The Practice of Writing

Virgil, the great Roman poet, wrote "Practice and thought might gradually forge many an art." From this we can assume that practice comes before thought, and so it is with present day writers.

What must be practiced? If one is to be a successful writer then one must be able to practice good grammar. In order to practice good grammar, a writer must know the rules of good grammar and therefore must study the rules of good grammar. Most editors reject quickly those writers who do not know how to construct a proper sentence with at least a subject and predicate.

Besides knowledge of a simple sentence, a writer must use compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. In order to perfect the ability to use these sentences, one must practice their use until it becomes second nature.

Once a writer-through practice-has mastered the sentence then it is time to work on the paragraph. Again, composing a unified, effective paragraph requires practice so that it has unity, coherence, rhythm and acceptable syntax.

English syntax can only be learned by practice, particularly the practice of reading. A "wannabe" writer must be a reader-one who reads voraciously and eclectically so that good syntax will come naturally. However, this reading must be done studiously with awareness of the writer's style and composition, because syntax is the way in which one puts the words together. Now the writer must practice and develop his own style of syntax.

This brings us to the next practice: the use of the dictionary and thesaurus-not the dictionary and thesaurus that are found with most word processors. Although they are helpful, they are not as beneficial as a complete and unabridged dictionary or thesaurus. If a writer depends completely on the dictionary and thesaurus found with most word processors, one's writing will be full of mistakes.

Finally, but not the least, is punctuation. Although most punctuation is a personal preference, there still are basic rules that should be learned and practiced.

In all case of grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, and syntax, the writer must know the rules before he breaks them. Moreover, the only way to become proficient in their use is by continual practice.

Once the basics are acquired, then the writer can proceed to writing fiction or non-fiction in poetry, articles, essays, short stories, etc., again practicing until one has develop a personal voice or style.

Charles O. Goulet has a BA in English literature and has written several novels that are available through Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and other online bookstores.

His website is: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/go1c

MORE RESOURCES:

Josh Schwartz writing #39;X-Men#39; sequel: OMFG or WTF? - Entertainment Weekly

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Novi resident offers insight to world of writing - Novi News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://hometownlife.com/article/20081120/LIFE/811200351/1106/NEWS13cid=1272586162ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNELmNfAR7jJV0RZKtF_3kkJpzJK8ANovi resident offers insight to world of bwriting/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNovi News,nbsp;MInbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Kelly Murad • STAFF WRITER • November 20, 2008 quot;There#39;s A Book In You is bwriting/b in its simplest form,quot; said Durant, 72. quot;It#39;s about understanding the b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Rapper gets 20 years after writing shooting song - The Associated Press

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQUZaPLYcXsZAbUiOd_xe7VbRprgD94I7Q7G0cid=1272355186ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNHZ_tBxkDFrbC-EmAOGMa0C_3I3rgRapper gets 20 years after bwriting/b shooting song/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Associated Pressnbsp;-/font nobr21 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) — He shot a man twice and felt so good about it, police said, a rapper wrote a song describing the shooting and calling out the victim by b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

GEORGETOWN: Ex-trooper admits writing phony tickets - Delmarva Daily Times

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20081120/NEWS01/81120010/1002cid=1272551038ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNFu8FzO2gc2d-7LZGjot6c9tEBMRQGEORGETOWN: Ex-trooper admits bwriting/b phony tickets/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDelmarva Daily Times,nbsp;MDnbsp;-/font nobr6 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1GEORGETOWN -- A former Delaware State Police trooper from Georgetown has pleaded guilty to charges he wrote phony traffic tickets to fictitious people. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Teenager murdered for writing love letter - Times Online

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5197439.ececid=1272548634ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNFlOSNZ605j2mK4hKqow4DXQgka2wTeenager murdered for bwriting/b love letter/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTimes Online,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;The accused killed the boy for bwriting/b a love letter to a girl of the same village. There was a scuffle, and he was pushed in front of a train,quot; b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Simpsonville woman charged with writing bad checks for jewelry - Greenville News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081120/NEWS01/811200331/1071/YOURUPSTATE01cid=1272341092ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNHbdeKElAOOotVhXhhoROwiVyl23ASimpsonville woman charged with bwriting/b bad checks for jewelry/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fGreenville News,nbsp;SCnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Paul Alongi • STAFF WRITER • November 20, 2008 Greenville police are warning businesses to watch out for a Simpsonville woman who was charged Wednesday b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Bloomfield schools benefit from writing project - Farmington Daily Times

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.daily-times.com/ci_11027781cid=1272548632ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNH-ehBxqw9MLZWqLlOMzidcbIP6ogBloomfield schools benefit from bwriting/b project/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fFarmington Daily Times,nbsp;NMnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By G. Jeff Golden The Daily Times As part of the Bisti bWriting/b Project, local artist Margaret Katirgis visited students at Blanco Elementary School this b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Flournoy students use writing tool - Red Bluff Daily News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/news/ci_11022829cid=1272306922ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNE99mHMzFIO973U5KVTDfH6qhwDHwFlournoy students use bwriting/b tool/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fRed Bluff Daily News,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 19, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1FLOURNOY- Along with an investment in a one-to-one laptop ratio, Flournoy Elementary School piloted an Internet-based bwriting/b application from November 2007 b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

MBA Writing Tips - BusinessWeek

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/nov2008/bs20081118_490130.htm%3Fchan%3Dtop%2Bnews_top%2Bnews%2Bindex%2B-%2Btemp_business%2Bschoolscid=1271920639ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNFEbA42K1AxHbbDcKasq__cyTJoFQMBA bWriting/b Tips/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBusinessWeeknbsp;-/font nobrNov 18, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Alison Damast MBAs may be good at analyzing spreadsheets and reading financial statements, but many cringe when faced with a lengthy academic bwriting/b b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Flournoy School students are right online in writing: Students ... - TMC Net

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-flournoy-school-students-right-online-writing-students-participate-/2008/11/19/3801329.htmcid=1272601743ei=wbElSZzWC6H8ygTL1Oi4AQusg=AFQjCNGFrFZrm8Tdkm-sUYy6plrqxhAUgAFlournoy School students are right online in bwriting/b: Students b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTMC Net,nbsp;CTnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Flournoy Elementary School discovered technological bwriting/b success for its students by participating in an online educationally based pilot program this b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Writing - Google News

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