The pen is mightier than the sword
Writing is one of the most important, and underrated skills. Being a great at writer also makes you a great communicator, influencer and thinker. Improving your writing is one of the best ways to improve yourself.
What would it be like to be able to write engaging, influential, powerful writing that can influence, move, persuade and motivate people? Imagine being able to communicate complicated ideas in a simply, logical, easy-to-understand way? Imagine being able to effectively communicate exactly what you feel or think. Writing provides a toolkit and framework to think at a higher level.
Benjamin Franklin is one of the most important people in history, in what he achieved, and also one of the most successful writers. Writing played such a key role in his success from his early days as a publisher, writer, and influencer and statement. He achieved so many things in his life, and all of this despite not having, what we would consider, basic formal education. He learnt by himself by reading books, and he sharpened his thinking and writing ability by practicing his own writing exercises
“With this view I took some of the papers, and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, try’d to compleat [sic] the papers again.”
— Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
He would find great writers, absorb their material, and the recreate it from memory, and then revisit to see what he could have improved.
In my quest to become a great writer, I am writing this blog, practicing writing, and I’m going further than that. I will also try to study the material of greats to learn from them, and improve my writing. I am identifying the best writers I want to learn from, and these are:
1) Benjamin Franklin
2) George Orwell
3) Stephen King
4) JK Rowling
5) Shakespeare
6) Leo Tolstoy
7) Homer
8) 鲁迅 Lu Xun
9) Miguel de Cervantes
10) Victor Hugo
My favourite writers are the first three, but I think it is also important to explore different languages to understand what makes writing great across cultures.
What makes a great writer? What makes these writers great? Those are some of the questions I will be asking, and then analyse and recreate their work.
