When I transferred off a ship the first time, I mailed 5 boxes of books home. ;)
I know all about reading books on the ship. I have many bookshelves, and they are all full.
Reading aside, what I think it was is that I was arguing on forums for 14 years. 14 years of learning how to express myself with the written word has another name: writing practice.
Honestly, that's probably what helped me as well. I always had great reading comprehension, but I came off like a fucking chimp whenever I opened my mouth or tried to put words to paper. Still do, if I try to speak off the cuff. It wasn't until a few years into my 20s that I came to the realization that I actually had some confidence in my writing.
Frustration with stupid politics really forces you to get precise with your language, and it's more of a technical skill than artistic one. It's something you can practice even if you have absolutely no talent for it. Trying to explain why it's not actually "all about the money" to some midwit left-lib you know, before their adderal stops working, is about the most technically challenging language task there is, and you'll definitely have enough opportunities to try.
When I transferred off a ship the first time, I mailed 5 boxes of books home. ;) I know all about reading books on the ship. I have many bookshelves, and they are all full.
Reading aside, what I think it was is that I was arguing on forums for 14 years. 14 years of learning how to express myself with the written word has another name: writing practice.
Who knew arguing on the internet could have such a positive.
Honestly, that's probably what helped me as well. I always had great reading comprehension, but I came off like a fucking chimp whenever I opened my mouth or tried to put words to paper. Still do, if I try to speak off the cuff. It wasn't until a few years into my 20s that I came to the realization that I actually had some confidence in my writing.
Frustration with stupid politics really forces you to get precise with your language, and it's more of a technical skill than artistic one. It's something you can practice even if you have absolutely no talent for it. Trying to explain why it's not actually "all about the money" to some midwit left-lib you know, before their adderal stops working, is about the most technically challenging language task there is, and you'll definitely have enough opportunities to try.