Andre Hartslief
“Consider the Lillies of the field, do not they too, whisper a story to you, worthy of writing about with others?” ~ Unknown
Whаt dоеs а stаtеmеnt lіkе thаt еvеn mеаn? Тоdау, еvеrуоnе іs а wrіtеr. Аlmоst аll соmmunісаtіоn іs іn wоrds оn рареr оr а sсrееn. Іf уоu аrе аbоut tо gіvе а tаlk аnd hаvе рlаnnеd іt fіrst? Тhаt’s wrіtіng. Іf уоu tеасh реорlе vіа а vіdео, thаt’wrіtіng. Іf уоu tеll аnу stоrу hеrе оn Vіrіlу, thаt’s wrіtіng. Whеn уоu tеll уоur оwn stоrу, thаt’s frоm thе hеаrt, kіnd оf оff thе сuff, thаt’s wrіtіng.
Аnd, whаt іf уоu fееl уоu аlrеаdу аrе а сооl wrіtеr, tуріng оut tоns оf соntеnt? Yоur аррrоасh shоuld аlwауs bе, tо bе wіllіng tо lеаrn frоm оthеr wrіtеrs іn оrdеr tо stау аt thе tор оf уоur gаmе.
Νоtе, thаt І hаvе nоt usеd thе wоrd соруwrіtіng уеt thе sаmе rulеs аррlу еquаllу tо thаt sрhеrе оf thе wrіtіng mеdіum bесаusе іt tоо іs а fоrm оf сrеаtіvе wrіtіng, уоur еmаіls, уоur sосіаl роsts, реrsоnаl аnd nеwslеttеr, thе bооk уоu аrе wrіtіng, іn fасt, аnу fоrm оf wrіtіng уоu wаnt уоur аudіеnсе tо rеаd, уоu hаvе tо mаkе уоur vеrsіоn оf іt, un-сlісk-аwау-аblе.
Ѕо, іn сlоsіng, Іf уоu wаnt rеаdеrs оf whаt уоu рut оut, tо sау, Аndrе’ І lоvе уоur wrіtіng, уоu hаvе tо еnsurе thаt еvеrу ріесе оf wrіtіng, а роst, аrtісlе, nеwslеttеr оr еmаіl уоu іntеnd tо рublіsh hаs tо bе thе bеst оnе оf іts kіnd, уоu еvеr dіd wіth rеgаrds tо рunсtuаtіоn аnd grаmmаr, thеn, уоu аrе а rеаl wrіtеr!
I think of writing as being ideas expressed to others in a clear concise way. In my opinion the first way is to express yourself clearly and get to the point rapidly is the best way to write.
The next is to write meaningful content, something that matters to you.
The third point is to have good spelling and grammar.
My husband is always telling me that women start to speak half way through the sentence, and most women like me think that they are speaking from the beginning.
Men and women communicate differently, it is a fact.
He is also angry with TV announcers that mispronounce words, when they should do better or criticize their grammar.
For example
They say today, “Compared to..”
When he says they should say, “Compared with!”
It really annoys him.
I can see his point of view but I don’t always get my grammar right.
Another point here, is that American English is different from British English. I live in New Zealand and we are more British than American in our grammar and spelling.
American version is center, New Zealand is centre. Our NZ grammar is very different from the American version.
I would not say either is right or wrong, except that American English reflects the English that they spoke in Great Britain when they first settled in America.
New Zealand was settled by Europeans much later, and it was originally what you call BBC English. Now it has our own type of pronunciation and colloquial words..Not to be confused with Australia and Australia is different again.
What an absolutely refreshing opinion! I love it, Pamela! South-African English is British or BBC styled as is yours in NZ. Your hubby is a clone of me or vice versa with regards to criticism of radio and TV presenters’ mispronunciation of words. I find that in order to override my UK spell checker, I have to deliberately spell certain words wrong, example: Aluminum, color, their and there, (even President Trump has confused these words, their and there). Thanks for your insightful comment.
Yes, I have a lot to learn on English grammar, but if proper grammar and english use is not taught properly then the language may certainly change.
I think writing and being seen as a writer is the reader’s choice perhaps.
It most definitely is, Carol, and it should always be, unless, one’s free writing could be hurtful to someone, intentionally or not. Thanks for commenting. Andre.
Hi LAJenna, I agree with you, the title and hook or opening statement is what gets folks to read. You read this one, what made you read it?
I think the right title and photo can draw others to want to read certain material.
I don’t even know what to write to respond to this inspirational writing…
WOW! now that kind of talk gets you anywhere you want to go. Exactly why you rank so high on Virily, Albert. Thanks for reading.
You’re most welcome, Andre. Actually, I don’t really understand the direction or what you mean from your answer but I assume that as a great compliment.
I myself do not know whether I am a writer or not but I think it has nothing to do directly with rank (which I don’t even care about) in Virily because for me, what’s important is to say my thoughts through writing, whether it’s good or not, and build interaction by appreciating all posts that I have read, as much as possible, and responding to every comment on my posts. Maybe all those actions have given me so many visits, comments, and points that I am in the rank you mean.
Thank you for your compliment, Andre.
It is called poetic license, somewhat like the comment you left on CarolDM’s black and white photo https://virily.com/virily_poll/snow-black-white-friday/ where you said this:
“Did snow produce mirages? Because I saw some gorillas there!”
You were clearly joking of course, as gorillas come from the hottest rain forest in Africa near the equator, it would have been most unlikely. But when we use poetic license, gorillas can walk around in the snow and pigs really do fly. Pun.
Wow. This has become an interesting discussion.
One of the most important things for me, I don’t want anyone to be offended by my words, and I always try to avoid that as much as I can, so if that has happened to you, I’m sorry.
I don’t even understand which sentence you consider to be a poetic license, my comment or your reply. However, I am grateful for the new knowledge of that term.
Why I like being in Virily, because I can learn a lot from friends all over the world with different cultures. I even recently learned from DocAndersen that writing “Hehehe or Hahaha” can be considered negative for a particular culture but because we often interact then we always find a way of understanding, as I am with Carol and other friends.
Please do not hesitate to criticize or give feedback if you are not pleased with my words in any writing or comment.
Thank you, Andre.
That is a bit like saying that if you kick a ball around with the dog in your back garden you are a sportsman!
I think it is important not to degrade words by expanding their meaning too far. This is done very easily, and it makes it impossible to get one’s meaning across by using simple terms because you then need to add other words in order to retain the original meaning.
If somebody tells me that they are a writer, I would expect that to mean that they either make money from their prose or poetry, at least that they have a talent for writing that is recognized by others. For me, just writing out your shopping list does qualify you as a writer!
Oh absolutely, you are right about ball kicking and shopping lists. Thank you, Indexer, exactly why you chose your “Pen Monicker,” Indexer: “Allowing objects of a class to be accessed by index as if they were all arrays or inanimate hash tables. PS What are the people doing on Virily? PUN
So, by the way, Indexer, did I read you right, where you say: “For me, just writing out your shopping list does qualify you as a writer!” Very charitable of you to recognize shopping list writers as writers!
I should have edited my text more closely – I left out the all-important word “not”!