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Don’t Say It, Write it!
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Posted on Dec 19 2000
“How am I going to write this? What if I make mistakes in spelling or in punctuation? What if I use the wrong words? Gosh, I hate writing. Let’s see… The matter is under…no, that’s not right. Start again. With this letter… hum, better.” Is this you when you sit in front of a sheet of blank paper wrestling to put your thoughts onto paper?
How many times has someone said to you, “Don’t say it. Write it.” With a look of displeasure, you turn away and wonder why do I have to write it? “I hate to write. Why can’t I just say it? Why is the written word more powerful than the spoken word?” For some reason, we become almost paralyzed with fear.
It is so simple to just open our mouth and utter what we wish to express. The words come easily and quickly. With the spoken word we can easily express joy, anger, laughter, and other reactions. For many of us, spoken words are also a tool or a weapon. For most of us, the spoken word satisfies our daily needs. We feel no necessity to write down words.
The act of writing however presents a wholly new approach to expression. We have to sit glaring at a blank sheet of paper and use symbols to capture our thoughts. Instead of racing along with a string of ideas, we crawl slowly like a baby attempting to walk. For some strange reason, the written words representing our ideas appear different from the way they are when we express them orally. But it need not be that excruciatingly painful. Here a few quick pointers.
First, take time to think through what is the idea or ideas you wish to convey to the reader. Do this before you sit down to put your thoughts on paper. Next, begin writing without concern for spelling, punctuation o
