Writing - quantity produces quality!

Ah, writing! It is such an amazing thing, to put down words on the page! To convey meaning, to weave together thoughts and opinions, or stories and poems, or any other form of literary creation!

In high school, I was the creator/organizer/leader of the creative writing community/club. I tutored many of the students in their writing, and I was shocked to see how some high schoolers had such poor writing skills!
As a respected writer and aspiring author, I can speak from experience on how one learns to write well. Ask any writer, and they will tell you. Writing cannot really be taught, in the traditional sense of the word. English teachers, creative writing teachers, they can help - but they can't teach. At least, they can only teach one to write in the same way that they could teach one to ride a bicycle. The theory can be explained - the practice has to be learned by experience.

And so it is with writing. The only way to become a proficient writer is to write! That's how I tutored the new writers - I kept them writing. I encouraged them, I wrote with them, I kept them going. And over the course of a year, I saw students who could barely put together a cohesive paragraph turn into very decent writers.

It's very encouraging to know that simply writing, along with a few pointers, will improve one's writing ability so drastically. But isn't it sad, that so many students make it through elementary and middle school without acquiring this treasured skill? It's easy to see why they do not. They write a paper for school, turn it in, and have it returned with red marks all over it. How discouraging is that! Why would they ever want to write, when they're just going to get a bunch of red marks scribbled across that piece of work they put so much effort into? When you write something, it is part of you. You poured something of yourself into those words on the page... It is sacred and special. If a child writes something, it should be appreciated, not corrected. Don't worry about their spelling and grammar! Those things will correct themselves, as the student writes on. The way to reach quality writing is by quantity writing.

There is a joy in writing. A great joy and appreciation to see one's words on the page. But one has to be given air to breath, one needs to write without fear. Only then will this joy begin to open up, like a flower bud slowly opening. Whether the writer is a young child who's only just learning to read and spell, or an older child or adult who simply doesn't know the mechanics of good essay writing or story telling - they will learn and grow and find this joy if they write without fear.