Rules of Writing

Every time I sit down to write an email or some kind of document, I consciously ignore some of the rules of writing. It's not that I want to completely ignore them but I need to double back when it's time to edit. I do this so I don't lose the precious morsels floating around in my brain. I can spew inspiration then go back to clean it up. Sometimes you lose your trend of thought when you engage too closely in particulars. Like anything else, what really matters is the final edit. By then, you pored over the document to add, take away or change any unwarranted punctuation, especially commas.

It's been quite some time since I sat in an English class. I actually enjoyed it until we had to write poems - that's another blog. My choice of major during undergrad was history. It's a major that requires a lot of writing and research. This is something I really enjoy doing, writing papers. I never had any real difficulty producing them. This can be attributed to having proper instruction during school.

There are many rules I can not tell you specifically; nonetheless, how to structure a sentence and convey thoughts has become second nature. It's not something I put too much energy into. However, there are many people who are easily intimidated by it. In fact, I had a friend in class that used to melt down every time we had to write a paper. She's well-spoken. She has no problem articulating clearly her thoughts but there's something that stops her dead in her tracks when she has to write something.

Luckily, I've come across a TED instructional video that can be of great assistance. It's a pity we didn't have this while we were in class. It instructs us how to best use commas. It also simplifies sentence structure and makes easy construction.

Mind you, it's not a semester of English class but it's a start that will hopefully take a bit of the panic out of writing. http://huff.to/1wAtfu7