 +0000

In reply to mom2luke. Or, you can find an accountability colleague!

By: mom2luke

mom2luke — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 00:02:00 +0000

You just need grit if you’re writing on your own…I find it so much easier when I have a boss telling me when it’s due!!

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 02:50:00 +0000

In reply to KSW. You're very welcome!

By: KSW

KSW — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 01:47:00 +0000

Such an interesting column – merging some of the most compelling ideas together. Thank you for this great post.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 01:03:00 +0000

In reply to Michael Tevlin. Hi Michael, I just want to encourage you to consider paying an editor from time to time. What you will learn is far greater than anything you can absorb from reading great writing or books about writing. I have learned SO MUCH from my own copy editor.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 01:03:00 +0000

In reply to Nicole. Linear thinkers have the hardest time producing a first draft. I have sent you a private email about this.

By: Michael Tevlin

Michael Tevlin — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 00:50:00 +0000

Great post, Daphne. I’ve been a professional writer since 1981 and a freelancer for the past 20 years. Without doing the math, I’d say I’ve got my 10,000 hours in! As a freelancer, I don’t get editing unless I pay for it. So my learning, in addition to practice, has been by reading and emulating great writing, as well as by reading books about writing. I’m both a fiction writer and a copywriter, so I actively read (and write) in both areas. I’m also a guitar player. I completely agree that to become an expert, one must practice, and one must practice in a strategic way.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:57:00 +0000

In reply to Daphne Gray-Grant. Thank you Daphne. Yes, I have tried mind-mapping. I really, really dislike it:) I don't think this way naturally. I'm a really text-oriented, linear thinker. Visual information written this way is helpful for me if I need to remember something; I can call that up in my mind's eye. I use colour, white space, and placement of text on page to help me study. But to help me think, I need to write, a lot. So if I have a 2,500-word paper to write, I might write 1500 words or more of, essentially, free-writing, before I figure out a thesis. The struggle in my academic writing comes in the teasing out what I'm tasked to write about from all the reading I just finished.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:17:00 +0000

In reply to Nicole.

Nicole, if the writing process is agonizing, have you tried mindmapping? You can see my video on the process here: https://www.publicationcoach.com/how-to-create-a-mindmap/ I think it would help you a lot.