No one should ever say something as preposterous as “writing as a second language.” And yet, that is where we increasingly are in this country, as young people have drifted so far from a classical education model that being taught to write properly has fallen by the wayside. Good writers are the products of discipline and yes, also courage, because it takes a lot of self motivation to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and admit, “I can’t write werth a doggone.” It’s not really your fault, since you can’t help that you weren’t taught in public school how to actually write, to compose your thoughts and transmit them in a logical, orderly way that is at once engaging and fun to read. Still, the crucible remains: you have no skills, maybe some talent, and no idea how to correct this. Probably you shouldn’t be writing at all, but it is never too late to learn. Writing is all about the community where you are from! The real measure of successful writing from a community standpoint is, do my constituents understand what I am writing? Am I able to clearly communicate my point in a way that they can comprehend? If the people around you, for instance, speak using a lot of street slang and you write in Victorian English, that’s a major fail for your audience and its ability to hear you. Your words need to be so direct sat they can’t confuse your meaning. If the people you write for are unable to even tell what you mean, what is the point? Practice writing for your intended audience and write often and well. Don’t give up no matter what, because your community building skills are important to your writing career. Keep on communicating with your people and don’t forget to send a postcard. What we mean by that is, once you have finished any writing, make sure you let people know it is there to read. Your community will greatly appreciate that, especially if they really do want to read what you have written, so to write is to be really careful that people are invited to read the work you have made. If you put out the work on the Internet on a blog somewhere, or Facebook, or other places where you have space online, then it is considered by many publishing houses to have been “previously published,” and will not stand their test of merit for earning a book contract with their company. You really do have to keep it under wraps if you intend to have a big outfit publish your novel, memoir, or how-to book. Still, you must know your community and the audience you are writing for, and you must write to them, and have them look it over before you send it in for publication. This is majorly important to you and to them, because they are the members of the community where you have lived and breathed, and they can tell whether your writing is authentic. Keep it fresh, keep it real, and write like your life depends on it so you can become somebody, instead of just some bloke who really wants to publish a book but never really finishes one.
