Understanding the basics of syntax is a commitment that writers make to themselves and to their readers. This commitment accomplishes two essential elements of writing: Writers know how to write effective syntax, and they know that effective syntax creates meaning. After all, syntax that creates meaning is the name of the game.

Writing is like a gift that keeps on giving if writers know how it works, teaches, clarifies and performs.Good writing comes from thought and knowledge, awareness and practice, from words and how to put words together that become sentences and paragraphs, and how those paragraphs then transform into a story or novel, a nonfiction narrative or poem.

Writing is not easy. Sometimes, more than writers care to admit, the critic stands over you, or more likely, inside you, whispering, “You’re never going to make the grade,” or “You will never be famous so forget it,” or “Your writing belongs in the trash.” You desperately want it to go away, this critic that appears every time you begin to write your novel, and you brace yourself for the whispering lies.

Have you ever experienced moments when your writing flows and sentences build themselves and thoughts move so fast you can’t keep up with them and you let these thoughts transform into structured paragraphs and you realize you’ve let your imagination take charge and you slip into what seems like another place, a different place, where nothing stops you from creating what you have always known is inside you but which you have not heeded, until now?

The origin of style is you. The Writer. The Poet.
Writing is a reflection of your intuition, insight, imaginative leaps, inspiration, sensitivity, awareness, and that aha! moment when images appear in your mind’s eye or speak to you through your inner voice. Style involves this string of moments, stretched out as you begin to adjust to the fact that you are responsible for your style.

The fact of writing is this: Your first draft is only the beginning. There are more drafts to write after the first one. The act of rewriting, editing, and revising takes much of your time, energy, and insight before you can show your work to the world.