I could always write well. I was a political science major in college and at one time planned on getting an advanced degree and teaching American history. When my senior honors thesis was initially rejected because, my advisor said, it was too clearly written I had a change of heart. I rewrote that thesis with a lot of jargon and passive sentences and thought that I could never be happy in academia if that was what was required. I ad enjoyed my journalism classes, so I got a master’s degree in journalism and spent almost four decades as a reporter and editor. I am shifting my attention to writing fiction starting in 2026 with the debut of my first novel.

I try to write at least an hour every day, but I don’t kick myself if something comes up that prevents me. I have an online stopwatch on my back screen and I set it to count down 60 minutes, with the rule being I can’t do anything other than write or sit and stare at the blank page. But the reality is I am always writing in my head, so most times I already know what I am going to type when I sit down.

Write. Get something down on paper or your computer. You can always rewrite, edit or put it aside later. But the key is to write as often and as much as you can. That is the main way you will get better.