Introduction

You use written communication to express all kinds of messages: to share stories, note financial transactions, record history, imagine the future, to express love, hatred, humour or melancholy. Writing gives you access to knowledge. You can trace how an idea has changed over thousands of years, or argue against the opinions of those long dead, all because the discoveries of others have been recorded and collected.

According to historians, the earliest form of writing can be dated to around 3000 BC, when Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia modern day Iraq - wrote on clay tablets. This writing system is known as cuneiform.

"Writing can be boring, especially if you don't think you're very good at it. It's a skill, however, that you need to develop in order to be competitive in today's society. While you're a student take the time to learn to write well.

Learning to write must go along with learning to read: one reinforces the other. Writing activities should be integrated with reading activities. As learners gain experience reading books and other printed matter, they increasingly try to spell words by using patterns they have seen in print.

Importance of writing

Communication may be made through oral or written. In oral communication, listeners can make out what speaker is trying to say, but in written communication, text matter in the message is a reflection of your thinking. So, written communication or message should be clear, purposeful and concise with correct words, to avoid any misinterpretation of your message. Written communication provides a permanent record for future use and it also gives an opportunity to employees to put up their comments or suggestions in writing.

Writing is an act of recording. The word written becomes fixed. Depending on what it is written with, its mark can remain preserved for a very long time. Although different readers might interpret a piece of writing in different ways, the text itself does not change.

Written communication is permanent 

Once the words are down on paper, they are saved for future reference.

Written communication is easier to understand

Complex messages can easily be understood

Written communication can be composed in advance

You can take as much time as you want to draft a message

Written communication is less prone to errors

Since the message is drafted in advance errors can be avoided

Written communication leaves lasting impression

Visual representation leaves a lasting impression on the readers than oral representation.

Creative writing

The term Creative Writing describes several approaches of writing, all of which assume that the act of writing is something to which every person can be trained and guided. Creative writing can technically be considered any writing of original composition. In this sense creative writing is a more contemporary and process-oriented name for what has been traditionally called literature writing.

Writing tips

1. Cut the boring parts

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. - Elmore Leonard.

Unless you're writing for personal reasons, you need to consider the attention of your readers. There's no point in writing content that isn't useful, interesting, or both.

2. Eliminate unnecessary words

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very;" your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. - Mark Twain

Avoid using words like "really", "actually", or "extremely". They only distract the reader.

3. Write with passion

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. - William Wordsworth 

It's important to realize that unless you're excited about your writing no one else will be.

4. Paint a picture

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. - Anton Chekhov

Simply stating something is fine, but when you need to capture attention, using similes, metaphors, and vivid imagery to paint a picture creates a powerful emotional response.

5. Keep it simple 

Vigorous writing is concise. - William Strunk Jr.

It's more difficult to express yourself in the simplest possible manner. So keep your message short and sweet.

6. Do it for love

Write without pay until somebody offers to pay.  - Mark Twain

When you're just starting out it's hard to decide where to begin. So don't just start writing. You should develop a passion for writing.

7. Learn to thrive on criticism

You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance. - Ray Bradbury 

Writing means putting yourself at the mercy of anonymous readers. Learn to make the most of the insults and distrust the praise.

8. Write all the time

Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed. - Ray Bradbury

The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. Constant writing improves the quality of writing.

9. Write what you know

If any man wishes to write in a clear style let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If you are confident of a topic, you can think of writing. Otherwise it is better you stay away from writing. If you don't have an expertise, reading and writing is the best way to develop one and put it on display.

10. Be unique

Learn as much by writing as by reading. - Lord Acton

Your writing should be unique and should not replicate anyone's. Successful writing is all about trust and authority. It makes sense to write about your area of expertise.

Drawbacks of written communication

1. Time consuming

It takes a lot of time to prepare as well as understand.

2. Possibility for wrong interpretation

Different people interpret differently the same message.

3. Immediate feedback is not possible

It takes time to get feedback from the readers.

4. Not possible to see the nonverbal clues 

The readers cannot see the facial expressions hence the hidden meanings are not understood.

5. Not all messages can be put in words 

Some messages can better be understood when said orally.

