Writing With Effort

Writers we admire tend to write as if it's effortless. Their words seem to roll out perfectly every time they touch a keyboard or put a pen to paper. We like this type of writing, as readers, because it's effortless to read. Awkward, disjointed writing is a chore to read and is not a pleasant task for readers. But smooth, cohesive writing is a joy to read. The irony of effortless writing is that it takes a great deal of effort on a writer's part to achieve the illusion of effortlessness. Good writers don't strive for perfection, but rather for seamless writing - the kind of writing that conceals its own flaws. This requires tedious revision that attends to every detail. Much like a painter strives to have his brush strokes disappear within the painting so that the painting, when viewed, is a whole image, writers strive to have their syntax disappear into their prose. Readers don't want to "see" what techniques a writer is employing during the reading process. They want the techniques to be so smoothly woven into the fabric of the story or text that they are unaware of it. For writers, the work is about style, finish and polish; and to have a polished piece of writing, whether fiction or nonfiction, the writer must arduously exert the effort to sound "effortless."