I’ve never loved writing. In school, whenever I was assigned any form of writing task beyond a mere paragraph, I would instantly fill up with dread. I knew the process could produce satisfying results, but the concept of forcing myself to sit down and inflict words upon a piece of paper to form a thoughtful idea made me anxious.

Recently, I was assigned a course textbook titled On Writing Well by William Zinsser. I gave it one look and immediately decided I was going to dread reading that too. So much for not judging a book by its cover. But alas, I had assignments to turn in and I started reading anyways.

I don’t want to admit it but, so far, I like this book.

Everything that I dislike about writing is being spelled out for me, quite literally, through Zinsser’s expertise. He describes today’s average reader as someone with almost no attention span and explains that it’s our job as the writer to hold their focus.

This statement startled me at first, having just spent the entirety of my first graduate course discussing the addictive nature of technology, the implications of which reside in our depleted capacity for attention.

This is still true, but what Zinsser is saying makes sense as well. If the audience can’t figure out my message, why should they be responsible for reading further? Chapter 2 is where I figured out the root of my writing anxiety:

Clutter, a.k.a. the “disease of American writing,” causes the reader to stop reading. Clear writing indicates clear thinking, and if you don’t know what you’re trying to say, neither will your audience (Zinsser, 1976/2016, pp. 6-8).

Therefore, as put by Brenda Barbosa in her article about effective speaking, “if clear writing was clear thinking, then my thinking was as clear as mud… I was trying to say too much and, as result, I was saying nothing” (Barbosa, 2017).

Every time I’ve forced myself to craft an engaging idea on paper, I was doing exactly that: forcing an idea. My thoughts were everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. I wasn’t dreading the act; I was dreading the mental process.

After first realizing this, I told myself I was lazy. I mean, who am I to be too occupied to simply think? But there’s more to it, and Zinsser has another explanation for this:

Starting today, before I begin to write on a topic, I plan to ask myself one important question: What do I want my readers to take away from my work? If I’m unable to answer that in the moment, I’ll let my thoughts simmer a little longer until I can determine my bottom line.

Moving forward, I’m attempting to ease my mental burden by finding a dependable starting point. If anyone has any suggestions they’d like to share, please reach out!

Works Cited

Barbosa, B. (2017, November 22). The 1 sentence that will make you a more effective speaker every time. Inc. https://www.inc.com/brenda-barbosa/the-1-sentence-that-will-make-you-a-more-effective-speaker-every-time.html.

Zinsser, W. (2016). On writing well: The classic guide to writing nonfiction. Harperperennial. (Original work published 1976).