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2) Writing

The question is whether writing comes first or reading comes first? It is a question of "Chick first or egg first". If one thinks logically, the starting part is listening, then reading and writing. A vigorous writing is concise and compact that creates deep impact. A sentence should contain only essential words, a paragraph only essential sentences just as in case of a good drawing no unwanted lines and machine unwanted parts. It does not mean that writer is to have always short sentences or that he has to avoid the substance and only be outlined. Learning to write is learning to think. A good writer is like sculptor, who uses less and less to express more and more. Effective writer cuts away useless words and makes every word counting. In writing, as in all art, “less is more". Writing here, can be business and nonbusiness. As the students of business management, we are all convinced with what is called as business English or business communication. This covers a wide area of writing of business letters. report writing, resume writing, writing a news-release, writing of research reports and so on. It is impossible to deal with all thee areas. However, certain general principles or guidelines can be suggested for effective writing.

Useful Tips For Effective Writing

The experts in business communication, especially writers, have given certain hints. These are : 

• Use Graphic Words

Use graphic words than abstract words. For instance, 'scooter' rather than 'vehicle', 'jackal' rather than an 'animal'.

• Use One Syllable

Use one syllable words than two syllable words, two syllable words rather than three, and so on. For example, 'blood, sweat and tears' rather than 'sacrifice, respiration and sorrow. 

• Use Active Voice

Use Active Voice rather than Passive. For example, not “The tyre was fixed by me", but "I fixed the tyre".

• Lean on the Verbs and Nouns

More lean on verbs and nouns, reduce adjectives and adverbs. Choose strong graphic verbs such as "Raman wrestled with the problem". A well chosen verb makes an adverb unnecessary.

• Make Each Word Count

Make each word count by editing ruthlessly. Do not use two words where one is sufficient.

• Keep Sentences Short

Brevity is the soul of wit. Clarity adds colour to what is said briefly. 

• Concentrate on Paragraph Development

One paragraph, one idea. Clear writing comes from clear thinking. In a single para, too many ideas confuse the reader.

• Relate The Experience to Your Reader

That is things must go hand in hand and not contradicting. For instance, if for fishermen, then refer to fish, wind, nets, sea and sand and so on.

• Write to Express But Not to Impress

The reason is that one that is clearly expressed that impresses.

• Be Reader Oriented

The reader's interest tires quickly in case you forget your target reader. Hence, one is to be personal, use questions to reader, exclamations to keep him or her marinated.

• Writing is a Hard and Smart Work

Experts opine that good sentences are not written, but they are rewritten. That is, you have no tone or gesture to help you.

• Each Language Has Its Own Music

To give the correct feel, one is to write carefully and read one's work aloud to see whether it has the expected matching feel.

• Use Exceptionally Long Words

One of the little understood paradoxes in communication is that the longer the word, the shorter the explanation. The more meaning you can pack into a single word, the fewer words are needed to get the ideas across. Big words are resented by persons, who do not understand them and, very often, they are used to confuse and impress rather than clarify. The best reason for acquiring a large vocabulary indeed is that it keeps you from long-winded. The whole power of language depends upon how much meaning can be packed into a single word. Very often, the short word is the best and most effective. However, short words generally are more dangerous than long ones, for they can be twisted to mean almost anything, whereas long word, properly used, means only what it says and nothing more or less.

• Imitate Others

One way of improving your writing style is to imitate sentences of great writers. Imitating is changing the subject matter, the words and expressions, but keep the same sentence structure and the method of developing the thought.

• Use AIDA Formula

Here is a formula that is helpful for persuasive messages that induce action: A-I-D-A means A = Attention, I = Interest, D = Desire and A = Action. This formula is used in all sales letters that impress a person to act sooner than later.

• Use "You Attitude" 

A "you attitude" is a writing style that focuses on the reader than on the writer. In persuasive messages, use of the "you attitude" not an "I" or "We" attitude. The latter may suggest a disinterest in the reader. If one wants to get his message across, he has to adopt the "you attitude", that is talk in terms of one's receiver's needs, hopes, interests and preferences. Those who want to sell anything, they must follow "you attitude" style.

• Master the Art of Outlining

You probably may not believe it, but knowing how to outline will be a helpful skill for one his life throughout. Think that you are drawing a plan or project, or writing a speech, or writing an examination or even a letter, or to take notes well in class, these activities and others are helped by outline. A famous engineer, who wrote many books on mechanical engineering said, "I spend 80 per cent of my time on the outline of a book and 20 per cent on writing it". "Outlining' is to show the framework to expose the structure of a communication. Outlining consists of four steps, namely collection of data, analysis of data, classification of data and organisation of the data.