The Learning Process and Basics

When I first started this writing journey, I really did not know what I was doing. Granted, I am still learning and will be learning for as long as I do this. Editing, for example, seemed too tedious to do (and it is), and even then, I would not have known what to look for. These days, I am looking for things like repetition, words that tell but do now show, and general flow of sentences so that I can do a lot of fixing. From editing, I have removed a lot of necessary sentences, and sometimes, paragraphs.

I think about the learning process quite a bit. It probably started from my younger days break dancing. I have quit break dancing a few years back, and now practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a hobby. The thing that I learned though is just a general learning process and a respect for the basics. One thing about the learning process is that one does not become a master right away, and it takes time, grinding and self-reflection. With Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the first couple months honestly is learning to leave your pride out the door and getting submitted constantly to let you know that there are those better than you. With writing, I think there is the same idea where some think that they will be the next J.K. Rowling. Then, it becomes abundantly clear that it is hard enough just to write a book, no less write a best seller. Of course, there is some luck involved, but people also make their own luck too.

I really focused on the basics when it came to writing. I wanted to put sentences together in a manner that flowed together to make good paragraphs. Even now, I am not looking for style with badly put together sentences. Maybe in the future, I will try to step outside of the box, but for now, I have been content to just write well.