Write On!, 1015 GABJ, Vol. 39 No. 5. 62
| Author | John H. Ridge, J.D., Ph.D. Deputy City Attorney City of Cheyenne Cheyenne, Wyoming. |
| Position | Vol. 39 5 Pg. 62 |
John H. Ridge, J.D., Ph.D. Deputy City Attorney City of Cheyenne Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Write to Write
I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance, application, industry, assiduity, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire.
Developing good legal writing skills isn’t just work, it’s hard work.
In an article entitled Read to Write in the June 2016 edition of this magazine, I stated that we can become better writers by developing a daily and uniform reading program. But, to excel at writing, we must also develop a daily and uniform writing program.
It is similar to learning to play a musical instrument: we must practice every day. Beginning writers must practice to simply develop basic skills. Intermediate level writers must practice to hone their basic skills and develop individuality and style. Advanced writers must practice to maintain their skills and further advance in the more nuanced areas of writing. Regardless of where we fall on the writing spectrum, to develop better writing skills we must write and write, and then write some more.
Solving a Practical Problem
As part of a daily writing program, writing instructors often recommend exercises such as journaling or responding to writing prompts. While these are certainly good ideas, who has time for such non-work related writing? With all the contracts we have to draft, briefs we have to write, legislation we have to craft, and emails to which we have to respond, there are not enough hours in a day.
But this doesn’t mean that we can’t develop a daily writing program. In the following, I suggest ways to incorporate daily writing practice into our legal work and marketing efforts.
Writing Practice and Crafting Better Emails
Lawyers write many emails over the course of a day. We communicate with clients, potential clients, colleagues, opposing counsel, Bar leadership, committee members, family members, and friends.
Our daily email correspondence provides an excellent platform on which to practice and improve our writing skills. When writing emails to clients and colleagues we can focus on the form of the email, in addition to the content, making sure that the tone of the email is appropriate, the word choice is suitable, the punctuation and grammar are accurate, the sentence and paragraph structure are correct, and the...
To continue reading
Request your trial