A learning project to write better, faster, and clearer

Photo by andyp_uk

Writing is easy - it's writing well that is difficult. At the end of a recent workshop on blogging, the final discussions showed that participants were still seeking resources to continue to improve and to address the concern, 'How do I get started writing"? As usual, the wise answer was "the best way to become a better writer is to write a lot" and "just start writing - it will get easier with time". Although this is standard advice from many successful writers it didn't seem to be enough to bolster the fragile confidence of the participants about to leave the shelter of the workshop's supportive environment.

Stephen King, in his book On Writing uses the concept of a toolbox to provide more specific advice. Roy Peter Clark, is another author who refers to the writing techniques he shares as tools. Roy is vice-president and senior scholar of the Poynter Institute school for journalists. He is described as "a writer who teaches and a teacher who writes". Roy believes writers need tools, not rules and he generously shares his workbench of fifty specific writing tools in book or online format.

Here's the learning project - try out each of the fifty tools and add the ones you find useful to your own workbench. Because each of the fifty are complete "micro-lessons" you can consume them as snacks or multi-course meals. They are concise. The format of each starts with a clear description of one specific tip illustrated by several examples and followed by a learning activity to build your skill at recognizing and using the technique.

The tools are available in several formats - articles on the web, downloadable podcasts (click on the link to Roy's Writing Tools), or an inexpensive paperback, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. You can choose the format the fits with your preferred learning style (as described in my previous post What's your learning style - Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic?)

Whether you are a professional writer, an occasional freelancer or someone who just needs to handle emails, write presentations and fill out forms, wouldn't it be helpful to be able to create clear prose consistently with less effort? I hope you invest some time and give this learning project a try. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions too.

...writing is thinking on paper in which both writer and reader are witnesses to

meaning-in-the-making, a meaning that the writer creates and the reader

attempts to re-create.

V.A. Howard and J.H. Barton, Thinking on Paper

If you like to learn by doing, Tinkering School is the place for you

I recently came upon an inspiring presentation given by Gever Tully at a 2009 Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference. He spoke about a program he created called the Tinkering School. Tinkering School is a summer learning program that enables children to learn through exploring and using tools and materials they would not ordinarily be allowed to access.

He describes the school as "a program that helps kids build the things they think of" and in Gever Tully's own words, here's how a typical session plays out:

When the kids arrive they've confronted with lots of stuff, wood and nails and rope and wheels, and lots of tools, real tools. It's a six-day immersive experience for the kids ... Our goal is to ensure that they leave with a better sense of how to make things than when they arrived, and the deep internal realization that you can figure things out by fooling around.

The results are truly amazing. View this four-minute video to see the school in action, including successful projects such as a strong bridge built from old grocery bags and a roller coaster built by seven-year olds.

Adult learners can take lessons from these kids about productive ways to learn. Examples include taking a break when they hit a barrier and then returning to tackle the problem with new insight. They also laughed often because of their "ease with the idea that every step in a project is a step closer to sweet success or gleeful calamity".

If there was a version for adults, imagine the fun to be had and the creative learning that would occur. Or would adults have the same experience? Once we leave childhood we sometimes forget the valuable role playfulness brings to learning – as author Eric Hoffer said, "It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the optimal milieu for the unfolding of his capacities and talents" (from Brainy Quotes).