Effective Writers

To be an effective writer is not an easy thing to do. Not all writers are effective writers. Maxine Hairston in Contemporary Composition reveals several points about effective writers as follows:

1. Effective writers don't count on inspiration; they write whether they feel like it or not. They write regularly, and usually they write according to a schedule.
2. Effective writers usually write in a specific place, and they like to use the same tools each time--word processor, typewriter or pencil.
3. Effective writers depend on deadlines to keep them working; they make commitments that will force them to write and to get their work in by a certain date.
4. Effective writers often procrastinate about writing and feel guilty about doing so.
   
5. Effective writers usually work slowly. Writing few pages each day regularly is better than skipping all night today and idling the whole day tomorrow irregularly.
6. Effective writers usually make some kind of plan before they start to write, but they keep their plan flexible and replan as they work.
7. Effective writers often have trouble starting to write, but many of them have developed strategies for overcoming this problem.
8. Effective writers expect to get new insights as they work; they know that writing is an act of discovery, and they develop their ideas by writing.
9. Effective writers stop frequently to reread and reflect on what they have already written; they know that such rereading stimulates them to continue writing. They do this in order to keep in line with the theme they once took up.
10. Effective writers revise their work as they write, and they expect to do two or more drafts of their writing. They do this to perfect their work.
11. Effective writers are careful observers, and they have a system for collecting ideas or material that may be useful to them.
12. Effective writers do not always enjoy writing--usually they can find something they would rather be doing--but they get satisfaction from having written.