Art or Science?

I once got into a discussion -- OK, an argument -- with a graphic artist over the art of writing. His view was that essentially anyone can write. "Any schmoe can put a sentence together," was his gist. I countered with, "Yes, but few can do it well." Writing (like drawing or any other skill) takes practice (see "The 12 Commandments"). And writing is not just an art. It is also a science. It takes precision, determination to meet a goal and a near-perfectionist attitude. Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway rewrote the ending to The Sun Also Rises no fewer than 15 times. When someone asked why, he replied in true Hemingway fashion: "To get the words right."

The 12 Commandments

There are essentially 12 rules to good writing:

1. Thou shalt write. Sounds obvious? You'd be surprised. Like anything else, writing takes practice and stamina. Get your writing in shape by working it out.
2. Thou shalt read. In a addition to writing as much as possible, a writer should be a voracious reader. You wouldn't go see a musician who doesn't listen to music, would you?
3. Thou shalt rewrite. Don't expect the first draft (or second or third) to be perfect. Keep at it.
4. Thou shalt be considerate of thy reader. Your audience is basically your customer. If they don't like what they see, they'll take their business elsewhere.
5. Thou shalt use short sentences. See No. 4.
6. Thou shalt use the active voice. Which sounds better? "The mission was described by our president who was told by the audience what a marvelous job he did." Or: "The audience told our president that he did a marvelous job after he described the mission."
7. Thou shalt spend time thinking. Writing doesn't mean you always have to be scribbling or typing. Relax. Meditate. Think. Ponder. Now, go forth and write.
8. Thou shalt ask questions. You won't get very far without being curious. Do Web searches. Seek out experts and mavens. And read (see No. 2).
9. Thou shalt play with words. Word play is not only fun, it's instructive. Typos, for instance, can produce some unintended and surprisingly effective puns. ("Just kissing" as opposed to "just kidding" has gotten me into trouble when IMing).
10. Thou shalt know when to start and stop. Having all your research done is fine. Don't overdo it. Doing more research than you need to can be a form of procrastination. And don't overwrite. Frequently read over what you've written and know when to quit.
11. Thou shalt not be intimidated by the blank page. Writer's block is a terrible thing. Don't be afraid of it. There are creative ways to beat it.
12. Thou shalt avoid cliches and jargon. It turns readers off and shows lack of professionalism (see No. 4).
13. Thou shalt pay attention to detail. If you've been paying attention, you'll have already noticed that there are actually 13 commandments. (The title says 12).