ABSTRACT
Most people’s relationship to the process of writing is one of helplessness. First, they can’t write satisfactorily or even at all. Worse yet, their efforts to improve don’t seem to help. It always seems that the amount of effort and energy put into a piece of writing has no relation to the results. People without education say, “If only I had education I could write.” People with education say, “If only I had talent I could write.” People with education and talent say, “If only I had self-discipline I could write.” People with education, talent, and self-discipline—and there are plenty of them who can’t write—say, “If only …” and don’t know what to say next. Yet some people who aren’t educated, self-disciplined, smart, imaginative, witty (or even verbal, some of them) nevertheless have this peculiar quality most of us lack: when they want to say something or figure something out they can get their thoughts onto paper in a readable form.
