When I look at a piece of my writing, it’s often very difficult for me to accurately gauge how good or bad it is. Reading typos or errors in diction make me feel as though someone is shining a flashlight into my eyes, and I have no choice but to stare at it. However, I tend to be fairly careful with these smaller, more forgivable mistakes, so I’ve managed to avoid making too many in my recent work. Grammar mistakes are not my ultimate concern. All told, the biggest complaint that I have with my writing is my inability to lay down a solid, hard-hitting point.
I’m quite satisfied with my actual writing style. In other words, I like the voice and presence that I give off in my pieces. However, whether I’m writing an essay, an article or just a piece for fun, I have a tendency to dance around the point. Most of my work is filled with fluff and lack actual substance. I may have good points, but I don’t have the ability to properly articulate them for some reason. As I mentioned in my writing style piece, I’m extremely wordy, which I used to think was a good thing. Unfortunately though, I need to start reigning the amount of redundant statements that I make because it’s honestly extremely detrimental at this point.
The reason I haven’t really bothered to change this before now is because I was somewhat in denial. I figured that maybe I was being too self-critical and that my thoughts were unwarranted, but after having someone I trust read my writing and give me feedback, my suspicions were confirmed.
And so please bear with me, as my articles may be shorter while I work on fixing this writing hiccup and cut down on the fluff. Best of luck to anyone that also struggles with this issue; I know how frustrating it can be.