Writing on a Train

by DRM2

uta-frontrunner

I am not a strong writer. I am not concise with my written thought. I am not eloquent with my vocabulary. My punctuation is terrible. Writing is by far my weakest “professional” skill. I know it. I know that others know it. It really hits my ego and confidence when I have to write for someone and it gets ripped apart. I want to get better but when you don’t have confidence in your writing, you feel least inclined to do it when there is not a need. Not to mention, writing is super important to your career and often times your career goals. Grammarly studied 100 Linked In profiles and found that “in the same 10-year period, professionals who received one to four promotions made 45 percent more grammatical errors than did professionals who were promoted six to nine times.” I have seen this with my professional associates as well. It’s true, the good writers are more respected and secure in their job.

Since I know that writing is a weakness of mine, I always felt it was worth practicing, but never bothered to do it… until now. I’m making this blog my public practice platform. I recently found myself at a new company in downtown Salt Lake. One of my favorite aspects about the new gig is I have the chance to take the train to work. My train ride is 35 minutes one-way, giving me plenty of time to write daily on whatever topic hits my mind as I commute. I admit some of the post may be random, but the goal of my posts is not to be overly profound (a common notion people have with writing blogs), but provide me with writing practice.

The life coaches at Griffin Hill told me that “practice does not make perfect, but practice makes permanent.” So in order for my writing practice to REALLY work, I need feedback. If you read this or any of my future posts and find errors, please comment below. Think of it as a form of public shaming! I’m hoping to learn from you, the readers.

Thanks for your help, DRM.