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Writing and Publishing

Each of Us Has Only 26 Letters to Use

How We Use Them is Key

I’m not musically inclined, and that may be an understatement. I’ve always been in awe of composers and songwriters. They have so few notes to work with. It seems after a while, they would run out of combinations, that everything that could be created, would be created, with no arrangements left for anyone else. Obviously, I don’t know about music.

However, writing is not much different. In English, we have only twenty-six letters to work with. Our goal as writers is to take those letters and form words, use words to make sentences, sentences to comprise paragraphs, and paragraphs to produce articles, essays, short stories, and books. The possibilities of what we can to with these letters are limitless.

We will never get to a point where everything that can be written, has been written. There will always be something more for us to say, other combinations of letters waiting for us to arrange them as only we can.

How we combine these twenty-six letters is a matter of our style; it is our writing voice. Writing is a creative art, one we will likely pursue with passion our entire life. Though anyone who is literate can write, few will. Only a minority will take the opportunity afforded by a mere twenty-six letter alphabet to create something unique to share with others.

May we never look back in discouragement at all that others have written, but instead, may we look forward in anticipation at all that waits for us to write.

Now go write.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

By Peter Lyle DeHaan

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, publishes books about business, customer service, the call center industry, and business and writing.