Writers can be a rather frumpy lot. We tend to hold on to things we believe are “correct” or “appropriate”, in the same way that the Grammar Nazi believe modernizing the Queen’s language is sacrilege. We hold on to things that we learned from our teachers, mentors, literary idols. We tend to find solace in age old practices, thinking that we can never go wrong as long as we stay true to these time-tested adages.

Unfortunately, that’s not quite true. Here are some myths we might have to rethink:

Brevity is a virtue. Writers are always told to KISS — Keep It Simple Stupid. You’re supposed to present your thoughts in the most concise manner possible, because no one wants to read a rambling article that’s more repetitive than informative. Being straightforward holds true for writers. No reader will be kind enough to stay after your fourth mention of that weekend at Aunt Bertha’s in a span of three paragraphs. However, this does not mean you have to sacrifice entire chunks of your ideas. Some writers sacrifice coherence and substance for brevity, which defeats the very purpose of writing. You have to flesh out your thoughts, expound when necessary. You shouldn’t be too wordy, but you shouldn’t leave readers hanging either.

Writer’s Block. Every writer — at one point or another — has used this ubiquitous excuse to explain their inability to write. True, sometimes writing can be difficult. You can’t seem to find anything inside that brain of yours, much less write about it. It’s not writer’s block, though. The concept of writer’s block often allows writers to get away with laziness. Mood is a factor in writing, but for people who make a living out of this, you can’t tell your boss to buzz off because you’re not in the mood to write. The writer’s mind is never completely “blocked”. Ideas are all over your head; you just need to harness the right one, figure out an interesting angle to present it and there you go. You can’t just hide behind “writer’s block”, especially if it’s the money train on the line.

Writing is easy. This is a common pitfall for a lot of aspiring writers. With the booming blogosphere, a lot of people assume that writing for a living is easy. It’s not impossible to find gainful employment as a writer, but what most people don’t realize is that writing takes a combination of skill and talent. There’s something about the term “wordsmith” that makes sense. It’s not just learning the technical aspect of the job (such as grammar, structure, etc.) that matters; you have to be able to string words together in a manner that is both coherent and aesthetically-pleasing. Everyone can write, but not everyone can write beautifully.

Pre-writing is a necessity. I have to admit I’ve never been a fan of pre-writing. I don’t even make outlines to this day. Back in high school, teachers would force us to create an outline for our essays. Then they would make us pre-write; this included listing your thoughts, ideas you think should go into the essay and just stuff in general. I hated it. I disliked the process, because even then I felt that writing was natural. I just write down what I think and it all flows out. Of course, a lot of times, this requires rewrites, but I never felt it necessary to make such elaborate preparations just to get an essay or an article done. Don’t make writing such a technically boring chore. Write your thoughts in the most honest and natural way possible, then go over it, improve your draft and that’s it.

Grammar is not flexible. There are so many changes in the rules of grammar these days, thanks to the dynamic character of English. Of course, certain rules remain, such as the subject-verb agreement, and these cannot be bypassed by any writer worth his salt. However, a lot of the older guidelines (e.g. never start your sentences with conjunctions, never end your sentences with prepositions, etc.) no longer hold true. It’s good to be grammar-conscious (all writers should be!), but remember not to be a victim of ancient rules that have long since waved goodbye to the world at large.

Any other myths you can think of?

XOXO,