There are two specific, yet lofty goals writers strive for every time they commit words to paper. That goal is to write in such a way as to draw their readers into the written word.

If this goal is in fictional writing the author wants the reader to become so absorbed in the story that they are both satisfied, yet sad to see the story end.

If this goal is in non-fiction the writer accomplishes the objective by relating details in a way that leaves the reader interested in the subject and with a desire to learn more.

For the successful fiction writer the term most often applied to this principle is Active Participation. When a consumer steps up the book display they are looking for certain things such as cover design, color schemes and just enough information to allow them to make their choice in thirty seconds or less. Once the reader has the book in hand they desperately want to be an active participant in the work. They want to identify with your characters and involve themselves in the plot line. They want stay up till 2 o’clock in the morning loosing themselves in a world you created. They simply want to know if you are going to be able to make that possible for them.

For the non-fiction writer the goal is to connect the reader to Active Learning. This process has seen non-fiction books include bullet points, ‘did-you-know’ segments and a link between facts and famous individuals that were involved. School textbooks are full of color and sidebars as they try to connect with students to bridge the gap between factual information to innovative ways to encourage active learning.

It is possible for both Active Participants and Active Learners to approach the written word with an inborn desire to learn and/or participate in the storyline. In this scenario the majority of the work is already done.

If a student comes to a textbook with a refusal to learn, then the best textbooks available may not be able to break through the student’s self-imposed learning barrier. Similarly, if an individual purchases a novel with an ‘impress me’ mentality and are only interested in finding any inconsistency or flaw they may have difficulty participating in the work of fiction. Then again, they didn’t really come to participate.

Ultimately what this means to the writer is there is a need to work hard in the removal of any stumbling block in an effort to allow your readers to become the active participant and active learner they want to be.

If you are serious about your writing, in fact even if you aren’t, you need a web site.

Let me repeat that — every writer needs a web site!

“I’ll figure that out . . . when I get the time.”      

“I really don’t know how to start!”

“I really should write my essay!”

This common dilemma is expressed over and over again by many people everywhere. The good news is that ANYBODY can write an essay!

There are three main reasons for essays:

1. To help you to cohesively construct an argument and defend it on paper.
2. To help you develop good written and oral communication skills.
3. To help you to figure out how to find information.

Not knowing how to write properly can make your academic or professional life disorganized, stressful and chaotic. By improving your writing skills, you can confidently and quickly finish assignments and write properly throughout your professional career.

Writing an essay can be very simple when you follow these basic steps: choose a topic, define the scope of your essay, create the outline, write the essay and — proofread, proofread, proofread!

The Essay Topic

The first step in writing an essay is to select a topic (if one has not been assigned). In order to define a topic, you should think about the goal of the essay. Is the purpose of the essay to persuade, educate, or describe a topic — or for something else entirely? It is generally helpful to brainstorm ideas by jotting down favorite subjects or thinking of a topic that may be interesting to you.

Define the Scope of the Essay

The next step is to define the scope of your essay. Is the subject matter very broad, or will the essay cover a specific topic with detail-oriented examples? Thinking about the overall topic and scope will help you to begin the writing process.

Create an Outline

The next step is to create the outline. You may think that an outline is an unnecessary, time-consuming task — but this step will actually help save time! An outline will help keep you focused while writing your essay, and help keep you from wandering aimlessly in conducting your research. It should be composed of the main idea of the essay or thesis statement, and the arguments that support it. The outline is often numbered and organized by paragraph, but more abstract outlines will also help to organize and focus your ideas.

Writing the Essay

The subsequent step is writing the essay. The introduction paragraph should begin with an attention grabber. This is a statement the lures the reader into wanting to read the rest of the essay. The next few sentences should be very broad in topic, and should lead to the narrow focus of the thesis statement, which is usually the very last sentence of the introduction paragraph. There are typically three body paragraphs, and each one starts by tackling one of the main ideas presented in the thesis statement. The following sentences should describe and elaborate on the main point. Details of specific examples should be included to strengthen your main ideas. The conclusion paragraph summarizes the essay and provides a final perspective on the main topic. It often begins with a paraphrase of the original thesis statement, and sometimes includes a future prediction based upon the viewpoint presented in the essay.

Proofreading Your Essay

The final step in writing a thesis is proofreading. Proofreading is actually the most important part of writing the essay and is often skipped. A few items to consider when proofreading your essay are the order of the paragraphs, the flow of the sentences, grammar, spelling and the instructions for the assignment.

Questions to ask yourself include:

• Does your essay make sense?
• Does each sentence flow to the next sentence well?
• Are there any points that can be made stronger or clearer?
• Are there words that are used frequently?
• Are there any run-on sentences or fragments?

The proofreading process sometimes takes longer than the actual writing process, but this is what makes the difference between a concise and well thought out essay, and a bad essay.

When the process of writing an essay is broken into pieces, the process seems more manageable and easier to complete for the beginner. The process consists of thinking about a topic, creating an outline, writing the essay and proofreading the essay. This makes essay writing an interesting learning experience, and helps the writer express his or her thoughts more clearly and concisely.

People say“I need to know, do I have talent or not.” “Then I’ll know if I should pursue writing or stick to my present job.”

This approach to writing is seriously flawed. Anyone can become a better writer. This can be seen in students who submit hackneyed, half-dead writing to start with began writing lively, well-written essays by the end of the semester. Likewise, plenty of writers whose work seems plain and unimaginative get assignment upon assignment from magazines while others with dazzling wordcraft skills can’t get published anywhere.

According to Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck, its right to above question about the query of talent. Dweck’s book, Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success, reports research showing that in education, the arts and business, people who believe talent is fixed and inborn do not fully develop their potential and do not recover easily from setbacks.
Those who believe talent can be developed, regardless of apparent starting point, not only achieve more but also prompt greater achievement in their children and staff.

You can change your mind-set about talent or intelligence. In only two months, kids who were taught that the brain, like a muscle, improves with exercise saw their math scores rocket from F’s to B’s.

Toss out the belief that you either have writing talent or you don’t. Instead, approach getting published as requiring a set of skills that you can deliberately learn. These skills include:

1. Being sensitive to the differences between words. A good dictionary can help with this, if you consult it to learn, for example, whether a “cauldron” is the same as a “kettle” or when a gang member would be said to have “bravery” and when “bravado.”
2. Recognizing that getting your message across has less to do with what you meant and more to do with how readers understand the words you put together. If no one “gets it,” you must write it differently. Often this lesson is harder for those who feel desperately called to write than for those with a more matter-of-fact attitude toward writing.
3. Being willing to put a piece of writing aside, look at again in the cold light of the morning and rearrange, replace and revise the elements of the piece to tell the story more clearly and more artfully.
4. Having the discipline to learn and apply the rules of spelling, grammar and usage. Yes, when your work is accepted for publication you’ll usually have an editor who’ll save you from major mistakes. But editors prefer working with those who know and follow the standards of professional writing.
5. Being able to bounce back from disappointment. In the writing business, the possibility of rejection never goes away. Successful writers learn not to take it personally for more than an hour or so, then they simply go on to the next publication outlet or the next writing project.

These five skills and attitudes matter much more for success as a writer than anything we’d generally label as talent. Resolve to develop yourself along those lines and you’re certain to get somewhere as a writer. Really!