This website is for anyone in a situation that requires writing, and who feels lost and frustrated at the thought of putting words onto paper. In eight years of teaching I have seen a lot of students walk in and out my door. The majority have come in with dread and left with joy. Whether you are an accomplished writer, or a person who would rather let a dentist drill her teeth without an anesthetic than write an essay, I believe you will find the tools and tricks on this website helpful, liberating, and promising. On this website you will not find excessive grammar instruction, a list of "rules," or a formula to follow. What you will find is a path to access the voice inside yourself; a path to expressing the real you; a reason to use your communication skills to understand, and create understanding.

Whether you are educated or not, like to write or don't, think you need writing skills or believe
it isn't important—the truth is at some point you will have to write a letter, a memo, a report, or an essay . . . to get that date, that job, that promotion, or that grade. In our technological world, we often take shortcuts: we send text messages with all kinds of strange abbreviations; we email and expect an immediate response; we make a phone call and often don’t bother to leave a message. We want instant gratification or none at all. We think writing takes too long, or we have been convinced we can’t write because we can't seem to remember all the "rules." Often, we even feel we have a story to tell, but we don’t because we can't figure out how to put it on paper without being humiliated by the discusssion of our "grammar" which inevitably follows.

Those who achieve, communicate well both in speech and in writing, because believe it or not this is still a world based on words, and effective communication will take you farther than college degrees and personality. More importantly, ineffective communication will stunt your growth worse than smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. Effective communication, however, doesn't necessarily mean someone who follows all the "rules," or even someone who can diagram a sentence. Usually, effective communication is achieved by practice. Sadly, in our educational system, we don't get to practice finding our voice, and we are frequently discouraged from experimenting and playing in writing.

Most people think writing is a talent you either have or you don't. This is one of the most damaging myths about writing, because it prevents many fine writers from developing and practicing their skill. While it certainly is true there are those born with a natural inclination to hear the music in language, it is also true that everyone can learn to write, and everyone can learn to improve their communication. It is also true that the "rules" of grammar, punctuation and spelling, while useful, have been arbitrarily decided and are broken by successful writers all the time.

Writing is taught as if there is a right and wrong way to do it. We are told we must learn to spell before we can write. We are told we must understand all the parts of speech before we can write. We are told there are "writers," and the rest of us who muddle through haltingly and ineptly. We are inundated with guidelines, formulas, regulations, and red marks. My experience both as a writer and teacher of writing tells me these ideas are false. Writing is a form of communication, and as Julia Cameron observes, "Writing is like breathing . . . we all come into this life as writers. We are born with a gift for language . . . . Words give us power" (1). I believe writing comes first, and the "rules" come later. In the spirit of individual expression, the first practice of creativity is "There are no rules." Rules cramp us, limit us, and often discourage us. For now, let's put the rules aside and focus on finding our voice. I promise, if you write a lot you will become a good writer. You won't be able to help it.

If you are climbing a mountain, you don't get to the top by walking a few feet, or even a few hundred feet. You have to keep walking. While you're climbing, you may decide it's too hard, you're too tired, and you don't really need to climb the mountain after all. However, if you keep going until you reach the top, you are rewarded with a view unimaginable. Likewise, if you want to find your voice and use it to communicate, a good place to start is prewriting, which is the first step in the writing process. We don't have to know how to build a car or fix the engine in order to drive—and you don't necessarily have to understand grammar or spelling in order to write. Language is intuitive. The more you practice it, the more the conventions seep into your practice without you having to think about them.

You have a story to tell. You have experience to share. You have points to make, ideas to express, and solutions to offer. You can write them down and, in sharing your truth, find healing, joy, and success. I promise, it won't even hurt.

Works Cited

Cameron, Julia. The Right to Write. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1998. Print.