Writing can be hard work, or it can be fun . . . either way it is a challenge. Not everyone can get the words from their heads to a paper. Too often it is a person's struggle to perfect their grammar and punctuation that keeps him from writing something very meaningful. I don't believe that you have to be an English major to write a heart-wrenching story, about a humorous happening, or a first person account of something that happened to you. I do believe that almost anyone that tries can write very well by following a few simple rules. Believe me, it works.

1. The most important thing I have learned is that in order to write you have to use your heart . . . If you can feel it, then you can write it. When you first start to draft a piece of writing, don't even think about the spelling and grammar and such. Listen to your heart, and let the words flow non-stop to the paper. When you get the feelings, the thoughts, the meaning in written form, you have plenty of time to go back and change and correct.

If it is in your heart, then most likely there are thousand of other people who have known these same feelings, and can identify with you, and will enjoy reading what you have to say. Write With Your Heart!

2. Only write about things that you know. If you never had any children, then don't try to write an article on how to raise them. If you never were around tractors, don't try to write an article on where to find them or how to restore a John Deere L. If you have ms, then don't try to write a story about living with cancer. It won't work.

The best tip I can give is, when you write something, you should always write from the heart and from experience. You should never write something just to please a crowd. You cannot write about something you do not know or feel. People can see right though that.

3.The first few sentences of your writing are the most important!

Start your piece with something that will shock the readers, and make them want to go on! Which of these following examples would you prefer to read?

A. Once I had trouble with my eyes, and I was sort of scared.
B. I was blind once! For six long weeks I was unable to see anything.
Start your piece with a question that will make the reader think about himself or herself. .
Examples from my own writing are:

A. What would you do if you knew beyond a doubt that this was the last day of your life?
B. Did you ever meet someone accidentally and then discover later that it was

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