Anyone Can Be a Writer...But

Copyright by Patricia Deere Ring

How many times have you seen it in ads, ezines, and articles? ANYONE can be a writer! Right. But the question is do you want to read what they write?

I was not always an "A" student in school or college, but I do know how to hit *spell check* on the computer or typewriter. I also know how to use a dictionary to check the meaning of a word. Anyone ever try looking in a reference book to learn how to use commas or quotation marks properly?

There are many people in the world, especially the Internet world, with brilliant ideas and huge warehouses of knowledge within themselves. But not all of these people can express these ideas to others in a way that is informative and easily understood.

As a *newbie* I don't know and understand a lot about HTML, but I realized my need to learn it, so I recently checked out two different sites with free courses on the subject.

The first one I looked at (I will be nice and not mention the name!) was so technical I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag if I didn't already know how. The second site had a printable ebook (free) of the same info that appeared on the site.

Needless to say, I printed out the ebook, which was written in *everyday* language that I could understand. (You have to realize that I'm the Dummy those books were written to.) I learned more in five minutes than I thought possible.

So, its not always WHAT you know, but whether you can TELL others what you know! Having a head full of knowledge doesn't help anyone but yourself, if you're not able to relate it to others. If you don't know how to spell, use *spell check* to correct your writing.

If you don't understand the rules of punctuation and grammar, find a good proof-reader to look over what you have written. Let someone else check your writing, someone not as knowledgeable in the subject as you, to see if it's easily understood by others.

There are ways to make your writing something to be read and appreciated by others. Good luck and better writing!

Patricia Deere Ring is a freelance writer living in Tarkington Prairie, Texas with her retired husband. She runs two businesses of her own and can be contacted by email at mailto:pring@contentbuilders.com or on her Web site at http://www.contentbuilders.com