Like it or not, our written words reflect upon us way longer than we would sometimes like. That’s especially true in business, where email communication has supplanted many a phone conversation. 

As a writing coach, I work with people who love writing and those who dread it. Some of my clients are great with words, but disasters when it comes to organizing their ideas. Others have tons to say if they could only bring themselves to sit down and write, instead of sharpening their pencils down to stubs or revising their first page (or paragraph) until their erasers are mere nubs.

 Whether you write for business or for pleasure, my seven simple rules will help. Here’s the first one:

1)                  Just start. Don’t worry about what you’re saying, how it sounds or whether you’ve said it before. Just get the words out. There will be plenty of time to prune, re-organize and edit later.