Consider the finest piece of writing you've ever produced, and you will likely remember the fervor and emotion that motivated you to write it in the first place.
The more connected a writer feels with the story, the better the story - and the easier it is to produce a compelling combination of words.
To make the flow consistent, you just write. Write whatever comes to mind, and write it with a particular reader in mind. Think of someone you trust, for example.
This setup takes practice. The best suggestion is to devote a daily window of time to writing. The trick is to write like no one will read it. That's how you tap the honesty. People are typically polite to strangers when we talk, but if you write with this voice in mind, the purity of your message will suffer.
The more honest and authentic your message, the deeper the connection with readers.
Let's get back to the daily writing routine. You need one if you want to call yourself a writer, just like you could say you're in tip-top shape if you lift weights at the gym every day. Writing requires a certain mental muscle that must be trained. No one will train that muscle for you.
You must be your own sensei and make writing a habit. Once a behavior becomes a habit, it is harder to stop. Every minute you sit in front of the television is a minute you let that muscle get flabby.
Also, please stop being self-conscious about your background and whether that qualifies you as a writer. I have worked with journalists who studied philosophy and history in college. I have worked alongside journalists who were once union plumbers and paralegals.
Writing is about work. Those words don't put themselves together into sentences. Part of your training must include reading. Diverse reading material will only enrich what you're writing, but you need to read for pleasure daily, whether a novel or the newspaper.
Here are some unsolicited suggestions for writing a persuasive essay:
1. Leave yourself out of it. Your name on the essay is plenty. The more you talk about yourself in the column, the more the reader focuses on the messenger instead of the message.
2. You want the reader to agree with you from the start. However, you and the reader need to agree that the status quo needs to change. Then you present your idea and close the deal.
3. Save one "gift" for your reader at the end. This is the "ah-ha" that captures the essence of your message and the energy behind it.
