GrammarPhile Blog

Why “I’m Not a Writer” Probably Isn’t True

“I’m not a writer.” If I had a dollar for every time someone said this to me, I could buy three or four deluxe burritos.

Sure, some people have a knack for writing. Other people write like a screeching violin, from whom we want to hide all the pens, pencils, and paper. But there are many more people who occupy a solid middle ground. They’re also using “I can’t write” as something of a shield.

Why People Say “I Can’t Write”

The people who are saying “I can’t write” often mean other things that are harder to admit:

• If they set the bar low, there’s less of a chance you’ll criticize their writing. Writing is a little like prancing around naked on a stage while the audience grades you, so I understand this strategy.
• Their “inability” to write well is posed as a permanent state; there’s no changing it. So there’s no need to try to overcome it. Problem solved and buried.
• They actually don’t believe they can’t write worth a darn. Writing intimidates and overwhelms the heck out of them. They’d like it if you’d change the subject. (I do, just not in this blog post.)

As a writer, you need to trust your editors and proofreaders, but you should still spend at least some amount of time polishing your writing before handing it over to them. Sure, this makes things somewhat easier for your proofreaders, but it also ensures clearer, better writing overall.

Do you have a clear review process that you follow before passing your work along to your proofreaders or editors? If not, here are a few things to consider if you want your writing to be the best it can be before giving it to someone else to edit.

As the online world has become more saturated with written content in the past couple of decades, the distinctions between what marketers do and what writers do have become extremely blurred. At first it may not seem obvious that such once-distinct professions are melding together, depending on your own profession. But it’s true. After all, why do employers seem to think that marketers should have top-rated writing skills? And why do employers and online entities believe their marketers should write digital content? Further, why do writers need an excellent online presence and digital marketing skills to get their content read and shared online?

If most people’s No. 1 fear is speaking in public, and dying is their second biggest fear, then their third biggest fear must be writing about themselves. Or maybe it just feels that way when the assignment of writing a bio comes up.

These days, it’s common to be asked for a blurb about your personal history for websites, apps, conference materials, etc. Ultimately, the point of a bio is to sell yourself in a more personal way than a résumé could, or should, accomplish. The following will help you craft the right message in your unique voice, to get readers to say, “I want to meet this person!”

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to improve your writing skills, you won't need to roll out of bed by 5 a.m. to go to your local gym. You can keep this resolution anywhere.

Like any resolution that's worth keeping, improving your writing skills will take some effort. The good news is that it doesn't need to be cumbersome. Learning how to write well takes practice. Learning how to have fun while writing takes practice and a bit of creativity.

Here are some more questions we've received from readers who are unsure about something they're writing. See their questions and test yourself against our experts.

After you've completed your answers, please click the link at the bottom of the post to see our Grammar Experts' answers.

We thought we'd do something a bit different today. We often receive questions directed to our Grammar Experts and reply to them privately. I'm going to share some of these questions today and give you an opportunity to test yourself against our experts. Names have been changed to protect the innocent!

After you've completed your answers, please click the link at the bottom of the post to see our Grammar Expert's Answers.