Donald Murray, one of America’s greatest writing teachers, says, to adopt certain attitudes if you want to write.
My favorite out of the several he describes is:
Each contribution is merely that, a contribution to the conversation.
It is not, and does not have to be, the definitive work encompassing everything. Don’t be paralyzed by creating the ultimate truth.
Instead, Murray says:
- Speculate
- Question
- Argue
- Create a model
- Take a position
- Define a problem
- Make an observation
- Propose a solution
- Illuminate a possibility
That’s good advice that applies not only to an academic looking to publish, as Murray proposes in the book The Essential Don Murray, but to marketers, freelance writers and others struggling to create blog posts, eBooks, articles or white papers.
Please share any great writing advice you’ve learned so I and others can benefit in the comments below.