​Good Writing 101, The Fundamentals

Legendary sports writer “Red” Smith once said, “There's nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” In the interest of accuracy (and at the risk of offending the deceased), I’m going to disagree. Good writing is simply talking, only with a longer shelf life.
 
Recently, a business associate told me she’s not a good writer. Then she gave me a concise, interesting, funny monologue about her newest business venture. If I’d transcribed our conversation, she could have submitted the written copy to a trade magazine.
 
Most of us have conducted a good conversation at one time or another, so here’s the bottom line: We all have the innate ability to produce good writing, but we let our notion of good writing get in the way. We think there’s something sacred about the process, a secret society to which we must belong, when really we have all the tools at hand.
 
My advice? Sit down at your keyboard, imagine your audience … and start to talk.