Yet even the great ones acknowledge at least a few basic guidelines. To be good, you have to read and observe a lot. To write well you have to revise and revise. When I touched that time, my words announced themselves to me. Revision, he notes, became not only essential but also one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.
Writing is a performing art.
Yet unlike music, drama, or sports, no conductor, director or coach leads your reader through the performance. Word selection and punctuation are the only aids suggesting how fast or slow or loud the writing should be. Reading is a solitary, detached experience. Your writing must be its own conductor and coach. Unworthy writing repels and confuses.