I’ve been writing for who knows how long. The things I write have been different from early childhood to my current life stages. It’s something I can admit that I’ve gotten better at while growing up and getting older. This area of media is certainly something I can see myself doing as a decent full-time job, with hopefully good pay and benefits. As we speak, I’m wondering what exactly the key to success has been in my writing experience up to this point. I think the answer is discipline.  

What Determined The Answer 

This week, I read more of “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser, and I feel that the eighth chapter captures some evidence that discipline is what’s benefiting me. Zinsser essentially refers to discipline to explain the meaning of unity. He primarily says that unity is when you make sure that you know what you’re saying and everything is written in a consistent voice or tone. Every sentence needs to have some kind of meaning. In other words, writers need to make every sentence count — a statement made to me by one of my undergraduate journalism professors when I was completing my Senior Project. 

In the same chapter, Zinsser notes that covering too much ground in written pieces tends to undermine a writer’s unity. An example of this would be giving irrelevant facts or wandering off topic. My younger self, as a writer, had this habit a few times, to the point where an editor would say, “This is factually incorrect,” or “This is irrelevant or illogical.” Of course, I would go back and fix those mistakes, but I strongly feel that if it weren’t for the lack of discipline back then, there would’ve been a massive difference in my unity.

I take pride in and value my work ethic and skills to the extreme, especially in writing. Even though I completed my undergraduate journey, it was challenging. I wasn’t disciplined. Instead, I did many things out of impulse. As much as I want to go back and fix what happened back then, I know that can’t be done now. However, I’m happy to have made this realization, and I look forward to discovering more about myself and my writing skills. 

*This post was written, created, and designed without the use of any AI.*