There is Writing… And There is Writing

I enjoy writing, I really do.  If I did not I would not spend my time blogging and writing novels. Heck I even like writing documentation in my code at work. The written word is nothing I fear nor loathe. However there is some writing I could do without. Or rather, prefer not to do.

One such type of writing is writing e-mails to clients or business correspondence. Not that I can not communicate effectively. Rather I dislike the whole political tip-toeing on does. Formalness and diplomatic speak is something I do out of necessity.

Another type of writing I never cared about is essay writing. Yes, yes I can give argue a point and give evidence. But in high school, teachers want you to use their silly hamburger paragraphs and their thesis and conclusion setup. I mean for real? Read a real essay and see how real writers argue their points. You argue the point quickly to the point, without going on and on and on about boring redundant evidence. Just to make a point. Not to mention page length expectations. Make your point and use as much or as little as you need. Do you wonder why journalism instructors have to first unteach all the folly of high school.

So why the rant? I had to do both recently. But helping my brother work on his essays, just brings back less than fond memories of high school English. I liked the reading, but the only English class I enoyed was the one with the cute attractive teacher. I don’t blame her, because she had to teach a curriculum set out by a merry band of bureaucrats. And most of the class was not imaginative enough to write anything half decent. But irritated me to no end.

Fortunately most of my writing nowadays consists of technical work, blogging and novel writing. So once I finish helping my brother I can get back to writing my novel.