Writing is weird. Unlike speaking, it’s not something we do naturally. And unless we train ourselves out of it, that weirdness renders some creative, but wooden and dense prose.
Speaking is a natural act. Every single human being has the ability to do it. And at a very young age. The reason why, says cognitive scientist and linguist Stephen Pinker, is because we have a language instinct.
We master this instinct as we imitate sounds made by mom and dad, brother and sister, nana and popo.
Soon we are forming one word sentences, then two and three words sentences, and, at around age two, we are demanding to put our seat belts on ourselves while “you worry about yourself.�
Writing, however, is another story.
In this 7-minute episode of Rough Draft with Demian Farnworth, you’ll discover:
- How Pulitzer-prize winning journalist David Leonhardt kicked the wordslaw habit
- Voice-to-text tools that can help you write like you speak
- A quaint quote by Charles Darwin about our lack of instinct to write
- The age of writing
- And more!
Rough Draft on iTunes
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