When you sit down in front of that computer keyboard (or notepad, as the case may be), what would you consider to the most challenging aspect of writing?
If you ask some professionals, they’ll tell you that the hardest part of writing is the editing. Getting the original ideas down can be a relatively simple process, but that first draft can be very rough around the edges. Polishing that diamond in the rough until its shine is up to your standards can be a painstaking experience. For them, the hardest part of writing is the process of letting go. At some point, you have to stop editing and hit that publish button.
Proofreading for Something Else
For other people, the hardest part of writing is understanding the grammar. They may have the most brilliant of ideas, but their command of proper English grammar and construction is not as strong. They have these great concepts in their heads, but they can’t quite get them to sound right when they finally put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). That’s understandable too, because English is easily one of the most complex languages to learn. It’s a mish-mash of so many influences and for every rule, there are hundreds of exceptions.
What About Me?
For me, neither of these processes represent the most challenging aspect to writing. Although I work diligently to edit my more professional work, I know when enough is enough and I have to submit the article. This lesson has come quickly from my career as a freelance writer. It’s built into my approach to writing feature articles, because if I never submit that piece, I’ll never get paid.
In like manner, my academic background in English Literature has (I hope) provided me with a good grounding in proper grammar. I share some of the lessons I learned through my Grammar 101 series.
The Hardest Part of Writing is Getting Started
Your experience may not be the same as mine, since each writer develops his own unique process, but I find that the hardest part of writing is simply getting started. I usually don’t have too much trouble coming up with a decent idea for an article or a blog post, but developing that idea into something eloquent and substantial can be quite challenging. Part of the irony is that as soon as I get started, I oftentimes don’t want to stop. For me, it’s all about flow. You’ve got to “catch the beat,” just like a musician or lyricist.
A Running Start
This may almost sound like a complete and utter waste of time, but nearly every time that I sit down to write something, I go through a very similar process. I write the first sentence, delete it, write it again (oftentimes verbatim), and delete it again. This process repeats itself until I am able to “catch the flow” and naturally progress to the second, third, and fourth sentence. This isn’t just for my professional articles either, since I was much the same way when I was writing Shakespeare essays in the school setting.
As soon as I am able to gain that traction, the blog post or article can usually flow right out through my fingers. The first step to losing weight is deciding that you’re going to do something about it. The first step to finding the best deal on a used car is to start looking. And the hardest part of writing is simply choosing to get started. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Expressing them with conviction and flair is priceless.
I find that the most difficult part of writing is getting interrupted during an idea or a train of thought. I have more than once been on a roll and then get my 4 year run up to ask a question or the phone ring.
Editing is not hard, it is interesting because you get to read your work and see what you have said. I think that the editing is what makes us better writers in the first place.
Those are some great ideas I agree with. For me a really hard part of writing is picking an seo title that doesn’t sound as such.
I agree that the starting is the hardest part, but a lot of times, the ideas just don’t come to me either. I might have to try your idea of writing and re-writing the first sentence because I agree with what you say about the “flow”