Reddit reviews Form and Thought in Prose

Have fun! If you don't enjoy writing, the act of writing, then walk away and find something you really enjoy. But if your joy really is writing, here's my basic concept of 'writing' and the resources that helped me develop that ideology.

Writing is a medium, that means it's a way to telepathically communicate with someone. When you write, you cannot ignore the reader! The first way you consider the reader is by being aware of the rules of the medium (this is still the level I'm at!) They fall into three categories: grammar, sentence structure, and paragraph construction.

To understand grammar, read 'Strunk and White's Elements of Style.' This will tell you everything you need to know to get started (grammar never ends, I've heard stories of poets who abandoned the craft for linguistics after studying grammar for too long.) Know it, but don't be intimidated by it!

Sentence structure came next for me, and was a little bit more abstract. I took a Coursera course called 'writing in the sciences.' This one (free!) class has improved my writing more than anything else.

Paragraph construction is when the rules just start fing each other. I have been reading through an old text book called 'Form and Thought in Prose,' I have the 1960 edition but there might be later editions that are worth checking out. Specifically the introduction to part 2 blew me away. If you don't want to buy it, a great place to start is the essay "Politics and the English Language" by George "1,984 Farm Animals" Orwell.

These have all improved my enjoyment of the act of writing, and so I recommend them. But they come with the caveat that if you try to follow this advice and you find yourself hating writing or getting intimidated, stop immediately and PM me a f off.