So why 20 minutes? Because this is the advice from a very skilled author who helps people like me improve their writing skills. People like me who struggled with writing at school and beyond, and in my case even during my Master's degree. My senior school was a new comprehensive that had been the secondary modern school in the area. In the UK at that time every child sat the 11+ in their last year of junior school. You were then streamed using the results of that exam. If you were in the top few hundred you went to the local grammar school and if you scored less you went to the local secondary modern.
They stopped the system the year that I went to senior school and it was pot luck if you were sent to the 'old' grammar school because their teachers, school ethos and general attitude was that you studied hard, were given all the resources you needed to achieve your chosen further study or profession and that good behaviour, school rules that encouraged achievement and general politeness were all essential. The secondary modern on the other hand was just grateful if you showed up and handing in homework was a bonus. The teachers believed that so long as you sat in class and made some effort this was enough although there were a few teachers who believed that caning was the only way to make children respect the staff and that it was acceptable to hit children round the head with the board duster. Every term the must disruptive children would be away for a period of time, and apparently this was because they were in the local remand centre. We weren't taught how to write essays, how to spell correctly, how to use grammar appropriately and it wasn't until my children went to school that I knew what a verb and adjective where. My lack of knowledge about such things didn't do much for my language skills in either English or French.
When I left home at 18 to be an assistant matron in a boarding school I used to write home every week. When I left that job to start my nurse training my parents revealed that they had loved my letters not for their content but for their amusement as they howled their way through all my grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Despite reading many books over the years my spelling and grammar haven't improved and I am lucky to write in an age where a squiggly red line warns me of another mistake.
So why would I want to persist? Because I believe that I have something useful to offer. Something that can enhance people's lives, improve their quality and probably quantity. I am a mentor and expert for helping people, mainly women, maintain their weight after the age of 40. I love being able to offer knowledge and insights that helps my clients keep their pre 40s figure, their energy and their sense of fun.
But that is not what this blog is about. I already have a blog for that. This blog is just about my life, my observations and thoughts so that I practise writing every day for 20 minutes to improve my writing muscle.
You are most welcome to comment below each blog.
until tomorrow have a good day
love
Sarah
No comments:
Post a Comment