Barriers to writing

A friend once asked me how I was able to become an editor without having a degree in English literature, linguistics, or the like. How could I know correct punctuation, grammar, and usage without formal training, she wondered. She is a teacher turned elementary school principal, so despite my years as a medical editor, I felt momentarily insecure. Then I considered her question seriously, which lead me to thinking about formal versus informal training in writing.

Oregon Zoo, Portland Oregon
Photo by Ralph S. Pfeifer

My public school experience is really the only formal education I ever got in writing, and I don’t recall it being inspiring in any way. But I’ve always loved reading and writing to express myself, and I think that is by no means rare. Just look at a local or chain bookstore: Most have shelves filled with blank lined journals to write in. That leads me to think that most people love to tell their stories as much as I do.

The bottom line is that I became an editor by writing. And in all the fulltime positions I’ve held as an editor, I never once met anyone who targeted editing as a career, particularly medical editing. Most were avid readers and writers who loved science and could understand the material. But they came to a medical writing or editorial position through a door that opened to them serendipitously, not through one they aimed to open.

If you’re feeling blocked by a lack of education in medical writing, editing, or in just plain grammar and punctuation, know this: It may feel beyond you, but you are not trapped; you've acquired far more difficult knowledge in nursing school. Grammar and usage can be learned as well, and you are smart enough to learn it. Click on some of the links to the right and try a few other sites, like the Purdue Online Writing Lab (or OWL), for additional tips and answers to your grammar and usage questions.

Don’t let your nervousness about a lack of formal training stop you from writing. Writing well is not contingent on formal training, it’s contingent on honing your story to make it understandable and useful in some way to the reader. 

Letting go

The grounds at FDR National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY
Photo by Gail M. Pfeifer, RN, MA

It’s hard to let an article go. If you let your writing sit a bit (and I recommend that you do so), you’ll start to see errors that you didn’t notice while you were writing. This is normal and does not mean that you are a bad writer. Everyone makes mistakes during the process, and you will not be an exception. But correct those errors now, let the article sit a few days more, then read it again as if someone else had written it. Ask whether the point is clear, whether the topic grabs you, and tweak it further if you can improve on either of those domains. If not, let it go. It won’t be perfect, but if it’s the best you can do, let it go off to the editor of your targeted publication. If the topic is worthy, the editor will tell you what to do next.