I recently attended a lecture on writing. It was a memorable hour and a half that reinforced several lessons I had learned about writing and public speaking.
Lesson 1. Be prepared
The speaker had no notes and did not appear to have prepared at all for the talk. In the world of public speaking, winging it is never a good idea. The best “extemporaneous” talk you’ll ever hear has been meticulously prepared and practiced.
Lesson 2. Actually speak on what you’re assigned
In the talk I attended, the speaker said virtually nothing relating to the publicized topic. The vast amount of time was spent reading one of his own stories.
Lesson 3. Be an interesting reader
Mumbling, monotone speaking, and stumbling over your own writing is uninteresting. Read the material often enough that you can leave the page from time to time to connect with your audience. Keep potential readers engaged.
Lesson 4. Write well
The story read on that fateful night was subpar (to be polite). It stumbled from topic to topic with no real purpose, moral, or conclusion. Rambling is not writing.
Lesson 4. Never censor your own work
The speaker’s opening remarks dealt with the fact that he has recently thrown out several stories and rewrote others because he worried that his emotional experiences might be less important than those of women, gays, and people of color. He was just an old white guy who maybe needed to shut up and let underrepresented groups have the floor. It is important to remember that Dickens, Hemingway, Twain, Browning, Frost, King, Shakespeare, and Ian Fleming were white guys, and our lives and our language are richer because of them. If you think something is important or meaningful enough to write, there is an audience that will appreciate it. Only throw out the crap.
In closing, negative examples serve a purpose. They encourage us in many ways, reinforcing lessons and showing us that our work might be better than we thought.